Ole Miss basketball was facing a big challenge headed into Columbia to take on Mizzou but with an interim head coach the Rebels found their first road win.
Saying this was a big win for the Ole Miss basketball (12-16, 5-10) team is a definite understatement. This was a huge win for the Rebels for a number of reasons. Of course, every win is important but this one is extra special. The 90-87 OT win over the Missouri Tigers (18-10, 8-7) means Ole Miss finally has a road win. Not just a road win but an overtime road win in a very hostile environment.
The Rebels came out fired up and wasted no time in scoring points. Ole Miss basketball looked at a 16 point lead at one point in the first half and led 42-35 at the half. Cuonzo Martin rallied the Missouri Tigers in the second half and they narrowed the deficit late before taking the lead. Breein Tyree scored late to tie the game at 84 all and send it to overtime. The Rebels led much of the overtime period and closed on a 90-87 win over the Tigers.
This game was a confidence boost for this basketball team moving forward without coach Andy Kennedy. Of course, it gave Tony Madlock the impressive win as the interim head coach. It will be very interesting to see just how much this win energizes this team. For now, this was really the best SEC win for the Rebels I have seen this season. They played with attitude and authority. Honestly, the Rebels looked like a different team. Lets look at the game by the numbers.
Team Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels Basketball
The Rebels definitely needed to improve on their shooting from the field and they did. Against the Tigers the Rebels shot 33 of 78 for 42.3% while Missouri shot 27 of 61 for 44.3%. The Rebels took advantage of the Tiger turnovers and produced much better from the field than recent games.
The Rebels also shot better from the arc going than in recent games going 9 of 24 from 3-point distance for 37.5%. Arkansas shot slightly better going 13 of 33 for 39.4% from the arc. It’s very easy to set up good 3-point shots when you are trailing in a game. This was the case with the Tigers.
The Rebels went to the free-throw line 16 times and made 15 of their shots going for 93.8% from the charity stripe. Missouri shot 64.5% making only 20 of their 31 shots for 64.5% from the free-throw line.
The Rebels were out-rebounded by the Tigers 45-37 but the story from the game is Missouri turnovers against a fired-up Ole Miss defense. The Rebels played aggressive at both ends of the court and it resulted in an obvious deficiency in the turnover margin. Ole Miss had 11 TO compared to 21 for Missouri.
Individual Rebels Numbers
Ole Miss basketball had four players to score in double-digits. Sophomore Breein Tyree led all Rebels with 25 points on the night. Tyree also had 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal. Junior Terence Davis added 16 points while also getting 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and 4 steals. Junior Bruce Stevens ha d 13 points on the night while also getting 8 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Graduate transfer Markel Crawford added 11 points while also getting 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Other Rebels who helped get the win were Justas Furmanavicius and Dominik Olejniczak. Furmanivicus added 7 points in the game to go with his 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. Olejniczak added 5 points while getting 2 boards and 21 steal. Marcanvis Hymon had 4 points while also getting 6 boards, 3 assists and a steal. Deandre Burnett and Devontae Shuler each added 3 points in the game. Burnett also had 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
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Up Next
The Rebels will return to Oxford to host the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday at The Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 12pm CT and will be televised SEC Network. Good luck to coach Tony Madlock and the Rebels! Hotty Toddy!