Last Tuesday, Ole Miss men’s basketball was in prime position to grab a win on the road against a tough Texas A&M team. Breein Tyree found himself open for a deep three down 71-69 with time running out. As the buzzer sounded, his shot hit the back rim, the front rim, the back rim again, the front rim again and then slowly rolled out, to the shock of an already celebrating Ole Miss bench.
So the season has been for the Rebels.
Ole Miss entered Monday morning with a 10-9 record (3-4 in the SEC) including three overtime losses, the heartbreaker in College Station and a down-to-the-buzzer four-point loss to Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. In some games, the Rebels look like a tournament team that can hit shots and spread the floor using their plethora of athletic guards. In others, the Rebels have struggled to find the consistency to put teams away or keep up when their shots aren’t falling.
Ole Miss lives and dies by the 3-pointer. When the Rebels make more than 33 percent of their 3-pointers in a game, they are 10-2. When they fall below that mark, they are 1-7. It makes sense that a team built to play from the outside in would rely on jump-shot efficiency, and it became clear early on in the season that head coach Andy Kennedy would lean on his guards to create opportunities, make shots and get to the rim consistently.
Kennedy’s system has worked well on the offensive side of the ball, as Ole Miss averages 78.8 points per game, which is good for 75th in the country. However, a lack of size on defense has led to opponents scoring 75.9 points per game, which ranks Ole Miss’ scoring defense a less-than-successful 269th in the nation. In addition, close shootout losses to Illinois State, South Dakota State and Arkansas presumably will come back to haunt the Rebels when the selection committee sits down in March.
When it comes to putting the ball in the hoop, Ole Miss has three guards averaging more than 10 points per game. The talent in the frontcourt has been on full display as Deandre Burnett, Terence Davis, Markel Crawford and Breein Tyree have learned to share time and responsibilities despite their similar skill sets. Burnett leads the team with 14.3 points and 4.8 assists per game, but the key to the Rebels’ attack has been its balance and flexibility among all the backcourt players.
In particular, Davis has been especially impressive with his effort to play an all-around game. He currently averages 6.1 rebounds per game, which leads the team.
Although the overall roster size lacks, junior college transfer Bruce Stevens has grown into his key role on the inside for the Rebels. He is averaging 10.6 points per game on 54 percent shooting, and his efficiency from the inside has been an excellent counter to the guard-heavy lineup Ole Miss rolls out.
When looking at its 10-9 record, it is clear that Ole Miss is more comfortable at home. The 9-3 home record includes conference wins over first-place Florida and rival Mississippi State, while the road record reads 0-5.
The Rebels will continue their journey to “Big Dance” relevance against Alabama at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in The Pavilion.
