Rebels Look To Build Off Of Tuesday's Win Against Missouri On Saturday

Rebels huddle before their matchup against UT – photo by Paul Keelaghan

The Rebels showed heart and a winning mentality on Tuesday when they overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to defeat Tennessee. Today, Ole Miss will take on the 5-12 Missouri Tigers with a chance to win the third SEC game of the season.

After Rasheed Brooks suffered a seizure early in the second half, the Rebels rallied and played with an intensity we haven’t seen since the start of conference play. Head coach Andy Kennedy spoke after the game about how his team responded to Brooks’ scary moment. 
“We have been challenging them to get out of themselves and focus on others. When something so dramatic occurs, it forces you to stop thinking about missing a free-throw or throwing the ball out of bounds. It put our focus elsewhere. And to our guy’s credit, once we started having a little bit of success, we made plays in the open floor. We got on a spread, and that energy helped us carry on.” 
Terrence Davis had the breakout game that Rebel fans have long awaited, scoring 20 points and adding 11 rebounds. Sebastian Siaz recorded his 12th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The scoring came from every position as Justas Furmanavicius scored 15 points, and was a commanding presence on the defensive end as well. The talented freshman Breein Tyree scored a career-high 15 points and showed the ability to lead the offense from the point guard position. Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes went on to say that Tyree “controlled the whole game.” 
Against UGA and South Carolina, the Rebels couldn’t find a rhythm, but against UT they showed that they could move the ball, find the open man and convert. Shooting 48 percent was a major improvement, and they were able to reduce the number of turnovers to 17, an area that still needs work. 
The Tigers are in search of their first SEC win, currently sitting at 0-5 in the conference. The Tigers lack a high-powered offense, averaging under 70 PPG, but they have been able to keep opposing teams to 70 points. Leading scorer Kevin Puryear averages just 10.9 PPG. 
Tip-off from Columbia, MO is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The game can be seen on the SEC Network, and heard on the Ole Miss Radio Network. Also carrying the broadcast is WatchESPN.com and OleMissSports.com. 

Steven Gagliano is a writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at steven.gagliano@hottytoddy.com. 
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