It's Christmas, and it's Hawaii, but the Ole Miss trip to Honolulu for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic is all business, and the Rebels need to take care of it if they want to be in the conversation to make the NCAA Tournament in March.
With a weak SEC and a soft non-conference schedule, Ole Miss needs to get its quality wins where it can find them. Over the next few days that's in Hawaii. If Ole Miss can get by Indiana State this afternoon at 3 p.m. (ESPNU) the Rebels move on the face the winner of San Diego State and San Francisco and from there could face either Miami or No. 4 Arizona in the Christmas Day tournament championship game.
ESPN's Andy Katz says the Rebels desperately need to come home with wins against San Diego State and Miami or Arizona.
To get that chance Ole Miss must beat Indiana State today.
The Sycamores are 5-3 with losses to UCLA, New Mexico and Morehead State, and are coming off a 75-61 win over IUPUI on December 15. Indiana State is a young team that returned just one starter from last year's 18-15 squad. It's leading scorer is point guard Jake Odom (15.4 ppg).
This is one of those games Ole Miss should win handily, but on a neutral floor thousands of miles away with the distractions of jet lag, sunny beaches and Christmas away from home anything could happen. The Rebels very nearly let one get away against Loyola Marymount on Wednesday thanks to some hot and cold shooting. Andy Kennedy will be looking for a little more consistency over these next few days.
KEYS TO THE GAME: As always, keep an eye on Marshall Henderson who leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation in 3-pointers made (4.0 pg) and leads in the conference in scoring. As Henderson goes so will go with the Rebels in most games this season, especially against better competition. Henderson shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range in his last two outings and that's exactly what Ole Miss needs from him in Hawaii. Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner consistently provide the dominance the Rebels need down low. The key will be whether another player from the back court can contribute points and take pressure off of Henderson. If not it will be difficult for Henderson to find enough open looks to be the difference maker.