LEXINGTON, Ky. -- One down, 17 to go.
As part of its record-setting run to a 38-0 start last season, Kentucky won the SEC with an 18-0 slate. On Saturday, the No. 10 Wildcats continued the roll by beating Ole Miss 83-61 in both teams' SEC opener at Rupp Arena.
Kentucky improves to 11-2 overall, 1-0 in the SEC. Ole Miss falls to 10-3, 0-1.
The Wildcats built a 24-point halftime advantage and led by as many as 29.
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Sophomore guard Tyler Ulis led the way with 20 points, 10 assists and a career-best six steals. He was 8 of 13 shooting and when added to his 7 of 12 against Louisville, Ulis has made 15 of 25 over the last two games.
"I watch a lot of basketball," Rebels coach Andy Kennedy said, "and I think he is the best point guard in college basketball. It's like he's just skating out there, he's so fluid."
Kentucky coach John Calipari had high praise for Ulis, too, but it was for the way he handled being paired against Ole Miss standout Stefan Moody, the league's top scorer. It was more fighter than ice skater.
"He took on a challenge because everybody is talking about their guard. And I knew he did it, I laughed," Calipari said. "After the game I said, 'I know what you did.' And in front team he smiled.
"But I don't have enough other guys that want to do that. I've had them in the past, like a team full of guys like that. We need more guys that look at the other guy and say, 'I'm going to show who is the better player here.' We don't have that right now. We're just kind of playing basketball."
Freshman guard Jamal Murray added 18 points. Junior forward Marcus Lee had 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Alex Poythress had six points and nine rebounds.
The Rebels were led by Moody with 23 points. It matched his SEC-leading points per game total. Junior forward Sebastian Saiz had 12 points.
Ulis, who scored 21 points to power Kentucky's 75-73 victory over rival Louisville during UK's last outing, ensured that the Wildcats got off to a fast start against Ole Miss. He scored seven of Kentucky's first nine points and had 10 of the team's 20 by the midway point of the first half.
Three of Ulis' points came on an old-fashioned three-point play. It was part of an 8-0 run that blew Kentucky from a 14-11 lead to 22-11 with 7:49 remaining in the first half. By the 3:40 mark, it was 37-14.
"I've done this long enough to realize that action is a lot faster than reaction and tonight it seemed as if we were constantly reacting to Kentucky," Kennedy said. "Never mind getting destroyed on the glass and making poor decisions with the ball, so we never gave ourselves a chance."
Kentucky will be tested next week with a two-game road trip to LSU on Tuesday and Alabama on Saturday. The Wildcats' only two losses this season were away from Rupp Arena - at UCLA and against Ohio State in Brooklyn, N.Y. Ole Miss is at home for Alabama on Thursday and Georgia on Saturday.
NOTES: With the victory, Kentucky has won 19 straight SEC regular season games. Its last conference loss was March 8, 2014, at Florida. ... Kentucky's seventh straight win over Ole Miss on Saturday improved the Wildcats' all-time dominance of the Rebels to 104-13. ... Ole Miss' Stefan Moody has not only been a pain in Kentucky's side for two seasons, he has the advantage on two Wildcat legends. Moody's career free-throw percentage of 89.02 is tops in SEC history, edging out UK's Jodie Meeks (88.988) and Kyle Macy (89.978). ... Jordan Smith, a Harlan, Ky., native and winner of NBC's "The Voice," performed the National Anthem before Saturday's game.
