Ole Miss Set To Face Georgia In the SEC Tourney Quarterfinals

The Ole Miss Rebels find themselves advancing in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, after defeating Mississippi State by 78-66 on Thursday. Ole Miss takes on the Georgia Bulldogs this evening in Atlanta.

Ole Miss (19-13, 9-9 SEC) shot lights out in the second half of the game with Mississippi State to secure the win. Senior Marshall Henderson and junior Jarvis Summers each pulled in 21 points. The Rebels outscored the Bulldogs by a margin of 43-22 in the second half alone.
Coach Andy Kennedy’s squad ended up going on a 24-9 run in the second half to gain a lead and they never looked back.
“It was a tale of two halves. Mississippi State was outstanding out of the gate,” Kennedy said. “It tested our guys’ resolve. I tested them at halftime that if we want to make a change, lets make a change.”
Georgia (18-12, 12-6 SEC) comes to the SEC tournament as the third overall seed and has a bye until today. In their game last Saturday, the Bulldogs defeated LSU 69-61 in Baton Rouge, La. Sophomores Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann lead the Bulldogs, averaging 13.4 points per game, and are the only two players averaging double figures.
As a squad, Georgia leads the conference in field goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just .395 from the field. The Bulldogs have posted a 14-2 mark at home this season, but away from Stegeman Coliseum UGA is 4-10 on the season.
Tonight’s quarterfinal game will be the 109th time that Ole Miss and Georgia have faced each other on the hardwood.  The Bulldogs do own a 67-41 lead margin in the all-time series. Earlier this season, the Rebels dropped a heartbreaking 61-60 decision in Athens, Ga.
After the game versus State, Henderson talked about what it means to be able face Georgia again.
“What I remember is Gaines had a really good game and shot the ball well,” Henderson said. “We had our chances, but we had a couple of bonehead mistakes that cost us in the end. We’re excited to play them again.”
Fans can watch all the action of the game tonight on SEC-TV (channel 8 on MetroCast or channel 30 on 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