Ole Miss women's basketball off to another fast start after wrapping up non-conference slate
For a second straight season the Ole Miss women’s basketball team is trending upward heading into January and the Southeastern Conference schedule.
A pretty red and blue bow was put on Ole Miss’ non-conference slate with a 75-55 win over Temple on the road on Wednesday, sending the Rebels home happy for the holiday break.
The win gave Ole Miss at least 11 non-conference wins for a second straight season and the 11-2 start is the second best start under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. The Rebels went 12-1 in last season’s non-conference schedule, not dropping a game after the opening loss to Belmont.
In Wednesday’s win Ole Miss had four different scorers finish in double figures. Taya Singleton and Madison Scott each finished with 16 points, Angel Baker scored 14 and Marquesha Davis chipped in 10.
The result is a microcosm of how balanced the scoring has been for the Rebels. Through 13 games Baker, Scott and Snudda Collins are all averaging double digits per game with Baker leading the way with nearly 14 points a night.
“I don’t know that we’re a high-powered offensive team. We just know how to win games,” McCuin said after the win over McNeese State last week. “Most times we do that by defending at a high level. …We’re not known for our offense because we don’t try to score 100 points, but we can score.”
The lack of a need to try and hit triple digits on the scoreboard every game is due to the fact Ole Miss’ defense is holding opponents to less than 54 points per game while they are averaging just over 73 points.
Another fast start has once again put Ole Miss back into a favorable position when it comes to NCAA Tournament bracketology.
In the lastest bracketology update by ESPN’s Charlie Creme, Ole Miss is currently a 10 Seed in the Greenville Region and would play 7 Seed Villanova Blacksburg, Va.
The Rebels have been a consistent 10 Seed in all of the early season bracket projections put out by Creme. The other key numbers that helps build a resume worthy of playing on in March also help out Ole Miss.
Entering Wednesday Ole Miss has a NET ranking of 51, which should stay steady or increase some after the rest of the day’s action is over. Plenty of chances to improve that ranking await the Rebels with the start of Southeastern Conference play with all but Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M sitting inside the Top 100.
The Rebels RPI number could be a little better but is sitting at 92 after the win over Temple.
Earlier in the non-conference slate McCuin noted she was still trying to figure her team out and that she did not expect them to be playing their best basketball until February. With a month between now and then, with nothing but SEC opponents awaiting, it will be a tough task to keep the season on the current upward trajectory it is on.
Ole Miss opens up SEC play on Dec. 29 when it hosts Auburn (10-2) at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+
