Ole Miss Basketball: Rebels Lose Thriller Against Tennessee

Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball were back in action Wednesday night as the Rebels hosted No.7 Tennessee in Oxford.

Ole Miss basketball (19-9, 9-6) was back in action Wednesday night as they faced No.7 Tennessee (25-3, 13-2) in a sold out Pavilion. Coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels entered the matchup coming off a 72-71 home win over Georgia while Tennessee was coming off a 80-82 loss to LSU.

Behind a strong start the Rebels too a 39-34 lead into the locker room at the break. In the second half Tennessee outscored the Rebels 39-32 and picked up the 73-71 win. While many college basketball pundits expected the Rebels to be blown out by the Vols it clearly wasn’t the case Wednesday night. OHT looks at the loss by the numbers.

By The Numbers

Ole Miss Rebels

As a team the Rebels shot just .414 from the field while Tennessee shot .518 from the field. From beyond the arc the Rebels shot .391 while the Vols shot .231 from 3-point distance. At the free throw line the Rebels shot .933 while Tennessee shot .750 from the charity stripe.

Both teams had 32 rebounds in the game with Tennessee creating 10 Rebels turnovers and getting 7 steals. The Rebels created 9 Vols turnovers while getting 5 steals in the game. When we look at the numbers by both teams we see they are indicative of a tough and close game which it was.

Individual Rebels Numbers

Against Tennessee there were four Rebels who scored in double-digits with one Rebel getting a double-double in the game. Leading all Rebels were senior Terence Davis and junior Breein Tyree who both scored 16 points. Davis had 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Tyree had 2 rebounds and 5 assists. Freshman Blake Hinson added 14 points with 3 rebounds. Senior Bruce Stevens got the double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Stevens also had 3 assists.

Observations

While there were some very questionable calls late in the game the Rebels gave the No.7 team in the country all they could handle Wednesday night. When we see the Rebels play the way they are capable of playing they are hard to beat. The Rebels showed strong guard play Wednesday night and they were key in the game. There are now just three games left for coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball to find their twentieth win but the Rebels likely sealed a postseason bid with their performance against Tennessee.

Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball will be back on the road this weekend as they travel to face Arkansas. Please be sure to check back here for the OHT Ole Miss/Arkansas preview coming soon. Hotty Toddy!