A few notes here in advance of the 6 p.m. tip. TV is ESPN2. I'll have live updates on Twitter and will update here at halftime and after the game, technology permitting. Usually it does.

In a double-overtime loss at Alabama, Ole Miss used only seven players. … The Rebels are third in the SEC in field goal defense percentage (39.5) and are 11-3 when holding opponents to below 40 percent shooting. … The Rebels are 1-2 against ranked teams this season, defeating MSU and losing to Marquette and Florida.  … Freshman LaDarius White did not play against Alabama and has played a total of eight minutes in the last five games. … Junior forward Reggie Buckner, in league play, is second in rebounding (9.5 rpg), third in blocks (2.5 bpg). … Freshman Jarvis Summers has played in every game, started the last 18 and is 10th in the SEC in assists. He's third among freshmen in assists and at 9.9 points a game is seventh among freshmen scorers. … Since getting 12 minutes at LSU which included five points, five rebounds and five fouls, freshman forward Aaron Jones has appeared in only two more games. … The Rebels need six wins to reach 20 for the fifth time in six seasons under Andy Kennedy. …  Ole Miss is 1-12 in its last 13 games, 3-24 in its last 27 games at MSU's Humphrey Coliseum. … MSU's average margin of victory in SEC play has been just 3.4 points. … Backup point guard Jelan Kendrick, the McDonald's All-American transfer from Memphis, has played 23 and 21 minutes over the last two games. … Junior guard Nick Williams has increased his scoring average from a season-low 8.3 points following a 6-point effort at LSU to 10.4 points, his highest average since the second game when he was at 10.5 points after getting 13 points against La.-Monroe and eight against Grambling. … Williams is averaging 14.2 points over the last four games.

Some RealTimeRPI.com RPI numbers here: Ole Miss 55, MSU 34. The next two games are big RPI opportunities for Ole Miss as well, at home against No. 27 Vanderbilt next Thursday, then at No. 3 Kentucky on Saturday.

The SEC is the No. 4-ranked conference behind the Big 10, Big East, Big 12 and ahead of the Mountain West and ACC.

Update 3:17 p.m.

This from EPSN blogger Edward Aschoff. Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze isn't running from challenges.

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Some football schedule shuffling for Texas A&M here as the Aggies get ready for their SEC debut season in 2012. They have dropped McNeese State, an FCS school relatively close to College Station, and added La. Tech and South Carolina State. The Aggies play at Ole Miss on Oct. 6. The Rebels are at Alabama the week before and at home against Auburn the week after.

Ole Miss at MSU, tonight at 6, ESPN2 ...

The defense by Terrance Henry against MSU point guard Dee Bost was a big factor in the Rebels' 75-68 win over the Bulldogs in this season's first game Jan. 18 in Oxford. Henry is excited about the opportunity of guarding Bost again, but this time Bost and the Bulldogs know what's coming and have had more time to prepare. Henry's challenge

Another big factor in the Rebels' win was their defense against State's leading scorer and the SEC's leading rebounder, UTEP transfer Arnett Moultrie. Moultrie still had a double-double, but it was a very quiet 10 points and 12 rebounds. With Murphy Holloway tasked with guarding him, Moultrie had only two offensive rebounds and never took over the game. Henry's keeping Bost out of the lane also made things rough for Moultrie, who is eager for a better showing against the Rebels tonight. Moultrie's challenge

If you're interested to know the score from the Rebels' dominating performance against the Bulldogs in 1917 be sure to pick up a copy of today's print edition. Every score in the series is part of our advance coverage.

Spanning the globe on a Thursday morning. ...

Road Trip! It looks like Arkansas is getting close to a football home-and-home with Rutgers ...

Speaking of the Razorbacks, it looks like the hoops Hogs made an impressive statement to the selection committee ... the NIT selection committee with an 81-59 loss at Georgia last night. ...

Interesting opinion piece from Charleston here on the branding of college athletics. SEC football and ACC basketball used to be some of the best in that regard. Now ACC basketball has slipped says columnist Gene Sapakoff. ...

Former Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd tells CBSBoston that he was under the influence of cocaine for two-thirds of the time that he was on the mound in major league games. Oil Can was lingering around the majors when I worked in Meridian, and I can remember getting local reaction for some unflattering comments he made to national media regarding his hometown. ...

Ole Miss chancellor Dan Jones spoke to the Lee County Alumni Club at the BancorpSouth Conference Center in Tupelo earlier today.

He didn't shed much light on the athletics director search but did say that Archie Manning has spent a great deal of time researching candidates, talking with athletics directors from around the country over the last month to get an idea of who might be available and would be a good fit for Ole Miss.

Jones said some candidates have publicly expressed interest – as Sean Tuohy did in a story published in The Commerical Appeal last weekend – and others have shown interest but prefer not to go public at this time.

“We will begin with a strong group of candidates,” Jones said.

From that beginning a list will narrow down, and interviews will take place.

“There is not a timeline. Pete (Boone) wants to retire by the end of June, and I think we easily make that date.”

Jones also said, “This may not be the most important decision I make as chancellor, but it will be the most important public decision.”

