Rebels take on Wildcats in pivotal SEC battle

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2010 - Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 25th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels have the unenviable task of battling the now fourth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington this evening in a top-25 SEC tussle.

Ole Miss carried a three-game win streak into Sunday's home clash with Arkansas and was clearly favored in that affair. Unfortunately, the result was an 80-73 loss to the Hogs, dropping the Rebels to 16-5 overall and 4-3 in conference.

As for Kentucky, it won the first 19 games of this season before finally falling to South Carolina last week. Fortunately, the Wildcats were able to get back on track on Saturday with an 85-72 decision over Vanderbilt. There is plenty of reason to be optimistic about tonight's game, as they enter with a 13-0 home record.

Kentucky owns a commanding 96-13 series edge over Ole Miss, and the teams split a pair of meetings a year ago.

Ole Miss is a well-balanced offensive team that has five double-digit scorers in the fold, and the contributions off all those players have led to 80.9 ppg, a strong output for the team. Chris Warren is tops with 16.7 ppg, and he has handed out 72 assists. Terrico White checks in with 15.0 ppg, and Eniel Polynice provides 10.6 ppg and 89 assists. Murphy Holloway (10.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Zach Graham (10.0 ppg) round out the group for the Rebels, who are holding opponents to 69.3 ppg on 40.3 percent shooting. On Sunday, Ole Miss connected on a mere 38.2 percent of its field goal attempts and was outscored 23-9 from the foul line. Those negatives overshadowed a 45-32 rebounding advantage. Holloway tallied 19 points off the bench, and Warren contributed 17. As for Polynice, he finished with 15 points and six assists.

Sure, Kentucky freshman John Wall has been the most highly-regarded player in the nation so far this season, but fellow rookie DeMarcus Cousins is proving that he is just as worthy of praise. Cousins racked up 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats against Vanderbilt on Saturday, and he seems to get better every time he takes the floor. Darnell Dodson scored 16 points against Vandy, while Wall posted 13 points and nine assists. Eric Bledsoe scored 13 points as well, and Patrick Patterson rounded out a balanced attack with 12 points before fouling out. Kentucky earned a dominant 41-22 rebounding advantage and benefited from 25 points from the foul line. Wall is averaging 16.9 ppg to go with 135 assists and 40 steals, while Cousins provides 16.2 ppg and 9.7 rpg. As for Patterson, a reliable veteran, he checks in with 15.2 ppg and 7.7 rpg. The 'Cats are generating 82.2 ppg while surrendering just 66.0 ppg on 38.2 percent shooting by opponents.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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