Mississippi Rebels
SEC (20-12, 11-7)
For a team picked to finish mid-table in the SEC, Ole Miss has had a great season. After an overtime loss to Charleston Southern to open the campaign, the Rebels ended up with quality non-conference wins over Creighton, Cincinnati and Oregon. They began SEC play by taking Kentucky to overtime and played everybody else in the conference very tough.
Big Wins: 11/29 vs Cincinnati (66-54), 12/7 at Oregon (79-73), 1/17 at Arkansas (96-82)
Bad Losses: 11/14 Charleston Southern (65-66), 12/4 TCU (54-66), 12/13 Western Kentucky (74-81)
Coach: Andy Kennedy
Why They Can Surprise:
Stefan Moody has made a huge impact on this team. The former guard at Florida Atlantic spent last year at the junior college level before landing in Oxford. The 5-10 junior leads the team with 16.3 points per game and is an amazing scorer from everywhere on the floor. He can knock down three-pointers, but also attacks the basket very effectively against bigger opponents. Even when Moody cannot finish in the paint, he often ends up at the charity stripe and that is basically an automatic two points. Fellow guards Jarvis Summers and Ladarius White are also double digit scorers. Summers’ scoring has taken a step back this year with Moody taking many of the big shots, but Summers can score 20 or more points when he gets the opportunity.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Rebels frontcourt is underappreciated, but effective. Overall, this is a good rebounding team and while wing Martavious Newby deserves much of the credit for the team’s effectiveness on the glass, the frontcourt certainly does their part too. Sebastian Saiz and M.J. Rhett are the regular starters and both can do some scoring around the basket. Coach Andy Kennedy also has Dwight Coleby, Aaron Jones and Anthony Perez to provide solid depth. Mississippi is a team that relies heavily on their guards to knock down shots. Moody and Summers may be able to attack the basket effectively, but that is not easy to do if shots are not falling from the outside. In their three February conference losses, Ole Miss shot a combined 15-of-63 from three-point territory. When the numbers are similar to that, the Rebels will be heading home from postseason play.
Probable Starters:
Jarvis Summers, Senior, Guard, 12.4 ppg, 4.6 apg
Stefan Moody, Junior, Guard, 16.3 ppg, 2.2 apg, 1.8 spg
Martavious Newby, Junior, Guard, 3.7 ppg, 1.4 apg, 5.0 rpg
Sebastian Saiz, Sophomore, Forward, 7.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg
M.J. Rhett, Senior, Forward, 6.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Dwight Coleby, Sophomore, Center, 5.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Aaron Jones, Senior, Forward, 3.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Anthony Perez, Junior, Forward, 2.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Terence Smith, Senior, Guard, 4.1 ppg, 1.8 apg
LaDarius White, Senior, Guard, 11.2 ppg, 1.2 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.1 (48th in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.7 (212, 11)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.0 (204, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.3 (66, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.5 (163, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.8 (199, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 77.7 (3, 1)
Rebound Margin: 2.5 (97, 6)
Assists Per Game: 12.9 (154, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.0 (42, 2)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2013 NCAA Second Round win over Wisconsin
2013 NCAA Third Round loss to LaSalle
2012 NIT First round loss to Illinois State
2011 NIT First Round loss to California
2010 NIT First Round win over Troy
2010 NIT Second Round win over Memphis
2010 NIT Quarterfinal win over Texas Tech
2010 NIT Semifinal loss to Dayton
2008 NIT First Round win over UC Santa Barbara
2008 NIT Second Round win over Nebraska
2008 NIT Quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech
2008 NIT Semifinal loss to Ohio State
2007 NIT First Round win over Appalachian State
2007 NIT Second Round loss to Clemson
2002 NCAA Round of 64 loss to UCLA
*all team stats through 3/8
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
