Mississippi is a real interesting team. I realize that i say that a lot I do an analysis, but it is said because I really did not know as much as I thought about our opponents before doing these type of post. It has really made this conference even more interesting, and I feel like a much more knowledgeable fan than I was before. Anyways, this really is an interesting case. The Rebels are sitting at the middle of the conference, struggling to grab a big win (especially on the road) but are probably really looking forward to this game at their home court. And that makes this game a little more threatening than before, and our guys need to be ready for the test. I feel we are pretty superior to the Rebels after doing a little analysis, but the fact remains that we are going on the road to face a hungry squad. And that is never easy. Mississippi is also one of the biggest teams (in terms of size) in the nation, which puts some added pressure on Lance Goulbourne and Festus Ezeli. I think they we can handle it though. And this is why.
Ole Miss is a mess on the offensive end of the court. Seriously, it looks as if they have no sense of offensive flow and lack any type of gameplan at all. Never have I seen a team favor so many one-on-one situations, which is even more odd considering they really have no terrific offensive threat. Silly turnovers are commonplace and the only design they show at all is a little post-up game from time to time. Other than that, they seem to rely heavily on their players’ ability to create offensively. And they lack any dependable three-point shooters as well. Against our defense, this looks pretty good for us. Terrence Henry, the best one-on-one threat for his team, will more than likely be matched up with on of the best defenders in the league. Moreover, their occasional post game should be handled by Festus pretty well. And even if things were not going that way in the paint, a little zone defense from us should cover the court quite nicely given the poor outside shooting of Mississippi. Also favorable for us is the fact that the Rebels do not do a lot of things in the fastbreak. And finally, they cannot hit free throws to save their life. I was really a lot more worried about this game before I witnessed the Ole Miss offense.
My analysis did not show great defense either. However, this is something that could have been a fluke. I just think it is unreasonable to think so lowly of both their defense and offense while they are sitting at fifth in the conference. Still, my finger tips cannot help but report the things I saw. Mississippi used a lot of both man defense and zone, neither of which were really effective on a consistent basis. Ole Miss was just losing hot shooters like Rodney Hood and Jalen Steele open time and time again. Dee Bost caused the defense to collapse many times, and he would simply kick it out to his shooters. Or they would swing the ball around against the zone until they found a shooter. I could not believe that Ole Miss was just sitting their in their 2-3 zone while facing three players who could easily hit the three-point shot. No way they try that against us, because Mississippi State exposed it time and time again, and we have three starters who can hit threes even better that the Bulldogs players. So it will be up to one of our perimeter players to collapse the defense with a little driving and kicking. I did notice that Ole Miss had some good on-ball defenders but their repeated mistakes off the ball really killed them. Also, they seemed a little slow and unaware getting down the court when Mississippi State was running. Maybe we can expose that as well. Really though, my expectations are that they play better defense that what I witnessed while analyzing. It was not really a talent issue, but dumb mistakes just kept on being repeated. They will pay if that continues when John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor come to town.
My guess is Ole Miss cleans up some of these things, along with possibly some offensive flaws, in preparation for this big home game. Otherwise, we should not have much of a problem outscoring them. Still, they are an outstanding rebounding team. I am a little less worried than I would normally be just because our big guys look good against Kentucky over the weekend, and Lance Goulbourne had such a dominant game against them last season, but it will still be a huge part of the game. If we can somehow win there, then we could really be talking about a controlling game. Now for the player breakdowns.
Terrance Henry is the star for the Rebels in a lot of ways. He has a pretty diverse scoring arsenal and has confidence in basically every shot he takes. He has had two poor games in a row (which partially explains my analysis of the offense) but it is clear that the talent is there. Remember he did score double-digit points in the five games before his cold stretch. Henry can take players off the dribble in multiple ways, both with a step back jumpshot and a finishing move at the rim. He also does not mind taking a step up three-point shot, but he really does not hit it too well. It would be in the best interest of his team to persuade him away from taking that shot, but they need the offense and I doubt anyone is telling him not to shoot it. Henry is a really big guy playing the three spot, but he should have his hands full with Jeffery Taylor anytime he is matched up with our star player. He is like Taylor in a sense though, because he is a stellar defender that is almost always asked to guard the opposing star. So we should see him going head to head with JT for most of the game, which should be fun to watch.
