Coach Kermit Davis and No.20 Ole Miss basketball tipped off Saturday against No.24 Iowa State in the SEC/Big12 Challenge and found the going tough.
No.20 Ole Miss basketball was back in action Saturday as they hosted No.24 Iowa State in the SEC/Big12 Challenge. Coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels were coming off a ugly 21 point SEC road loss to Alabama while No.24 Iowa State entered the matchup coming off their own loss to Big12 foe Kansas.
Both teams were hoping to bounce back in this game but Iowa State proved to be way too much for the Rebels. The Cyclones started the game hot and took a 43-38 lead into the locker room at the half. The second half Iowa State moved away from the Rebels and ultimately took the first game 87-73 in the SEC/Big12 Challenge. We can look at the game by the numbers.
By The Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels
Naturally when we look at loss by the numbers it is never pleasant but the stats tell the story so we look at the numbers. As a team the Rebels shot 25 of 69 from the field for .362 opposed to the Cyclones being on fire for 38 of 55 shots for a whopping .691 of their shots.
From beyond the arc the Rebels went 8 of 24 for .333 while the Cyclones shot 8 of 15 for .533 from 3-point distance. At the free throw line the Rebels shot 15 of 17 for .882 while Iowa State shot 3 of 4 for .750 from the charity stripe.
Defensively the Rebels were out-rebounded 34-28 by the Cyclones. The Rebels created 19 Iowa State turnovers in the game while only turning the ball over 8 times themselves. The Rebels had 8 steals in the game while the Cyclones had just 1.
Individual Rebels Numbers
In the game against the No.24 team in the nation there were four Rebels who scored in double-digits. Leading all Rebels was junior Breein Tyree who had 22 points. Tyree also had 1 assist and 1 steal. Senior Terence Davis added 16 points while also pulling 6 boards and getting 4 assists an 2 steals. Freshman Blake Hinson had 13 points to go with 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Sophomore Devontae Shuler added 10 points with 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
Observations
After having watched the Rebels this season and especially in Saturday’s loss to No.24 Iowa State there is one obvious flaw. Ole Miss has been exposed in the paint in every loss. This was a game in which four Rebels scored in double-digits and had only 8 turnovers in the game which is all you can ask a team to do offensively against the 24th team in the nation.
However, there is an obvious issue when you create 19 turnovers in a game and lose. The Rebels did well on offense but didn’t take advantage of Iowa State turnovers and should have done much better. The Rebels significantly decreased the mistake and turnovers but didn’t make their shots count against the Cyclones.
Coach Kermit Davis is a very good coach and the Rebels have a very good team despite the past two consecutive losses. Plus there are a lot of games left to be played this season. The Rebels will be back in action Wednesday night as they travel to face Florida. Please be sure to check back here for the OHT Ole Miss/Florida preview which is coming soon. Also please be sure to visit and like the OHT Facebook page or follow us on Twitter. Hotty Toddy!