Ole Miss Basketball: Rebels Fall At Middle Tennessee State
Ole Miss basketball was looking at a third straight loss as they fell to the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State Saturday evening.
Ole Miss basketball fell to .500 on the season as they dropped a game to MTSU in Murfreesboro on Saturday evening. The Blue Raiders (7-1) proved to be too much at home for the visiting Ole Miss Rebels. Of course, with their 3rd straight loss the Rebels are now sitting at a disappointing 4-4 record and the real tests haven’t even begun yet.
Rebels hoops went into the Murphy Center Saturday evening on a two game losing streak and really needed a win. Ole Miss played MTSU close in the 1st half and led 34-33 at the break. However the Blue Raiders outscored the Rebels 44-24 in the second frame to get the 77-58 win. As with any game you can tell a lot by looking at the final stats. Let’s look and see what they tell us.
The Team Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels Basketball
There’s no way you can look at a 19 point loss and expect the stats to be very good. In this game it’s hard to find a positive in the numbers. It simply doesn’t look good for the Rebels right now.
For the third straight game they’ve been outplayed significantly in the second half. Of course, now they’ve become three straight losses.
As a team the Rebels were 20 of 50 from the field, a meager 40.0% The Rebels did improve at the charity stripe against MTSU shooting 13 of 15 or 86.7%.
Beyond the arc the Rebels struggled once again shooting 5 of 18 for 27.8%. It’s very rare to see poor 3-point shooting from an Andy Kennedy coached Ole Miss team.
In this case Ole Miss basketball was soundly beaten in almost every statistical category. Of course, the final score is enough to tell you that.
Individual Numbers
If you had said “Ole Miss will only score 58 points against MTSU,” of course I would have called you crazy. With total points that low you really can’t expect individual numbers to be much to look at. In any event there are still stats which need to be noted.
Leading all Rebels on the evening was senior forward Marcanvis Hymon. Hymon accounted for 12 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, 2 blocked shots and a steal. Junior guard Terrance Davis scored 10 points while accounting for 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Junior forward Bruce Stevens also had 10 points in the game while picking up 4 rebounds and a steal.
Senior guard Deandre Burnett had 9 points and 4 assists.Graduate transfer Markel Crawford had 7 points while snagging 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Sophomore guard Breein Tyree was good for 6 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot. Senior forward Justas Furmanavicius and center Dominik Olejniczak added 2 points each.
Obviously there is a problem when the Rebels only score 58 points in a game. This team should have won the previous two games but you couldn’t expect the Rebels to win today by the way they played. I have to believe the Rebels were just ‘off’ for the game against MTSU and will bounce back. Of course, now AK and Ole Miss basketball have a lot of work to do.
Up Next For Rebels Hoops
Ole Miss basketball will return to Oxford for a five game home stand in The Pavilion. Up first will be Sam Houston State this coming Wednesday night. The Rebels will then have Illinois State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Bradley. The final game in the stretch will find the Rebels taking on the South Carolina Gamecocks on New Years Eve in the SEC opener.
Of course, the Rebels really needed the last three games. Now they are left with just four non-conference games to try to right the ship. Andy Kennedy had better light a fire under the Rebels or it could be a very un-AK season.
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Tip-off from The Pavilion in Oxford is set for 7pm CT as Ole Miss basketball takes on Sam Houston State. The game will be televised via SECN+. Hotty Toddy!