With its position on the NCAA Tournament bubble growing more tenuous with each loss, Ole Miss basketball is running out of opportunities to make statements.

It wasted another one on Tuesday night against Kentucky at Rupp Arena, where the Rebels suffered a 75-63 defeat. Ole Miss (18-6, 5-6 SEC) has not won at the home of the Wildcats (17-7, 7-4) since 1998, when its athletic director, Keith Carter, was still in uniform.

"We did not execute our game plan tonight," Rebels coach Chris Beard said postgame.

The Rebels couldn't make a Kentucky team that entered the game under heavy scrutiny from its demanding fan base feel much game pressure. The Wildcats had dropped three consecutive games at Rupp.

Holding a five-point lead as the first half entered its closing stages, Ole Miss allowed Kentucky to embark on a 25-6 run to close out the opening frame.

The bulk of that decisive sprint came with starting center Moussa Cisse on the bench with two fouls. With his backup, Jamarion Sharp, in the game, the Wildcats attacked the paint repeatedly. Fifteen of their 25 points in that stretch came from dunks, layups or free throws.

The 43-29 advantage the hosts took at halftime was too much for the Rebels to overcome.

Ole Miss opened the second half on an 8-2 run, but that closed its deficit only to eight points. Kentucky restored order shortly thereafter.

Unlike at South Carolina last Tuesday, when the Rebels trailed by 17 and battled back to get a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, Ole Miss lacked the firepower to take the Wildcats to the wire.

Ole Miss basketball uncharacteristically poor offensively

Despite the Wildcats' efficient night shooting the ball, the Rebels probably played well enough on defense and on the glass to win this game had they benefited from their typical brand of explosive offense.

But Ole Miss found the rims at Rupp Arena unkind.

The Rebels, one of the best 3-point shooting teams in college basketball, made just five of their 22 attempts.

On the interior, Kentucky used a career game by Ugonna Onyenso, who had 10 blocks, to keep the Rebels at bay.

Matthew Murrell managed 16 points for the visitors, and forward Jaemyn Brakefield had a nice game with 16 of his own. But the absence of scoring from Ole Miss' other perimeter players proved too much to overcome, especially with 12 turnovers.

"From our point of view, the combination of a high turnover game and getting our shot blocked what seemed like 100 times from where I was sitting ... just didn't give us enough offensive possessions," Beard said.

Ole Miss basketball still lacks a signature win

The Rebels entered Tuesday's game with two Quadrant 1 wins and a NET outside the top 50.

Neither of their Quad 1 wins have come against top 30 programs. Ole Miss still lacks the big-time win on which to anchor its NCAA Tournament résumé.

After the Kentucky loss, Ole Miss has one more chance to secure a truly high-caliber win. Alabama, ranked fifth in the NET before Tuesday, visits the Rebels on Feb. 28.

BRACKETOLOGY: Where Ole Miss basketball stands in updated March Madness bracket predictions

Up next

Ole Miss returns home to take on Missouri on Saturday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network).

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball defeated by Kentucky as Rupp Arena woes persist