Kentucky Basketball Preview – Know Your Enemy: Mississippi Rebels
By Paul Jordan
GAME 21
FEBRUARY 1, 2011 – 7 PM
MISSISSIPPI REBELS (13-8) (1-5)
CM “Tad” Smith Coliseum – Oxford, MS
TV – ESPNU
SERIES HISTORY
Kentucky leads 97-12
Recent games
2/2/2010: KENTUCKY 85 Mississippi 75
3/12/2009: KENTUCKY 71 Mississippi 58*
1/27/2009: Mississippi 85 KENTUCKY 80
2/27/2008: KENTUCKY 58 Mississippi 54
1/6/2007: KENTUCKY 68 Mississippi 58
* SEC Tournament
To say that this basketball season for the Ole Miss Rebels has been disappointing would be an understatement. After a slow start to the decade, the Mississippi program had a limited amount of success with three NIT bids in the past four seasons. Things seemed poised to take that step to the next level with a 12-3 start to the season. Conference season has been a nightmare, however as the Rebels lost their first four games and are in last place now with a 1-5 conference mark.
Kentucky has dominated the Rebels seemingly more than any other opponent with a glitzy 89% winning percentage all time. But even with that record, Kentucky has struggled on the road in Oxford. Kentucky is 6-4 in their last 10 road games, so as always, the Bluegrass is on “upset alert” whenever Kentucky takes the trip to Oxford.
THE STARTERS
#12 – G – CHRIS WARREN – SR 5’10 168
18.2 ppg, 3.9 apg, 2.3 rpg
#20 – G – NICK WILLIAMS – SO 6’4 225
7.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.7 apg
#32 – G – ZACH GRAHAM – SR 6’6 218
14 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 apg
#1 – F – TERRANCE HENRY – JR 6’9 205
8.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.4 apg
#2 – F – REGINALD BUCKNER – SO 6’8 233
7.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.7 apg
BACK COURT
Containing Chris Warren is akin to cutting off the head of a snake. Without him, this team is easily a subpar .500 team. Warren brings scoring and senior leadership to this Rebels team. throughout his four career, he has been one of the most consistent players in the SEC and that continues through this season with the Rebels. At just 5’10, Warren can score from all over the court, and the thing is – he does not have to have his three-pointers falling to give you trouble. He’s hitting a respectable 34.8% from beyond the line, but this year he has really upped his FT shooting to 93.9% on the season. He also has a 2.00 A/TO ratio which is a career best. Former Indiana Hoosier Nick Williams is in his first season with the Rebels and he has really been struggling scoring the past 10 games or so. He’s not a bad shot, hitting 45.7% of his FG’s and 39.5% of his treys, but he seems to get lost offensively at times and not take a lot of shots. He’s only averaged about five shots a game over that span. He is a pretty good passer though and an adequate rebounder for a guard. Senior Zach Graham adds more experience to the backcourt and is the second leading scorer. Graham is another consistent scoring threat that can fill it up from anywhere on the court and is prone to having a big game. His 3-point % is down considerably from last year, but he can still get hot and have a big night. Trevor Gaskins has had a couple of 20 point games this season, but his missed three games in the middle of the season and has not been the same player since then. His scoring is dependent on how well he is hitting his treys and he is averaging 34.4% on the season and 8 points a game. Freshman Dundrecous Nelson is a sparkplug off the bench averaging 7 a game and hitting 35.2% of his treys. At just 5’11, I don’t know how effective he can be against Kentucky’s length.
FRONT COURT
Terrance Henry is a banger and likes to mix it up in the post. But the real downside is you don’t know which Henry is going to show up. He is very inconsistent and his last two games show that. He had 13 points and 10 boards versus Tennessee but 5 points and 2 boards versus Tennessee. He is hitting 48.6% of his shots but consider he has had 4-13 and 1-9 nights in his last three games. Like Kentucky’s Terrence, he likes to shoot from outside, but has just a 29.2% on three pointers. He can be a solid player, but I don;’t think he can carry a game on his shoulders. Unlike Henry, Reginald Buckner appears content to root around the post and take what the guards give him. He is very accurate around the goal, hitting 60.4% of his shots but his game translates to only about eight feet from the basket. He can score in bunches and has three double doubles on the season, but his forte seems to be as being the enforcer around the goal. He is constantly in foul trouble with at least four fouls in 8 of the last 10 games and he has fouled out 6 times on the year. Steedman Short (6’9) and DeMarco Cox (6’8) offer minutes and size in the paint but not a lot of scoring at 3.6 and 2.2.
OUTLOOK
The biggest mistake Kentucky can make is to overlook this Rebels team.Warren and Graham have the talent to take over a game and make the oppo
sing team very miserable. And the Rebels have had some respectable losses in the SEC, falling on the road to Florida by just 6 points. he Rebels are a victim in part, to a rough early SEC schedule. Four of their six games have been against the other contenders in the East: Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. They have just played two games in the weaker West division thus far.
The strength of this team is in the backcourt though, and while it is a good backcourt, Kentucky’s is better. The front court of the Rebels is nothing to write home about, so Jones and Harrellson should have pretty good games as well. In most of Kentucky’s losses, the front court has come under siege, and I just don’t see the Rebels giving us a lot of trouble in that area.
That said, this is a team that is literally playing their Super Bowl and realistically needs to win out to contend in the West. The crowd will be nasty and the team will be hyped. If Kentucky can withstand the opening surge by Ole Miss, this can be a relatively drama free game. I think Liggins is going to shut down whoever he is assigned to, leaving Ole Miss just one consistent scorer and that simply will not be enough. It may be closer than we expect, but I think Kentucky should pass this test easily. KENTUCKY 75 Mississippi 64
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