Tuesday NCAA: No. 25 Mississippi (16-5) at No. 3 Kentucky (20-1)

Ole Miss will be shorthanded tonight as it tries to hand Kentucky its second straight loss in an ESPN Tuesday night game.

Freshman forward Reginald Buckner will sit out a second straight game because of a sprained ankle. The 6-foot-8 Buckner has played in 20 games, including 7 starts, and is averaging 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 18.2 minutes. That might not sound like much, but the Rebels will need all the big men they can get against big and deep Kentucky.

“(Buckner) is without question our most physical, our most athletic defensive presence at the basket,” Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy said. “Physically, he’s the only guy on our roster that realistically has a chance to match up with some of those guys wearing the Big Blue.”

And not having Buckner showed in Sunday’s loss to Arkansas, as Razorbacks big men Mike Washington and Marshawn Powell combined for 41 points in an 80-73 win that was delayed a day because of bad weather. Ole Miss usually plays a four-man rotation in the paint, so Buckner’s absence means Murphy Holloway, DeAundre Cranston and Terrance Henry all better stay out of foul trouble tonight.

Holloway was a beast against Arkansas with 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year. The Rebels are 4-2 on the road this season, including a 3-1 record in SEC road games. They have won three league road games for the first time since they captured four in 2001. But this is their third game in six days, so look for them to be tired.

Kentucky, which is an 11-point betting favorite on WagerWeb.com’s NCAA basketball odds, reclaimed the lead in the SEC East Division thanks to an 85-72 win over ranked Vanderbilt on Saturday. DeMarcus Cousins led the Cats with his fourth straight double-double (21 points, 10 boards). He broke the UK freshman record with his 12 double-double of the season and could be a man among boys tonight. Cousins is averaging 16.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a game in just 21 minutes.

Meanwhile, fellow freshman John Wall’s nine assists against Vandy gave him 135, breaking Dirk Minniefield’s school record for assists by a freshman.

UK’s .889 winning percentage against Ole Miss (96-12) is its best against any SEC opponent, although the Rebels won last year. The Rebels have yet to post a top-10 win during head coach Andy Kennedy’s tenure, going 0-7 since he took over in 2006-07. The last Ole Miss win over a top-10 foe was in 2002. The last road win over a top-10 team was on Valentine’s Day 1998. And Ole Miss is 0-3 against ranked teams this year.

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