Dec. 17, 2012

Ole Miss Game Notes - LMU 

Date: Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012
Time: 10:00 p.m. CT
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Arena: Gersten Pavilion (4,156)
Television: ESPNU
     Roxy Bernstein, play-by-play
     Miles Simon, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
     David Kellum, play-by-play
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Live Video: ESPN3
Satellite Radio: Sirius 123, XM 196
Series: First Meeting

TIP OFF

• Ole Miss begins a four-game road trip out west with at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday before traveling to Hawaii for three-game at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic beginning on Saturday. The Rebels last played in California in the 2011 NIT at Cal.
• 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 leads all active SEC players with 28 career double-doubles.
• Junior G Marshall Henderson leads the SEC in scoring averaging 17.8 ppg
• Sophomore PG Jarvis Summers leads the SEC and ranks fourth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (5.5). Summers has dished out 33 assists on the season compared to just six turnovers.
• With three blocks versus East Tennessee State, senior F Reginald Buckner move passed Brandon Wallace, of South Carolina, and Erick Dampier, of Mississippi State, for 11th in SEC history with 250 career blocks.
• Ole Miss rates highly in the latest NCAA national stats, as the Rebels rank third in the nation in scoring margin (24.8), sixth in turnover margin (6.8), eighth in scoring (82.6), field goal percentage defense (335.1) and steals (10.8), 10th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (24.6) and 13th in blocks (6.1).

KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION BEGINS SEVENTH YEAR
In seven seasons under Mississippi native Andy Kennedy, Ole Miss has a 132-79 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 rates highly in the latest NCAA national stats, as the Rebels rank third in the nation in scoring margin (24.8), sixth in turnover margin (6.8), eighth in scoring (82.6), field goal percentage defense (335.1) and steals (10.8), 10th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (24.6) and 13th in blocks (6.1). The Rebels also rank in the top-50 in the nation in scoring defense (32nd).

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 eight games of the season, as he is averaging a team-best 17.8 ppg. He leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation in 3-pointers made (4.0 pg) and leads in 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. 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 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 Jason Harrison for 30th all-time scoring list with 10 points vs. East Tennessee State and now has 1,071 career points, which ranks just one point behind Coolidge Ball for 29th in school history. He currently ranks second in the SEC and 18th in the nation in field goal percentage (.629) and ranks 13th in the league in scoring at 14.6 ppg.

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.

KENNEDY NOTCHES CAREER WIN 150
With a victory over McNeese State, head coach Andy Kennedy notched his 150th career victory. Kennedy is 153-92 (.624 winning pct.) in his eighth season as a head coach.

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 nine rebounds versus East Tennessee State, Holloway now has 823 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 is tied for first in the SEC this season with three double-doubles and leads the conference and ranks 23rd in the nation in rebounding at 10.0 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 104 games, the Memphis native has now accumulated 250 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 17th 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 91-of-104 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. 250 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 first in the SEC and eighth in nation in field goal percentage defense (35.4%) and 10th nation in 3-point percentage defense (24.6%). The Rebels rank second in the SEC and 13th in the NCAA steals (10.4 spg) and second in the league and 13th in the nation in blocks (6.1 bpg). Ole Miss has forced 158 turnovers in the first eight games for an average of 19.8 turnovers per game, and currently ranks second in the SEC and sixth in the nation in turnover margin at +6.8.

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.

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 fourth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 5.5. Summers has only committed six turnovers on the season compared to 33 assists and ranks sixth in the league averaging 4.1 apg.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
Loyola Marymount (5-4) returns three starters off last year's squad that posted a 21-13 record and finished tied for fourth in the West Coast Conference with an 11-5 league mark. The Lions, who are coming off a two-week break for finals, knocked Northern Arizona 92-86 in overtime on Dec. 5. Junior Anthony Ireland leads LMU averaging 21.1 points per game, while senior Ashley Hamilton paces the squad averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.

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 82-22 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 7-1 versus non-conference foes this year.