The No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels came out hot in Tuesday's matchup with the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats. Although they haven't done much of this during SEC play, everything came together, especially in the first half as the Rebels jumped out to a lead that they rode to a 98-84 win over the college basketball blue blood.

Chris Beard has the Ole Miss Rebels in the thick of the Southeastern Conference standings. He credits what he learned from Bob Knight.

Ole Miss basketball dominated Kentucky on Tuesday night, beating the Wildcats 98-84. The Rebels used a 23-point halftime lead to down the Wildcats, as Kentucky was never able to close the gap in the second half.

TRANSCRIPT: Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard, Jaylen Murray and Matthew Murrell talk about Rebels' 98-84 win over Kentucky

What Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard saw in the practice facility a few days ago backed his belief in Davon Barnes' ability to seal the game.

Ole Miss finished just 7-11 in SEC play last season, had no wins over a ranked conference opponent, and lost both matchups with Auburn by 14 and 23 points, respectively. Auburn is an even stronger team this season, so for Beard and the Rebels to cut that deficit to only 10 points while keeping it close the majority of the game is impressive.

The Rebels picked up a 72-69 win against Texas to start last week. Senior guard Davon Barnes hit big free throws down the stretch to lift the Rebels to a late win. That win ended Ole Miss' three-game slide, but the Rebels failed to the win on Saturday. Ole Miss lost 92-82 to No. 1 Auburn. Despite the loss, Beard was optimistic after the game.

"This is the SEC," Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. "A two-game winning streak, it's free breakfast burritos in the morning. People want to throw you a parade. A two-game losing streak and you feel like the sun won't come up tomorrow."