Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball were back in action Saturday as they closed out the 2018 part of their schedule against Florida Gulf Coast.
So now we are headed into a New Year for Ole Miss basketball (10-2). Currently Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball have lived up to expectations and are now entering 2019 with 10 wins. Next week the 2018-2019 Edition of Ole Miss basketball under new head coach Kermit Davis enters SEC play and we all have hopes of a New Year in 2019.
The Rebels entered the Saturday match-up coming off a 74-56 win over Middle Tennessee State while Florida Gulf Coast (5-10) entered The Pavilion coming off a 77-56 loss to the Florida Gators. Coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels picked up where they left off against the Blue Raiders and dominated the game against Florida Gulf Coast taking a 44-26 lead at the break. The second half was more of the same and the Rebels picked up the 87-57 win.
By The Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels
As a team the Rebels shot .517 from the field while holding the Eagles to just .404. From beyond the arc the Rebels shot .480 while holding Florida Gulf Coast to just .375 from three-point distance. From the free-throw line Ole Miss shot .722 while the Eagles shot .750 from the charity stripe.
Defensively the Rebels out-rebounded the Eagles 37-28 while creating 19 Eagles turnovers and chalking up 11 steals. Ole Miss turned the ball over 11 times while allowing just 2 steals. The Rebels continue to play well and are getting better every game. The win over Florida Gulf Coast was the Rebels 7th consecutive win.
Individual Rebels Numbers
In the game there were five Rebels who scored in double-digits. Leading all Rebels in scoring was senior Terence Davis who had 20 points. Davis also had 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. Junior Breein Tyree added 14 points while also pulling down 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 1 blocked shot.
Sophomore Devontae Shuler, freshman Blake Hinson and senior Bruce Stevens each had 11 points against FGC. Shuler had 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal while Hinson had 1 rebound and 3 assists. Stevens had 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Observations
While Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss have drawn a fair amount of criticism for their strength of schedule the Rebels are now entering 2019 and SEC play with 10 wins. The Rebels have played well and are getting better each game and have managed to win the games which they were expected to win in impressive fashion. This may sound redundant but this Ole Miss basketball team is a very talented and well-coached and will make some noise within the SEC in 2019.
Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball will be back in action this Saturday as they open the SEC schedule on the road against Vanderbilt. Tip-off from Nashville is set for 7:30pm CT and the game will be televised via the SEC Network. Good luck to coach Kerm and Rebels hoops! BEAT VANDY! Hotty Toddy!