Three observations from Ole Miss basketball's 75-51 win over Rider
Ole Miss basketball defeated Rider 75-51 on Tuesday to move to 5-2 on the season. Rider fell to 3-6. Here is what we learned.
Defense and rebounding rounding into form
It was a historic nice on the court for the Rebels in the rebounding category. They pulled down 57 against the Broncs. That is the most by a Rebel team since Ole Miss had 64 against Troy in 2007.
Establishing a presence underneath the basket is going to crucial for this particular team that seems to struggle to score consistently. Getting second chance, or even a third chance, on offense will be valuable in the tougher games.
The ability to impose their will on defense, leading to more rebounds is something head coach Kermit Davis has been working with the team on and Tuesday might have been the beginning of that taking shape.
“I’ve just been harping, harping. Doing rebound drills,” Davis said. “I thought (Nysier Brooks) was a big part of that and we just finished a lot of possessions.”
Brooks had a career night as well, pulling down 15 rebounds on his own. That is the most by a Rebel in a game since Sebastian Saiz recorded 15 boards against Georgia Tech in the 2017 NIT.
Limiting turnovers must continue
The Rebels turned the ball over 13 times on Tuesday, which is not a high number but certainly one that must stay low as the schedule shifts to conference play.
On the season, the Rebels are turning it over an average of 11 times a game. So, getting Tuesday’s number well below the season average ahead of a ranked Memphis coming to Oxford is a solid step in the right direction.
Entering Wednesday’s game at Georgia, the Tigers are averaging over 20 turnovers a game. The Rebels forced 11 turnovers against Rider.
“That’s one thing that we have done since June, we have taken care of the ball. Knock on wood,” Davis said. “We’ve been safe with it, a little careless at times tonight. You’ve got to get Memphis in the half court offense.”
A potential third shooter emerging
Through the first seven games the need for consistent offense has been preached about and realized as a major necessity for this Ole Miss team to succeed this season.
Jarkel Joiner and Austin Crowley have provided spurts of offense but beyond either of them getting hot the third option and beyond is a surprise any given night.
A third consistent option could be Matthew Murrell. The sophomore scored 14 points against Rider, the second most on the team, and is starting to potentially find a groove on offense.
Murrell nearly doubled his season total of 31 points on Tuesday and bumped his season average up to nearly 6.5 points per game.
“That’s great. We need that from Matt,” Davis said. “Obviously, I thought he shot the ball with confidence. He drove the ball, got himself to the free throw line. We all know how athletic he his at the rim. We need that, for sure.”
