Ole Miss seeks rebound from road loss, faces Middle Tennessee
Dec 4, 2021; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Kermit Davis reacts to a call during the second half against the Memphis Tigers at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports
Ole Miss will try to bounce back from a loss away from home, while Middle Tennessee will try to build on the momentum of a long-awaited road win when the two teams meet for a nonconference game Wednesday night in Oxford, Miss.
Ole Miss (6-3) had won three games in a row before losing to Western Kentucky 71-48 last Saturday in Atlanta.
The Rebels shot 27.4 percent from the floor against the Hilltoppers' zone defense.
"We ran everything we could possibly run against the zone but couldn't make any plays against it," Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. "That affected our defense. But they beat us in-line, out-of-bounds. Every facet of basketball they beat us."
Western Kentucky outscored the Rebels 38-12 in the paint and Ole Miss finished 7-for-27 on 3-pointers.
The Rebels, who had averaged almost 72 points during their three-game winning streak, saw WKU go on a 18-2 run to lead by as many as 18 points in the first half and hold a 34-19 halftime lead.
"We're going to go back to square one," Davis said. "That's all we can do and that's all I know how."
Ole Miss is beginning a four-game homestand against a Blue Raiders team coming off their first road victory since Feb. 22, 2020. MTSU (8-2) defeated UT Martin 84-75 last Saturday, snapping a 12-game road losing streak.
"It's nice to get one on the road," Blue Raiders coach Nick McDevitt said. "Obviously, we can handle some things a little better in the last two or three minutes so it doesn't get so hairy, but (we're) happy to get out of here with a win nonetheless."
Eli Lawrence led MTSU with a season-high 21 points, making seven of nine field-goal attempts. Donovan Sims and DeAndre Dishman scored 15 each.
MTSU saw a 13-point second-half lead shrink to three with three minutes remaining in the game, but Lawrence scored six of the Blue Raiders' final 10 points while UTM scored just four points.