Oscar Tshiebwe had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Sahvir Wheeler added 16 points and No. 7 Kentucky shot 60% before holding off Mississippi 83-72 in its home finale Tuesday night.
Kentucky (24-6, 13-4 Southeastern Conference) took control after four minutes behind hot shooting, hitting 9 of its first 12 attempts including 4 of 6 from long range and finishing 59% at halftime. The Wildcats spread the offense well, with five players scoring at least seven points in the first 20 minutes.
Tshiebwe jump-started Kentucky's 62% second-half shooting by scoring six points with a couple of dunks. The Wildcats eventually led 70-56 with 6:03 remaining before the Rebels rallied to within 76-70 on James White's jumper with 2:15 left.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.