OXFORD, Miss. _ Before Kentucky's 99-76 victory Thursday night, Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy saw UK as a national contender now and, more importantly, come March.
"A team that's going to be in the conversation for the Final Four," he said.
A former UK All-American saw Bam Adebayo as a key player in making Kentucky that kind of team.
"If they're going to be a contender for a national title, they've got to get Bam more involved," Dan Issel said recently. "He certainly has things to learn, but, man, is he good."
Like all UK fans, Issel saw Adebayo overpower Louisville's front line last week. The only problem was Adebayo did not get the chance to do that more often.
"He has to get more touches," said Issel, a prolific post player in his time. "And, the reason being if they double team him, he's an excellent passer out of the double team."
UK coach John Calipari has been saying much the same thing since the loss at Louisville.
Of the value of getting the ball to Adebayo more, Calipari said, "They know it. We made it clear. That when he gets it, it puts pressure on the defense, and helps us all."
This was on display at Ole Miss. Adebayo scored a career-high 25 points. He only had one assist, which reflected the 3-point misses his passes from the post set up.
"He doesn't seem to be a selfish kid," Issel said. "If they run a double-team at him, he's more than content to pass out of it. I don't know why he doesn't touch the ball a lot more.
"It sure looks to me, as a far-away observer, that they have to go through Bam. And that helps everybody. That loosens up (the defense). When he starts dunking on people, and they have to run a second guy at him, that's good for everybody."
At least statistically, no UK teammate benefited more than Isaiah Briscoe. He scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and got credit for 11 assists. It was the third triple-double in program history, and the second this season (De'Aaron Fox had a disputed triple-double against Arizona State).
Malik Monk, who rebounded from a poor shooting game at Lousiville, led Kentucky with 34 points.
As a 60-39 halftime lead suggested, a lot went right for Kentucky in the first half.
If the pre-game talk was accurate, Ole Miss hoped to slow down Kentucky. The Rebels failed miserably. UK scored 18 points off fast breaks in the opening half. That put the Cats on a pace to smash their previous high this season (21 against Arizona State).
Perhaps as an indication of emphasis on half-court play, Kentucky made a concerted effort to get the ball to Adebayo. In one sequence, he touched the ball five times in seven possessions.
Adebayo scored two baskets, the first off a pretty drop-step move against Sebastian Saiz. On another possession, his pass out of the post set up a three-pointer by Mychal Mulder.
"As imposing a freshman as I think I've ever seen," Kennedy said of Adebayo.
Adebayo's nine shots in the first half surpassed his shot attempts in six previous games. His 6-for-9 shooting, plus repeated drives to the baskets, made 3-point shooting irrelevant. Only seven of UK's 38 shots in the first half came from beyond the arc. Monk made three of four 3-point shots in a 24-point first half.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss struggled throughout the half. The Rebels' point guard, Cullen Neal, picked up his second foul with 16:56 left. He fouled Fox, who had stolen the ball from Neal.
Kentucky's defense contributed to Neal's third foul, which he picked up with 11:05 left while trying to ward off Briscoe's defense.
Neal, who had had 20 assists and only one turnover in the last three games, had one assist and two turnovers against UK.
In contrast to Kentucky, Ole Miss got 3-point happy early. Coming into the game, only 38.4 percent of the Rebels' shots came from three-point range. Six of the first were from beyond the arc as Kentucky established control.
While Briscoe nailed down a triple-double, Kentucky's intent to involve Adebayo in the offense continued into the second half.
Adebayo touched the ball on seven of UK's first nine trips downcourt. That included post-up shots on the first two.
