Headlines
In-State Rivals Meets in Atlanta for SEC Tourney
The Ole Miss Rebel basketball team looks to defend their SEC tournament crown, entering the 2014 tourney at No. 6. The Rebels take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 8:30 p.m. tonight.
Ole Miss (18-13, 9-9 SEC) comes to Atlanta after defeating Vanderbilt 65-62 at home on Senior Day to close out the regular season last weekend. Senior Marshall Henderson scored 18 points against the Commodores.
Henderson and Jarvis Summers were both named to the All-SEC Second Team on Tuesday. The Rebels now have a total of 14 All-SEC selections in eight straight years, which is tied for third most in the conference, behind Florida and Kentucky.
In a press conference Wednesday, Henderson talked about how he has prepared for the tournament:
“Just shoot a lot of shots,” Henderson said. “I got in there last the couple days and have put up about 400, 500 a day. Makes. Not counting the misses. So just trying to get it to where the ball is just going right on in.”
Ole Miss’ head coach, Andy Kennedy, moved past Billy Donovan and Wimp Sanderson for third most wins by a head coach in their first eight seasons. Senior Day was win 170 for Kennedy.
“We know what we have got to do. We just got to go out and perform,” said Kennedy of his time playing Mississippi State tonight.
Mississippi State (14-18, 3-15 SEC) advanced to the second round of the tournament by defeating Vanderbilt 82-68. Sophomore guard, Craig Sword, led the way with 20 points.
On the season, the Bulldogs average 67.8 points per game, 262nd in the nation.
The Rebels’ most-played opponent is their in-state rival Mississippi State. They have faced off 249 times. Ole Miss and State have split the last three season series.
In the SEC Tournament, the Rebels have a 29-49 overall record in 52 appearances. Ole Miss appeared in the championship game on five occasions, winning twice.
Fans can watch all the action of the game tonight on SEC-TV (channel 8 on MetroCast)(channel 30 DirectTV) or listen to the play-by-play on the Ole Miss Radio Network. Tip-of is set for 8:30p.m.
—Adam Brown, Sports Editor of HottyToddy.com adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
You must be logged in to post a comment Login