Jan. 1, 2013

Ole Miss Game Notes - Fordham 

Date: Friday, Jan. 4, 2013
Time: 8:00 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: Tad Smith Coliseum (8,867)
Television: CSS
     Matt Stewart, play-by-play
     Daymeon Fishback , analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
     David Kellum, play-by-play
     Keith Kessinger, analyst
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Live Video: Watch ESPN
Satellite Radio: Sirius 94, XM 199
Series: Ole Miss leads 1-0
     Last Meeting: OM, W 57-57 (12/10/82)
     Streak: OM, W1

TIP OFF

• Ole Miss returns home after a four-game west coast road trip to host the Fordham Rams at Tad Smith Coliseum. This marks the Rebels’ final non-conference game of the season before beginning SEC at Tennessee.
• Ole Miss posted a 3-1 record during the four-game road trip including a 2-1 mark at the Diamond Head Classic with wins over San Francisco and host Hawai’i.
• Senior F Murphy Holloway notched his sixth double-double of the season with 23 points and 13 boards in the second round win over San Francisco at the Diamond Head Classic. Holloway leads all active SEC players with 31 career double-doubles.
• With nine boards against the Rainbow Warriors, Holloway continues to inch towards the top of the Ole Miss rebound list with 872 career boards. The senior now only trails Walter Actwood’s school record of 945 career boards.
• Junior G Marshall Henderson leads the SEC in scoring at 17.9 ppg and ranks third in the nation averaging 4.1 made 3-pointers per game.
• Sophomore PG Jarvis Summers leads the SEC and ranks sixth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (5.0). Summers has dished out 45 assists on the season compared to just nine turnovers.

HOLLOWAY IS MASTER OF THE GLASS
Entering his final season at Ole Miss F Murphy Holloway has moved into striking position of the Ole Miss career rebound mark. With 14 boards against the LMU, Holloway passed John Stroud and Joe Gibbon for second place on the Rebel rebound list and now has 872 career boards. The senior now only trails Walter Actwood’s school record of 945 career boards. Holloway is the SEC active career leader in rebounds and double-doubles, ranks second in steals and third in points. He leads the SEC this season with six double-doubles and leads the conference and ranks 10th in the nation in rebounding at 10.8 rpg.

REBELS AMONG NATION’S BEST
Ole Miss rates highly in the latest NCAA national stats(games through Dec. 30), as the Rebels rank sixth in the nation in turnover margin (+6.1), seventh in the nation in scoring (82.1), 10th in 3-point FG percentage defense (26.9%), 11th in scoring margin (+18.4), 13th in block shots (5.9), 20th in steals (9.8) and 34th in FG percentage defense (38.2%).

HENDERSON OFF TO A HOT START
Junior G Marshall Henderson was known as a scorer when coach Andy Kennedy signed the guard out of South Plains Junior College, and the Hurst, Texas native has definitely lived up to that billing so far this season, as he is averaging a team-best 17.9 ppg. He leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation in 3-pointers made (4.1 pg) and leads the conference in scoring. Against ETSU, Henderson poured in a game-high 22 points, including 6-of-13 from three and pulling down six boards. Henderson scored a game-high 22 points in the season opener versus Mississippi Valley State, hitting 5-of-11 from behind the arc and becoming the first Rebel to nail five 3-pointers in a game since Dundrecous Nelson in 2011. He finished the game 6-of-12 from the field and added two steals and an assist in his first collegiate start. In his second game vs. Coastal Carolina, Henderson poured a season-high 27 points, including 6-of-13 from three, and added four assists, two rebounds and two steals. Against Indiana State, he tied has career high with 27 points on 7-of-16 from 3-point, which is just one 3-pointer shy of the school record and is tied for third all time. Over his last five games, Henderson has made 23-of-50 3-pointers good for 46.0 percent. The 49 points Henderson scored in his first two games is the most by a Rebel to start his career since “World Class” Gerald Glass scored 59 points in 1988.

HOLLOWAY NAMED TO DIAMOND HEAD ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Senior F Murphy Holloway was named to the Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament team after averaging 19.0 ppg and 11.7 rpg over three contests. Holloway posted double-doubles to two games, including a 23-point, 13-rebound effort vs. San Francisco, and missed a third-straight double-double in the final game by just one rebound.

OLE MISS TAKES DOWN FIRST BIG EAST FOE
Ole Miss earned its first-ever home win over a Big East member school when the Rebels took down Rutgers. The Rebels had previously beaten Louisville, South Florida and Temple at home, but none were members of the Big East at the time. Last year, Ole Miss knocked off Miami for its first home win versus an ACC opponent and defeated Penn State for its first-ever Big Ten road win.

HOLLOWAY JOINS THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
With 15 points vs. McNeese State, senior F Murphy Holloway became the 34th member of the Ole Miss 1,000-point club. Holloway passed Terrance Henry for 28th all-time scoring list with 16 points vs. Indiana State and now has 1,103 career points, which ranks just two points behind Fred Cox for 27th in school history. He currently ranks second in the SEC and 24th in the nation in field goal percentage (.587) and ranks eighth in the league in scoring at 15.8 ppg.

