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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.
It was the Dee Bost show. The Rebels did a number on him in Oxford but this time he anticipated the defense of Terrance Henry, and seemed to be a step quicker all night.
The Rebels had the quicker step in Oxford. From start to finish they had more energy than the Bulldogs back in January.
The homecourt always gives an edge, but it was more than that tonight. State looked more determined, more focused than it did in Oxford.
And it all starts with Bost. He was 4-for-9 shooting, 3-for-6 from 3, 4-for-4 from the FT line to finish with 15 points and a career-high 13 assists.
With Bost on track, so was Arnett Moultrie. He was a much bigger factor this time with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Two players who were key when the Rebels won four of their first seven SEC games - Terrance Henry and Nick Williams -- were non-factors.
Henry was 2-for-9 shooting for six points, and Williams did not score. He was 0-for-5 from the field in the first half and took just one shot in the second half.
Reggie Buckner had 19 points and 15 rebounds against MSU in Oxford and turned in another solid night with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Andy Kennedy expanded his playing rotation, and LaDarius White had a productive 14 minutes with 4 points, a rebound, an assist and a steal.
Jelan Kendrick had 11 points off the bench was the reason Ole Miss outscored the MSU bench 19-11.
THe Bulldogs outrebounded the Rebels 38-33.
Two players kept under control in Oxford, Dee Bost and Arnett Moultrie, are having big games for the Bulldogs.
Bost is getting into the lane and generally creating offense better than he did in Game 1. He's only 1-for-4 shooting, but he has eight assists in 20 minutes.
The primary beneficiary has been Moultrie, who is 6-for-9 from the floor and has 12 points. He has only four rebounds but three are on the offensive end. He had only two offensive rebounds in Round 1.
MSU came out in attack mode and got its frontcourt involved early as it raced out to an 8-0 lead.
Bulldogs are 6-for-12 from 3-point range.
All things considered, it looked like the Rebels might escape an uinspiring half of basketball in decent shape down 33-27 after Jarvis Summers answered a Bost 3-pointer with 1:54 on the clock.
But the Bulldogs closed with a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer from Steele, his third of the half on five attempts, and two buckets from Moultrie, the last with an assist from Bost with 2 seconds left.
The Rebels shot better near the end of the half to get up to 44.4 percent. State is shooting 51.6 percent with much better looks.
State has a 20-11 edge on the glass.
Andy Kennedy expanded his playing rotation in the first half with freshmen LaDarius White and Aaron Jones getting in the game. White was productive with a bucket in the lane, an assist and a steal with no turnovers in six minutes.
Reggie Buckner is 4-for-5 from the floor and leads the Rebels with eight points. Terrance Henry is 2-for-5 shooting for six points, nothing from Nick Williams, who is 0-for-5 shooting, no rebounds in 17 minutes.
Ole Miss has turned the ball over just four times to MSU's six.
JB "The Cracka" Ha!!!