By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Tyler Ulis has developed a knack for scoring. His defensive skills are starting to get noticed as well.
The Kentucky point guard had a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists to lead the 10th-ranked Wildcats (11-2) to an 83-61 win over Ole Miss (10-3) Saturday night.
Ulis set the tone for the blowout, scoring seven of Kentucky’s first nine points. Feeding off the quick outburst, he pounded his chest after connecting on a layup igniting those in attendance, including his parents.
“There was just a lot of energy,” Ulis said following his fourth straight double-figure performance. “The crowd was going crazy. I was actually looking for my parents but they had changed seats. I finally found them.”
Boxscore: Kentucky 83, Ole Miss 61
Although his offensive skills were much-needed in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams, Ulis turned in an equally impressive performance on defense.
Ulis collected six of Kentucky’s 13 steals and kept Ole Miss counterpart Stefan Moody from duplicating the career outing he had in last year’s 89-86 overtime loss to the Wildcats.
“Last year, he basically did whatever he wanted,” Ulis said. “This year, he still had 20-plus (points), but we kind of slowed things down and made it hard on him.”
Moody, who tallied 25 points in last year’s three-point setback, reached his average of 23 points, but because of Ulis, the Ole Miss guard wasn’t a factor until the second half, scoring 15 points when the game was out of reach.
“I had to lock in defensively and try to stop him,” Ulis said. “You can’t just let someone come out there and just kill you because you could be the reason you lose the game. It’s a matchup you have to lock in like I tried to do defensively and just try to stop him so you’re not the reason your team lost.”
Even though Kentucky coach John Calipari and the rest of the Wildcats teased Ulis about his ability to guard Moody, Ulis proved them wrong and took the challenge of guarding Moody seriously.
“Cal was making jokes that if he put me on him, he was going to have 50 and stuff like that,” Ulis said. “But it’s all fun and games.”
Although he was teasing Ulis for the most part, Calipari wishes the rest of the team followed the lead set by Ulis.
“We need more guys that look at the (opposing) guy and say, ‘I’m going to show who is the better player here,’” Calipari said. “We don’t have that right now. We’re just kind of playing basketball.”
Ulis credited Kentucky’s performance to a grueling week of “Camp Cal” practice sessions during the Christmas break.
“It’s a completely different team,” he said. “We just come out and play a lot better, play with more energy, understanding what coach wants us to do and being disciplined defensively.”
Although the entire team was zeroed in on both ends of the floor, Ulis led the way and was a big reason the Wildcats opened the conference schedule with an easy victory.
“He was incredible out there,” Kentucky senior Alex Poythress said. “That’s what we need from him. He’s one of the leaders on our team. It all starts with him. He’s the point guard, has the ball in his hands. He’s the first option on defense. We go as he goes.”
Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy also took notice of how much Ulis means to the Wildcats. Kennedy heaped praise on Ulis, calling him “the best point guard in the country” after watching Kentucky snap his team’s seven-game winning streak.
“That’s a great compliment coming from a Division I coach,” Ulis said. “I appreciate it.”
Notes
* Kentucky junior guard Dominique Hawkins left with 13:55 remaining and didn’t return after tweaking his ankle while going up for a rebound. Hawkins scored a career-high 13 points against No. 18 Louisville in his last outing.
Hawkins played three minutes and didn’t score.
“They say he will be fine,” Calipari said. “I didn’t see it but it was ugly. But he is a tough kid.”
* Marcus Lee scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. In the past seven games, Lee has made 32 of his last 43 field goals. Lee wore a mask to protect his nose.
“His nose has been bleeding and we don’t know if he’s getting hit and that’s why his nose is bleeding,” Calipari said. “We just put the thing on so we don’t have to deal with him walking off the court.”
* Kentucky center Skal Labissiere scored nine points in 14 minutes, his highest point total in three games.
“It’s a first step — the first step,” Calipari said. “There’s still a lot of other stuff still there. But like (what I saw). I want him to smile and have fun playing.”
* Jamal Murray rounded out three players in double figures with 18 points, his 11th straight double-figure game.
Game tracker: Kentucky at LSU, Tuesday, 9 p.m. TV/Radio: ESPN, 98.1 FM WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers University of Kentucky athletics for KyForward.com