The tumultuous 2017-18 Ole Miss basketball season finally came to an end Wednesday night in St. Louis as the Rebels fell to South Carolina 85-84.
After watching the first game Wednesday night many Ole Miss basketball fans were afraid of just how ugly game two could be for the Rebels. However, the Rebels came out swinging against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Sadly the game pretty much summed up the entire season for Ole Miss basketball. The Rebels fought their butts off and fell just shy of their mark.
This was not a fun season at all and especially not for the team itself. They have fought constant criticism from the media and fans. Of course, it was a season which caused the ‘Dean of basketball coaches’ in the SEC to announce his departure at the end of the season. However, after the last Miss State game Kennedy announced he would depart the team immediately. Wednesday night Andy Kennedy was watching from the analysts table instead of the Rebels bench.
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The game Wednesday night may have not turned out the way the Rebels wanted, however the Rebels went down in a fight. There was no quit in Ole Miss basketball as they faced their last game of the weird season. Of course, let’s look at the final stats and see how the Rebels fared.
Team Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels Basketball
Of course, when we look at this game by the numbers we can easily see the discrepancies in the stat-line. This game was no different from past games for the Rebels. As a team the Rebels shot 29 of 72 from the field for 40.3% while the Gamecocks shot 27 of 58 for 46.6 % of their own.
The Gamecocks also out-shot the Rebels from distance going 12 of 21 for 57.1% while the Rebels only shot 11 of 31 for 35.5% from beyond the arc. Once again the Rebels put up shots and couldn’t find the basket. Poor shooting has haunted Ole Miss basketball this season.
Of course, the one bright spot for Ole Miss basketball this season has been from the charity stripe. As a team Ole Miss has shot well from the free-throw line and did last night. The Rebels shot 15 of 21 for 74.1% while South Carolina went only 19 of 34 for 55.9%.
Both teams combined for 13 turnovers in the game while the Rebels out-rebounded the Cocks 45-41 on the night. Ole Miss bench combined for 29 points while the Gamecock bench went for 31.
Individual Rebels Numbers
The best part of the stat line is always the individual players numbers which we see. In this case there were four Rebels who scored in double-digits. Sophomore Breein Tyree had 18 points to go with 3 boards and 3 assists. Junior Terence Davis added 16 points and also had 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Junior Bruce Stevens had another double-double. Stevens added 15 points and 13 boards and also had 1 assist and 2 steals. Senior Deandre Burnett added 13 points to go with 1 board and 1 assist.
Senior Justas Furmanavicius had 7 points, 4 boards and a blocked shot. Freshman Devontae Shuler added 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot. Sophomore Dominik Olejniczak added 4 points, 2 rebounds and a steal. Graduate transfer Markel Crawford also added 4 points while getting 3 boards, 3 assists and a steal. Senior Marcanvis Hymon finished out the scoring with 2 points. Hymon also had 5 boards, a blocked shot and a steal.
Up Next
With the season coming to and end Ole Miss basketball is done for now. However, there will be a lot going on behind the scenes by Ole Miss administration to bring in Andy Kennedy’s permanent replacement. There are already coaches who have shown an interest in the Ole Miss job and will be more in coming days.
OHT would really like to thank the Ole Miss basketball team (including the coaching staff) for their dedication throughout the season. OHT will continue to give updates on the coaching search. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and twitter for the latest news. Hotty Toddy!