Ole Miss Basketball: Rebels Back Home To Host Tennessee Vols
Ole Miss basketball finally found their first road win against Missouri. Now the Rebels return home to host the Tennessee Vols in The Pavilion.
Ole Miss basketball (12-16, 5-10) has had to deal with a lot of unwanted distractions this season. First the season seemed to run off the rails as the losses mounted for the Rebels. The Rebels who had been win-less on the road were also in the midst of a 7 game losing streak. The losses didn’t just come on the court, they also resulted in Andy Kennedy resigning effective immediately following the Miss State loss last weekend.
Enter Tony Madlock as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. With the Rebels playing on the road against Missouri the Rebels looked down for the count but got the big 90-87 OT win over the Tigers. Madlock’s ‘loose’ play allowed the Rebels to finally break out of the slump and the drama from the Kennedy departure.
Now the Rebels are back at home to take on the Tennessee Vols (20-7, 10-5). The last meeting between the two teams was a few weeks ago in Knoxville where the Vols dismantled Ole Miss in a 33 point blowout. Tennessee comes into today’s match-up ranked No.19 in the nation and currently 2nd in the SEC. Of course, we will take a look at some of their key players.
Scouting The Vols
Ole Miss Rebels Basketball
Tennessee is loaded with talent and have some players which they rely heavily upon. The Vols leading score is sophomore forward Grant Williams who is averaging 16.0 points per game. Williams also averages 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Junior forward Admiral Schofield is the leading re-bounder for the Vols. Schofield averages 6.2 boards per game. He also averages 12.4 points and 1.6 assists per game. Schofield also leads the team in steals with 1.1 per game.
The Vols assists leader is sophomore guard Jordan Bone. Bone averages 3.6 assists per game while also averaging 6.8 points and 2.1 boards per game.
The leader in blocks for the Vols is 6’11” junior forward Kyle Alexander. Alexander averages 1.8 blocks while also pulling down 5.6 boards per game. Alexander also averages 5.7 points per game.
What To Expect
It is fairly certain Tennessee will try to play the same game they did the last meeting. Of course, it may be easier said than done playing on the road in Oxford. Ole Miss is historically a good home team so we the Vols may play on the wrong side of a 6-4 road record. We can expect the Vols to play solid at both ends and try score in chunks.
For Ole Miss we have to see more offensive output from the entire team. We know we can expect a heavy dose of Breein Tyree who has been hot as of late. Of course, the Rebels have to also get big games from Deandre Burnett, Terence Davis and Bruce Stevens. Hopefully the Rebels can respond with some momentum from the Missouri game.
We don’t have to wait long to see if coach Tony Madlock and a ‘loose’ Rebels team can get a win over the No.19 ranked Vols. Tip-off from The Pavilion in Oxford is set for 12pm CT and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Good luck to coach Madlock and Rebels hoops. Hotty Toddy!