BUCKNER MOVES UP IN SEC CAREER BLOCKS LIST
Senior F Reginald Buckner became the Rebels’ all-time career leader in blocked shots last year. In just 108 games, the Memphis native has now accumulated 262 blocks, and moved passed Charles Claxton, of Georgia, Brandon Wallace, of South Carolina, and Erick Dampier, of Mississippi State, for 11th in SEC history. The school record was previously held by Sean Murphy, who had 180 blocks in 117 games from 1988-91. Buckner’s 2.8 average this season ranks second among SEC players and 15th in the nation. He now holds the school record for blocks in a career, season and game. He blocked at least one shot in every game this season, 31-of-33 games last year and 94-of-107 games over his four-year career. His total of 69 blocks last season is the Ole Miss record by a junior and is the second-most in a season in school history. His sophomore season total of 95 is the school record.

SEC Career Blocks Leaders
1. 564 Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State (2007-10)
2. 412 Shaquille O’Neal, LSU (1990-92)
3. 360 Kyle Davis, Auburn (2001-04)
4. 327 Lavon Mercer, Georgia (1977-80)
5. 318 Steven Hill, Arkansas (2005-08)
6. 285 Robert Horry, Alabama (1989-92)
7. 275 Sam Muldrow, South Carolina (2008-11)
8. 272 Dwayne Schintzius, Florida (1986-90)
9. 268 Jamaal Magloire, Kentucky (1997-2000)
10. 266 Roy Rogers, Alabama (1993-96)
11. 262 Reginald Buckner, Ole Miss (2009-)
12. 249 Brandon Wallace, South Carolina (2004-07)
249 Erick Dampier, Mississippi State (1994-96)
14. 247 Charles Claxton, Georgia (1992-95)
15. 241 Mamadou N’diaye, Auburn (1997-2000)

LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE
Ole Miss has been particularity stingy on defense this season as the Rebels rank third in the SEC and 34th in nation in field goal percentage defense (38.2%) and second in the league and 10th nation in 3-point percentage defense (26.9%). The Rebels rank second in the SEC and 20th in the NCAA steals (9.8 spg) and second in the league and 13th in the nation in blocks (5.9 bpg). Ole Miss has forced 217 turnovers this season and rank second in the league forcing an average of 18.1 turnovers per game, and currently ranks second in the SEC and sixth in the nation in turnover margin at +6.0.

HOLLOWAY NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior F Murphy Holloway was named the SEC Player of the Week for Nov. 26 after averaging 19 points and 8.5 boards in a pair of wins over McNeese State and Lipscomb. He scored 15 points versus McNeese to become the 34th player in Rebel history to top 1,000-career points and posted a season-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds in just 24 minutes against Lipscomb. Holloway was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field against the Cowboys and shot 80.0 percent for the week to raise his SEC-best field goal percentage to 71.7 for the season.

KENNEDY NOTCHES CAREER WIN 150
With a victory over McNeese State, head coach Andy Kennedy notched his 150th career victory. Kennedy is 155-93 (.625 winning pct.) in his eighth season as a head coach.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS BALL
Sophomore point guard Jarvis Summers has done a particularly great job of limiting turnovers this season, as he leads the SEC and ranks sixth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 5.0. Summers has only committed nine turnovers on the season compared to 45 assists.

SCOUTING THE RAMS
Fordham enters its last non-conference game of the season with a 4-10 mark before heading into Atlantic-10 play. The Rams have recorded wins over Princeton, Siena and Monmouth in their last five games after starting the season 1-8. Fordham is led by junior guard Branden Frazier, who is averaging a team-high 16.8 ppg after netting a career-high 26 points at UConn and then scoring 20 points and adding ten assists for his first collegiate double-double in the Siena win. He is third in the Atlantic 10 in assists/game and fourth in scoring while leading the team in assists (61) and steals (12). Senior forward Chris Gaston, who missed six games with an injury, is averaging 14.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg after a 25-point, eight-rebound effort against Siena. Sophomore center Ryan Canty has picked up his game lately, averaging 10.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg over the past seven contests and 7.1 ppg and 6.2 rpg on the year. He leads the team and is fourth in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage, hitting 41 of his 71 attempts (57.7%) and leads the team with eleven blocks while also ranking second on the squad, and 17th in the Atlantic 10, in rebounding.

DEFENDING HOME COURT
Winning at home has been a trademark of Andy Kennedy’s squads since he took the reins in 2006-07. Ole Miss is 91-18 (.834 win pct.) in games played at Tad Smith Coliseum during Kennedy’s tenure, including a 7-0 record this season. Ole Miss has won 222 of its last 272 games (.816 win pct.) in Oxford dating back to the 1995-96 campaign. The Rebels have an all-time record of 455-197 (.697 win pct.) at Tad Smith Coliseum, which opened in 1965-66.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Ole Miss boasts an 85-23 record (.787 win pct.) against teams outside the SEC since Andy Kennedy took over in 2006-07, including a 58-2 mark at home. The Rebels are 10-2 versus non-conference foes this year.