Speaking of Ole Miss NFL alums, Michael Oher reached the AFC championship game with the Ravens. While Mike Wallace's name pops up quickly and often in a Google search of noteworthy free agents this off-season, Oher remains under contract in Baltimore. Oher maintains a very visible presence on Twitter and was quick to come out in support of Sean Tuohy as the next Ole Miss AD once the Tuohy story appeared in the Commercial Appeal over the weekend. Here's an interesting interview with Oher as he describes his desire to

For whatever reason, the home environment in basketball seems to carry more weight than it does in football or baseball.

Ole Miss is 3-5 in road games, 1-3 in SEC road games. Two of the conference road losses - Auburn and Alabama - have been in double overtime.

The first one was not so close when the Rebels were without Murphy Holloway and lost 81-55 at LSU.

No away gym has been as problematic for Ole Miss as MSU's Humphrey Coliseum where the Rebels are 1-12 in their last 13, 3-24 in their last 27.

In spite of those numbers, players say Humphrey Coliseum is no different for them than any other road environment.

Senior forward Terrance Henry says it might take a little longer for younger players to work through it, but at the end of the day, he actually enjoys road games, says he prefers them to home games.

Henry says The Hump is just another SEC road game.

Elsewhere, the Rebels had a 38-35 rebounding edge against MSU when they defeated the Bulldogs 75-67 in Oxford on Jan. 17.

Murphy Holloway talks in this notebook about what Ole Miss needs to do to duplicate its success on the glass and to keep Arnett Moultrie under control as they did in the first game.

With the first win under its belt, Ole Miss is going for its first season sweep of the Bulldogs since 1998.

Holloway, like Henry, doesn't believe The Hump holds any special magic that will keep that form happening if the Rebels execute.

"I don't think it does. Not for me. The crowd never really gets to me too often. Some of the young guys it might get to, but the older guys, it won't bother us," he said.

Spanning the globe on a Wednesday morning. ...

The New York Daily News says Eli remains humble during a ticker tape parade in Manhattan to celebrate the Giants' Super Bowl win. ...

From the Boston Herald, the Manning brothers hit a crossroads in Indianapolis. ...

From Denver, columnist Woody Paige calls the Manning trio "truly terrific." ...

Former Ole Miss wide receiver Mike Wallace quickly gained fame as a reliable deep threat with the Steelers. Now he's a free agent and a realistic target for the runner-up Patriots. ...

With the Combine roster set, some SEC flavor here in this draft profile. ...

In an all-SEC basketball matchup that gained national attention in Lexington, Ky., last night, No. 1 Kentucky had no problem with No. 7 Florida. The Rebels had chances to beat Florida but came up dry in a 64-60 loss in Oxford. A road trip to Kentucky remains on the schedule for later this month. ...

While Kentucky leads the way, here's one man's take on the top five teams in the SEC. ...

Some highlights from a Tuesday afternoon basketball presser ...

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy

Does the team that wins the first game have an advantage in the second game?

“I'd like to tell you we figured out the code to beat them, but not much. Mississippi State is going to be a difficult challenge. They're good. They've got good players. Rick knows what he's doing. It's going to be in an away environment. Statistics say your chances for winning away from home are not nearly as good when you're in your own building. We realize it's going to be difficult.”

Kennedy says the teams are not the same ones that played on Jan. 18 when Ole Miss won 75-67 in Oxford.

“They've made some changes since the last time we played. We've made some changes since the last time we played.”

Players able to put the Alabama loss behind them?

“After a tough, emotional loss, I was thinking, I need to do something to put things in perspective, let them know there's a lot of basketball to play for, that maybe their spirits were down. Then it sounded like Mardi Gras out there. Kids are pretty resilient. They're moving on to the next day. They probably didn't have as tough a Sundy as the old head coach did.”

Senior forward Terrance Henry

Henry disagrees with his coach and says having won the first game is an advantage.

“Once you win the first one you kind of have the upper hand. We know the calls, we know exactly what they're going to do. It's just a matter of us going in there and playing like we did the last time.”

Henry, at 6-foot-9, will again guard MSU point guard Dee Bost. That matchup worked in the Rebels' favor in Round 1. Bost had tormented the Rebels through the years. He finished with 15 points but was just 4-for-15 shooting and never took over the game.

Henry said Bost was surprised to see him come out to guard him when State grabbed the opening tip.

“It was tip-off, and this was so funny to me, because he's a funny guy. He got the ball, and he saw me come out to guard him, and he had this smirk on his face like, 'Really?' He looked, and I was like, 'Dang, he disrespected me.' I'm glad we pulled out the win.

“Me and him was just jawing back and forth. Most of the time I was just telling him, 'I'm not fixing to let you catch the ball. I was telling him, 'They fixing to play 4-on-4, and you and me fixing to be over here chilling.'”

Fifty-three from the SEC including Ole Miss offensive lineman Bobby Massie and running back Brandon Bolden. Also, safety Kelcie McCray and linebacker DeMario Davis, who played for Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and defensive coordinator Dave Wommack at Arkansas State last year. LINK