Ole Miss Baketball: Rebels edge past Alabama St. in season opener

Last night welcomed Ole Miss basketball back to The Pavilion, in what turned out to be a good night for Chris Beard and his new staff in the season opener. Ole Miss basketball took down Alabama St. 69-59 for the first victory of the Chris Beard Era in Oxford, Mississippi.

While it was a 10 point game at the end of regulation, the game was very much back and forth for the entirety of the first half and most of the second half. The first half of the game looked like the first game of the season for both teams.

Ole Miss especially struggled offensively in the first half, when they shot 34% from the field and 20% from the three point line. They did play very well defensively though, mainly giving up baskets in transition.

The start of the second half was more of the same, poor offensive play coupled with outstanding defense. The Hornets and Rebels were trading baskets all game, until sophomore TJ Caldwell hit two 3s in a matter of seconds at the 12 minute mark, giving Ole Miss their first substantial lead of the game. After Caldwell hit those threes, the Rebels went on a 10-2 run and never looked back.

In addition, Chris Beard made some rotation changes in the second half, going much smaller than they did in the first, and it clearly worked. They were able to more easily defend the Hornet’s smaller line-up and get out in transition.

Outside of TJ Caldwell’s career high 15 point outing in the 2nd half, Ole Miss got some outstanding performances from Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan, and returning starter Matthew Murrell. As Auburn’s second leading rebounder and most improved scorer last year, Flanigan is only getting better after posting 15 pts, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals. This is going to be his first of many double doubles this year.

Matthew Murrell led the team with 16 points. He scored most of his points in the first half, while giving Ole Miss much needed offense when it was extremely sparse in the first half. However, he looked as if he was forcing some shots in the 2nd, only scoring 4 points.

Some other notable performances, Jamarion Sharp recorded 4 blocks and 2 steals. He will be a monster on the defensive end all season long. Jaylen Murray, the Saint Peter’s transfer, recorded 15 points tonight as he was the fourth Rebel in double figures.

While Ole Miss did win the season opener, some of the other statistics were not as pretty as Coach Beard would have liked. Three point shooting is still a struggle in this game, just as it was in the exhibition last week against Tusculum. The Rebels went 7-29 and shot 24% from three. Caldwell hit the timely 3s when he needed to, otherwise it was a very shaky night from outside the arc.

Another stat that Chris Beard will want to forget is the free throw shooting. Ole Miss missed 13 free throws and went 12-25 from the line. The 48% from the charity strike is not a great start for this team. That will definitely need to change as the Rebels start to play some tougher competition in non-conference games.

All in all, a good performance by the Rebel’s on opening night. It will take time for this team to gel offensively and get comfortable with one another. The Rebel’s starting line-up tonight consisted of three transfers, with Chris Beard preaching patience all preseason.

The Alabama St. win is just the first step for this team, and the first step in a new direction for Ole Miss Hoops in the season opener.

Catch the Rebel’s again on Friday night as they take on Eastern Washington at 7pm on SEC Network +.