Murphy Holloway is another fine player for the Rebels. He has great footwork when posting-up and sometimes defenders just get lost when trying to keep up with his moves. Holloway is not really a fantastic scorer in my eyes, but he preforms well with the opportunities he has on offense. What he really excels at is rebounding, and he averages a near double-double. I know I have said this already, but they are great rebounders as a team. Hopefully our guys in the paint can control the boards, because that is really how Ole Miss wins games and stays at fifth in the conference.
Reggie Buckner is the last big man for the Rebels. He, much like his teammate above, is a great rebounder. It would be those two that are going to grab a bulk of the boards. Buckner has a decent post game as well, and showed some solid up-and-under moves against the post defense of Mississippi State. Still, he does not have the footwork of his teammate in my eyes. Buckner is also a terrible free throw shooter, which is pretty common on this team. He also allows some awful defensive positioning from time to time. It is almost as if he is not paying attention, and just allow his opposition to get in front of him without him really taking much notice until after a score. I do not know if that is a consistent problem, but I certainly saw it my analysis. Festus will be trouble for the Rebels if that keeps up. He is certainly not bad at all facets of defense though, and is a tremendous blocker and can punish an over-confident offensive player when they drive to the basket.
Nick Williams has been a big scorer of late. He has only had one single-digit game in his last eight outings and has a very wide range of techniques to get his buckets. Williams is basically the only guy willing to take multiple three-point shots for his team right now, even if he does not hit them too well. He also attempts mid-range shots, floaters, or even layups to get his points in the box scorer. He certainly has the mentality of a scorer, and we have to keep an eye on him to make sure he does not get hot. He is also a fair rebounder, and contributes to the large rebounding stats his team puts up from time to time.
Jarvis Summers runs point for Ole Miss. He is one of the few players with good court vision on the team, and he is pretty efficient when attracting defenders and then throwing the lob to one of his big teammates. He can drive to the basket himself as well, but he does not finish well enough to be a big threat there. Same goes for his shooting, as he can knock down an open jumper easily but is just not a big creator for himself. He does not mind attempting a mid-range jumper or floater though when his team needs scoring though. Summers is a decent freshman point guard, but nothing too spectacular.
Jelan Kendrick will get a lot minutes off the bench. He is not really a pure point guard by any means, but he will probably see a good amount of time running the team due to his ball handling skills. He is a decent player but he shoots way too much for his own good (or the good of the team). Moreover, he cannot shoot a three or even a free throw with any consistency. He is pretty decent on-ball defender though and is the type of player that could have a double-digit game because he shoots a lot. He is a former McDonald’s All-American and transfer from Memphis. He has a lot of skill, but just has not progressed as much as expected. Ladarius White, a freshman guard, will see some minutes too but probably not enough to make much noise. He really shoots way too much as well. And you wonder why I think their offense is so poor.
Ole Miss is a decent team that does few things pretty well. However, they are simply not complete enough to compete with us at this point in the season. We should be able to handle these guys and their unproductive offense, regardless of if they are good rebounders or not. No way I expect our guys to drop this one after playing so hard this past weekend. I think our team is now on a mission to close out the season strong. And please, my fellow fans, show some love for your team and do not be one of those haters (sorry for lack of better word) that I see in the forums. Come on, you guys are Open Dores readers. You’re better than that.
This one took way, way, way too long to write. I probably made multiple mistakes because it is late and I am tired. Hope you enjoyed it anyways.
Go ‘Dores!
