Barnes says slumping Rebels can beat Kentucky

Ben Bryant
dm senior Staff writer

In the middle of the longest losing streak of his two years as head coach at Ole Miss, Rod Barnes has found some consolation in the past.

After all, this year's edition of Rebel basketball bears some resemblance to the young 1995-96 team that started SEC play 0-5 before finishing on a 6-5 run. This run served as the base for Ole Miss' three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Barnes is discouraged by the squad's early losses to Arkansas, then-No. 6 Florida, Mississippi State and then-No. 12 Tennessee.

"I don't feel very good right now. They (the players) don't feel very good, either," Barnes said.

But Barnes still believes his team has life as it heads to Lexington to face No. 18 Kentucky tonight.

"It's similar to the teams we had in the beginning with Michael White and Keith Carter and Jason Smith," Barnes said. "We kept playing close and we didn't get over the hump."

The hump will still be hard to conquer tonight against the Wildcats, one of the nation's hottest teams after winning six of their last seven games. Kentucky's lone setback in the stretch was a 66-63 road loss to then-No.4 Auburn.

The Wildcats have the SEC's second-worst scoring offense, but they counter with the league's second-best defense.

Forward Tayshaun Prince (14.4 points per game/6.1 rebounds per game) and center Jamaal Magloire (12.6 ppg/7.6 rpg) key the Big Blue attack.

The tall Wildcat frontcourt has helped UK amass an SEC-best average of 6 blocked shots per contest. Additionally, Kentucky is out-rebounding its opponents by a margin of 5.5 per game.

Barnes said his team must work hard to prepare for a road game with the Wildcats, especially after the 98-60 decimation at Tennessee Saturday.

"It's the first time the floodgates have opened, and we have to close those gates," Barnes said after the loss. "We have to pick out some things to do better and go with it."

Tip-off at Kentucky is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will not be televised but can be heard on the Ole Miss Radio Network, 93.7 FM locally.