On3 Things to Know: Ole Miss continues road trip with stop at Georgia

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team is still on the road and still trying to salvage what is left of its season. A trip to the postseason seems out of the cards with the way conference play has gone, but now it is all about trying to find wins.

Another win slipped out of Ole Miss’ hands this past weekend in its loss at Vanderbilt, putting the current losing streak at five games and counting.

Since defeating South Carolina in Columbia last month the Rebels have not been able to put another win together. The next try comes on Tuesday in Athens when Ole Miss takes on Georgia.

The latest culprit to the string of losses is lapses in games where Ole Miss either goes cold on offense or the defense is unable to prevent the high percentage shots. Sometimes it is a combination of both.

“Just the things that we’ve seen on tape in those minute and a half stretches kind of came to life again,” said head coach Kermit Davis after Saturday’s game.

Lets take a closer look at the upcoming matchup, with game notes provided by Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGIA

Ole Miss and Georgia face off on the court for the second time this season, and 124th time overall, with the Bulldogs owning a 77-46 all-time lead in the series. In Athens, Georgia leads the series 42-15 and are 6-4 over the last ten meetings.

After winning the first game of the year in January in Oxford, the Rebels still hold an all-time lead at home 28-25. With the four-point loss for Ole Miss last month, the Rebels and Bulldogs are now tied at four wins each under head coach Kermit Davis.

LAST MEETING: JANUARY 14, 2023 (L, 58-62, OXFORD, MISS.)

• Georgia took a one-point lead into halftime, holding the Rebels off in the final minutes of play after closing out with a 10-2 run.
• The Rebels were led offensively by Matthew Murrell, who finished with 13 points and made a pair of threes for his eighth game of the year (at the time) with multiple makes from deep.
• Amaree Abram added 12 points after getting his 12th start of the season, with he and Murrell combining for nine assists, as Abram tied his season-high with five and Murrell dished out four.
• Kario Oquendo led Georgia in scoring with 15 points, while Terry Roberts scored 14 to go with seven rebounds and five assists.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

Georgia enters their game with the Rebels owning a 14-9 record, having gone 4-6 in conference thus far. After opening SEC play with a 76-64 win over Auburn at home, they fell to Florida on the road 82-75 before defeating Mississippi State 58-50 in Athens. Defeating the Rebels in Oxford, Georgia went on to fall to Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Tennessee before picking up a win over South Carolina. Their previous two games have resulted in a pair of losses to Auburn and Texas A&M.

Georgia ranks among some of the best in college basketball in three-point field goal defense, holding their opposition to 30.3 percent this year (No. 37 NCAA, No. 4 SEC). The Bulldogs have excelled at getting to the charity stripe this season, ranking No. 37 in the NCAA as well in free throw attempts per game (21.4), and No. 32 nationally in free throws made per game (15.7). They rank among the top-100 in the country as well in rebounds per game (37.5, No. 57 in NCAA), bench points per game (24.2, No. 61 in NCAA), offensive rebounds per game (11.7, No. 66 in NCAA), and fouls per game (15.6, No. 76 in NCAA).

Terry Roberts leads Georgia in scoring at 15.0 points per game, the eighth-best clip in the SEC, and ranks fourth in the conference with 4.2 assists per game. In conference games, Roberts ranks third in points per game (16.1) and sixth in assists per game (4.0).

First-year head coach Mike White leads the Bulldogs after spending the previous seven seasons at Florida where he compiled a 142-88 record. He got his first head coaching job at Louisiana Tech in 2011, where he coached for four years and led the Bulldogs to a 101-40 record. Prior to entering the head coaching ranks, White spent seven seasons as an assistant for the Ole Miss program under head coaches Rod Barnes and Andy Kennedy. A graduate of Ole Miss himself, White was a four-year starter for the Rebels basketball team, helping them win two SEC West titles and a trio of NCAA Tournament berths. His 370 career assists rank as the seventh-most in school history, after leading the team in assists per game all four of his seasons on campus.

MB2K

Myles Burns brought 1,852 points to Oxford from his four-time NAIA All-American career at Loyola New Orleans, and surpassed the 2,000-career points mark on February 4 at Vanderbilt with a dunk on an alley-oop. If his NAIA stats transferred to the NCAA, he would be one of just five active players across all divisions in college basketball with at least 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Other active student-athletes with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds are Jayden Gardner (Virginia), KJ Williams (LSU), Kevin Obanor (Texas Tech), and Jordan Janssen (Wayne St. (NE)).

Burns would also be just one of three active players across all divisions with at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 100 steals, and 100 blocks in their career. Janssen of Wayne St. (NE) and Williams of LSU would be the only other active members of that club.

BLOCK PARTY

The Ole Miss defense currently averages 68.0 points allowed per game, only letting their opponents top 70 points seven times this year. A major part of their defensive identity has been enforcing the paint, as the Rebels rank 38th in the country in blocks per game (4.6). They are led down low by senior transfers Theo Akwuba (28 total blocks, 1.2 per game) and Jayveous McKinnis (26 total blocks, 1.2 per game).

On January 3 at No. 7 Alabama, Akwuba and McKinnis combined for seven blocks, with Akwuba’s four bringing his collegiate career total to 200 (now at 210). He and McKinnis (258 career blocks) are the only two teammates in college basketball with over 200 swats in their careers, and each rank among the top-10 in active career leaders.

ANOTHER ONE

With an average of 12.3 offensive rebounds per game, the Rebels have been among the best in the country in earning second chances on the glass, currently ranking 39th in the nation. The team is led by senior transfer Myles Burns with 51 offensive rebounds (2.2 per game).