Dec. 6, 2012

Ole Miss Games Notes - MTSU 

Ole Miss (6-0) vs. Middle Tennessee (6-2)

Date: Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012
Time: 4:00 p.m. CT
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Arena: Murphy Center (11,520)
Television: ESPN3
          Keith Morehouse, play-by-play
          Nate Ross, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
          David Kellum, play-by-play
          Keith Kessinger, analyst
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Satellite Radio: Sirius 123, XM 196
Series: Middle Tennessee leads 3-2

TIPOFF

The Last Meeting

Ole Miss	56
Middle Tennessee State	68

December 21, 2011
Southaven, Miss.

Ole Miss Falls To Middle Tennessee In Southaven Ole Miss fell behind midway through the second and could not climb all the way back in a 68-56 loss to Middle Tennessee on a neutral floor at the Desoto Civic Center Wednesday night.

Recap | Box Score

• Ole Miss will encounter its first road test of the season when the Rebels travel to Middle Tennessee. The Rebels will be looking to improve upon their 4-8 road mark last season.
• Senior F Murphy Holloway notched his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 boards in the Rebels win over Rutgers. Holloway is tied for sixth in school history and leads all active SEC players with 28 career double-dobules.
• 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.
• Ole Miss ranks highly in the latest NCAA national stats, as the Rebels lead the country in turnover margin (+9.0) and winning percentage (1.000) and rank second in the nation in scoring (87.0 ppg), scoring margin (29.8) and field goal defense (34.0).
• Reginald Buckner ranks 14th in SEC history with 244 career blocks. Buckner is just two blocks shy of tying Charles Claxton of Georgia for 13th with 247 career blocks.

KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION BEGINS SEVENTH YEAR
In seven seasons under Mississippi native Andy Kennedy, Ole Miss has a 131-78 record, two SEC West championships, five 20-win campaigns and five postseason berths, which includes a pair of trips to the NIT Final Four. The Rebels have their sights set on challenging for the program's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2002, as Kennedy enters his seventh year at the helm.

REBELS AMONG NATION'S BEST
Ole Miss ranks highly in the latest NCAA national stats released on Monday as the Rebels lead the country in turnover margin (+9.0) and winning percentage (1.000) and rank second in the nation in scoring (87.0 ppg), scoring margin (29.8) and field goal defense (34.0). The Rebels also rank eighth in steals (11.2 spg), 10th in 3-point FG defense (23.8), 14th blocks (6.0 bpg) and 16th in assist/turnover ratio (1.43). Ole Miss also ranks in the top-50 in the nation in scoring defense (27th), turnovers (30th), assists (31st) and rebounding margin (46th).

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 pass Todd Abernethy, Denver Brackeen and Ron Coleman for 31st all-time scoring list with 17 points vs. Rutgers and now has 1,050 career points, which ranks just 16 points behind Jason Harrison for 30th in school history. He currently ranks second in the SEC and seventh in the nation in field goal percentage (.661) and ranks 12th in the league in scoring at 16.0 ppg.

REBELS REMAIN UNBEATEN
Ole Miss extended its season-opening win streak to six games with a win over Rutgers. The Rebels are among a group of 20 unbeaten team in the nation that includes Arizona, Duke, Florida, Indiana, Michigan and Syracuse. It is Ole Miss' longest winning streak to start a season since winning 13 games to open the 2007-08 season.

KENNEDY NOTCHES CAREER WIN 150
With a victory over McNeese State, head coach Andy Kennedy notched his 150th career victory. Kennedy is 151-91 (.624 winning pct.) in his eighth season as a head coach.

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.

HOLLOWAY IS MASTER OF THE GLASS
Entering his final season at Ole Miss F Murphy Holloway has broken into the school's top five for career rebounds. With 15 rebounds versus Rutgers, Holloway now has 805 career boards and inched closer to John Stroud (826) for fourth-place in Ole Miss history. Holloway is the SEC active career leader in rebounds and double-doubles, ranks second in steals and third in points. He ranks first in the SEC this season with three double-doubles and leads the conference and ranks 19th in the nation in rebounding at 10.3 rpg.

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 102 games, the Memphis native has now accumulated 245 blocks, which ranks 14th in SEC history ahead of Mamadou N'diaye, of Auburn. He trails Charles Claxton, of Georgia, by just two blocks for 13th on the list. 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 18th 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 89-of-102 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. 249 Brandon Wallace, South Carolina (2004-07)
249 Erick Dampier, Mississippi State (1994-96)
13. 247 Charles Claxton, Georgia (1992-95)
14. 245 Reginald Buckner, Ole Miss (2009-)
15. 241 Mamadou N'diaye, Auburn (1997-2000)

LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE
Ole Miss has been particularity stingy on defense this season as the Rebels lead the SEC and rank second nation in field goal percentage defense (34.0) and 10th in 3-point percentage defense (23.8). The Rebels rank second in the SEC and eighth in the NCAA steals (11.2 spg) and second in the league and 14th in the nation in blocks (6.0 bpg). Ole Miss has forced 122 turnovers in the first six games for an average of 20.3 turnovers per game, and currently leads the nation in turnover margin at +9.0.

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 in the first four games of the season, as he is averaging a team-best 17.2 ppg. He leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the nation in 3-pointers made (3.8 pg) and ranks sixth in the conference in scoring. 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. 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.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS BALL
Ole Miss has done a great job this season of protecting the ball, as the Rebels rank second in the SEC in fewest turnovers pre game at 11.3. Sophomore point guard Jarvis Summers has done a particularly great job of limiting turnovers, as he leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 7.7. Summers has only committed three turnovers on the season and has 11 assists in his last two games with no turnovers.

SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
Middle Tennessee (6-2) returns four starters off last year's squad that won the Sun Belt regular season title with a 27-7 overall record and a 14-2 league mark before falling in the conference tournament. The Blue Raiders advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals before falling to Minnesota. Marcos Knight is MTSU's leading returning scorer at 11.8 ppg last season and currently leads the squad averaging 13.1 ppg, while Shawn Jones leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 rpg and ranks second in scoring at 10.4 pgg. The Blue Raiders feature n experience laden group with six seniors and four juniors in their rotation.

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 90-18 (.833 win pct.) in games played at Tad Smith Coliseum during Kennedy's tenure, including a 6-0 record this season. Ole Miss has won 221 of its last 271 games (.815 win pct.) in Oxford dating back to the 1995-96 campaign. The Rebels have an all-time record of 454-197 (.697 win pct.) at Tad Smith Coliseum, which opened in 1965-66.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Ole Miss boasts an 81-21 record (.794 win pct.) against teams outside the SEC since Andy Kennedy took over in 2006-07, including a 57-2 mark at home. The Rebels are 5-0 versus non-conference foes this year.