Dec. 22, 2012

Ole Miss Notes - San Francisco

Date: Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Arena: Sheriff Center (10,300)
Television: ESPNU
     Kanoa Leahey, play-by-play
     Sean Farnham, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
David Kellum, play-by-play
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Live Video: Watch ESPN
Satellite Radio: Sirius 123, XM 196
Series: First Meeting

TIP OFF

• Ole Miss travels to Hawaii for three games at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. This is the Rebels' sec- ond trip to the Aloha State, as Ole Miss traveled to the islands in 2000-01 and posted a 2-1 record with win over Southern Illinois and Southern Cal.
• Senior F Murphy Holloway notched his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 boards in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic. Holloway leads all active SEC players with 30 career double-doubles.
• With 13 boards against the Sycamores, Holloway continues to inch towards the top of the Ole Miss rebound list with 850 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 averaging 18.7 ppg
• Sophomore PG Jarvis Summers leads the SEC and ranks fourth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (5.3). Summers has dished out 37 assists on the season compared to just seven turnovers.
• Ole Miss rates highly in the latest NCAA national stats(games through Dec. 16), 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).

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 850 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 four double-doubles and leads the conference and ranks 23rd in the nation in rebounding at 10.0 rpg.

REBELS AMONG NATION'S BEST
Ole Miss rates highly in the latest NCAA national stats(games through Dec. 16), 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 nine games of the season, as he is averaging a team-best 18.7 ppg. He leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation in 3-pointers made (4.1 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. 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. 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.

REBELS SAY ALOHA
Ole Miss will make only its second-ever trip to Hawaii with the Diamond Head Classic, as the Rebels participated in the Yahoo! Sports Invitational in Laie, Hawaii in 2000-2001. Ole Miss knocked off Southern Illinois and No. 13 Southern Cal in the first two round before falling to Iowa State in the championship game.

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 third in the SEC and 18th in the nation in field goal percentage (.582) and ranks 13th in the league in scoring at 14.9 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.

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 106 games, the Memphis native has now accumulated 257 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 2.9 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 93-of-106 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. 257 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 eighth in nation in field goal percentage defense (36.1%) and first in the league and 10th nation in 3-point percentage defense (25.6%). The Rebels rank second in the SEC and eighth in the NCAA steals (10.4 spg) and second in the league and 13th in the nation in blocks (6.0 bpg). Ole Miss has forced 175 turnovers in the first nine games for an average of 19.4 turnovers per game, and currently ranks second in the SEC and sixth in the nation in turnover margin at +6.6.

OLE MISS VERSUS TOURNAMENT FIELD
Ole Miss is a combined 9-6 all time versus the tournament field at the Diamond Head Classic. The Rebels are 5-1 versus East Tennessee State, including a win earlier this season, trail Miami 3-1 in the all time series, are tied 1-1 all time versus Arizona and Indiana State and leads San Diego State 1-0. Ole Miss has never faced Hawaii or San Francisco.

RPI WATCH
According to RealTimeRPI.com, Ole Miss is currently 37th in the nation in the ever-present ratings percentage index. The Rebels could possibly face two top-rated opponents according to RealTimeRPI.com at the Diamond Head Classic in Miami (No. 10) and Arizona (No. 11).

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 154-92 (.626 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 fourth in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 5.3. Summers has only committed seven turnovers on the season compared to 37 assists and ranks eighth in the league averaging 3.8 apg.

SCOUTING THE DONS
San Francisco is now 5-5 after falling in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic to San Diego State. The Dons have now lost four straight following a five-game winning streak and are in a stretch that will see the team play six games in a span of 12 days. USF is shooting just 38.0 percent (62-for-163) from the field over last three games after a run of four straight contests shooting 50 percent or better from the floor and rank last the WCC shooting 61.4 percent from the free throw line. The Dons have been outrebounded in each of the last four games vs. St. John's, Pacific, Nevada and Holy Cross after outboarding their first five opponents to start the season. Junior Cole Dickerson tops the nation in rebound average (13.1) while De'End Parker ranks fourth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (59.3; 16-27). Three players are averaging double-figures, led by De'End Parker's 15.4 ppg average...Cole Dickerson is scoring at a 13.8 ppg clip while junior point guard Cody Doolin is averaging 11.7 ppg.

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 83-23 record (.783 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 8-1 versus non-conference foes this year.