December 21, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Tigers guard PJ Haggerty (4) drives toward the basket in the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Image Ole Miss carries an 11-1 record heading into Saturday’s pre-conference finale in Memphis.
The 16th-ranked Rebels have won five straight since losing by two points to then-No. 13 Purdue late last month was its only blemish to date.
Ole Miss didn’t have its best performance in its most recent game, an 80-62 win over Queens last Saturday, but the result showcased the versatility the Rebels have developed as they build on Southeastern Conference play.
Three-point shooting has been an important part of the team’s success, but the Rebels performed subpar against Queens. They are sixth in the SEC in both 3-pointers made per game (9.4) and 3-point percentage (36.3%), but they made 7 of 27 (25.9%) against Queens.
“How do you win a basketball game on a bad shooting night?” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said: “We need to find another category.”
For the Rebels, that category was field goal attempts. They made 14 more shots and made 8 more field goals than the Royals. Ball security was key to this advantage, as Ole Miss committed just eight turnovers to Queens’ 21. The Rebels averaged 10.4 steals per game (tied for 8th in the country) and had 11 stolen bases.
“It gave us more shots than our opponents,” Beard said of the consistent ball handling.
When 3-pointers failed to fall, Ole Miss started to get the ball inside and finished with a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint.
“That kind of opened up opportunities for us,” said guard Sean Pedulla, who led the Rebels with 25 points and made 9 of 14 field goal attempts.
Ole Miss knows it won’t be easy to overcome certain weaknesses against Memphis (9-3) or when SEC play begins next week.
The Tigers play their final preleague game before beginning American Athletic Conference play next week. They lost 79-66 at home against Mississippi State on December 21.
Back-to-back games against SEC teams come after a non-conference schedule that includes Missouri, UConn, Michigan State, Auburn, Clemson and Virginia. The Tigers are 5-2 against power conference foes.
“We asked for this schedule,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. “We’re going to have to deal with it.”
“This loss isn’t going to define who we are because it was about the whole season,” Hardaway said, as he did after previous losses to Auburn and Arkansas State.
But he said one disappointment in the loss to Mississippi State was “I didn’t feel like we fought as hard as we could have. … We’ve got to continue to grow and learn from every game we get.” lose.”
Memphis ranks 10th in the country in 3-point accuracy (40.5 percent), but the Tigers have shot just 26 percent (13 of 50) from long range over the past two games.
As the Tigers try to finalize their rotations and roles heading into conference play, Hardaway acknowledged, “We’re playing a few guys for minutes.”
Eight Memphis players are recording double-digit playing time. The team’s top three scorers, PJ Hagerty (22.5 points per game), Tyrese Hunter (15.9 points), and Colby Rodgers (11.6 points), are averaging 37.0 minutes, 35.3 minutes, and 31.8 minutes, respectively.
–Field level media
