OXFORD- The Ole Miss Rebel men's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss in Columbia, South Carolina Tuesday as they lost 79-73 to the reeling Gamecocks. The Rebels have lost two of their last three games to sub-par teams, who will most likely not be looking at post season birth. I spoke with Rebel freshman, Demarco Cox, after Saturday's loss in Starkville and all he could muster was: "We must finish. We can't advance unless we finish. It's that simple."
The Rebels finish the SEC regular season with three crucial games as far as standings go in the shaky Western Division and for positions in the conference tournament starting March 10 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Rebels host the SEC West leading Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday who have had an impressive SEC season despite starting the non-conference off poorly. The Tide are 11-2 in conference play and defeated the Rebels soundly 74-64 on February 12 in Coleman Coliseum where they are undefeated.
The tide boast two talented players in their starting squad one of which is 6'8 forward JaMychal Green who is averaging 16.1 points per contest. The Rebels must bang around the potential SEC player of the year candidate if they have any chance of knocking of the talented Tide. Another threat is 6'2 combo guard Senario Hillman. Nick Williams and the Rebs perimeter defense must keep him from slashing and the drive and kick.
The Rebels finish the season at Auburn and hosting the hot Razorbacks. The Rebels must finish these last three games strong in order to have any shot at a postseason birth. The "big dance" is most likely a stretch but the Rebels can seal their the fourth NIT birth over Coach Kennedy in which the Rebels have done well in.
I asked a great Rebel fan, Emmett Manning, what his thoughts were on the final three games of this season and he quoted: "I have followed Ole Miss all of my life and I have seen some crazy things happen. So why can't something crazy happen now?"
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Ben Lane
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