Ole Miss Basketball: Rebels travel to Starkville and get big win

Jan 19, 2021; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Iverson Molinar (1) shoots against Mississippi Rebels guard Jarkel Joiner (24) during the first half at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 19, 2021; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Iverson Molinar (1) shoots against Mississippi Rebels guard Jarkel Joiner (24) during the first half at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball traveled to Starkville Tuesday night and found their second SEC win of the 2020-21 basketball season.

Ole Miss basketball (7-6, 2-4) had played twelve games before taking the court in Humphrey Coliseum Tuesday night. The Rebels started strong in the 2020-21 college basketball season.  Where the Rebels won five of their first six games with tremendous defense, the Rebels had lost five of their last six games. Mainly because of the lack of defense. This wasn’t the case Tuesday night.

Coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels entered Starkville and knocked off the Miss State Bulldogs (9-6, 4-3) in a rivalry showdown. The 64-46 SEC win came on the heels of a strong defense and hot shooting by the Rebels. The Bulldogs took an early lead but the Rebels quickly took the lead and never looked back. The Rebels were ahead 29-21 at the break. The second half was more of the same as the Rebels outscored the Bulldogs 35-25. OHT takes a closer look at the huge SEC win by the numbers.

By The Numbers

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As a team, the Rebels shot 45.6% from the field hitting 26 of 57 of their shots. From beyond the arc, the Rebels hit 27.8% of their shots going 5 of 18 from 3-point range. Ole Miss was 7 of 8 from the charity stripe hitting 7 of 8 of their shots.

In comparison, the Bulldogs shot just 34.6% from the field making just 18 of 52 of their shots. From 3-point range, the Bulldogs went 4 of 14 or 28.6%. Miss State was 6 of 10 from the free-throw line hitting just 60% of their shots.

The Rebels starting five were good for 51 of the team’s 64 points with the bench adding 13 points. Leading all Rebels was Davontae Shuler who had 22 points. Shuler also had 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 assist.

Behind Shuler was Jarkel Joiner who added 12 points with 5 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocked shots. KJ Buffen followed with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot. Luis Rodriguez added 6 points with 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocked shot, and 1 assist. Rounding out the scoring for the starters was Romello White with 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot.

Off the bench, Dimencio Vaughn had 7 points, 3 boards, and 1 steal. Khadim Sy, Matthew Murrell, and Robert Allen each added 2 points. Sy had 5 rebounds and 1 assist while Allen had 1 board.

The win over Miss State was huge for Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball. The win could be the turnaround the Rebels needed with only eleven games left in the regular season before the beginning of the SEC Tournament on March 10.

Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball will be back in action Saturday, January 23 when they host the Texas A&M Aggies (7-5, 2-4) in Oxford at The Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 2:30 pm CT and the game will be televised via the SEC Network. Good luck to coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels. Stay safe and always Hoddy Toddy!