Love him or hate him, Ole Miss became the Marshall Henderson Show against Tennessee Wednesday night, showering 32 points on the Vols and hitting clutch 3's when it mattered most. Most Ole Miss fans love him. Opponents? Not so much.
Henderson's lively antics on the court get almost as much attention as his scoring, but Henderson adds a dynamic to the Rebels they didn't have before. Not only is he a real outside threat, but Henderson is must see TV, mostly because he is a threat to shoot just about every time he gets the ball in his hands, and no matter how crazy the shot there's always the chance he'll make it. Henderson's quick draw and ability to sink the often inadvisable shot makes Ole Miss undeniably exciting to watch.
Henderson currently leads the SEC in scoring with 19 points per game and is 2nd in the nation with 4.0 made three's per game.
With Henderson leading the way, Ole Miss is 12-2 with an impressive SEC road win under its belt and starting to get a little recognition nationally. The Rebels now find themselves "in" the NCAA Tournament projections of two well-known bracketologists, if only by a small margin. Ole Miss could jump into the projections with both feet with a win against No. 10 Missouri at Tad Smith Coliseum tonight (7 p.m., Fox Sports Net). There aren't a terrible many strong teams in the SEC this season, but the Tigers are one of them, and a win would be one that would go at the top of the Rebels' tournament resume.
But it won't come easy.
Missouri is 12-2 (1-0 SEC) with wins against Stanford, Illinois and Alabama, and losses to Louisville and UCLA. Coached by Frank Haith, the Tigers come to Oxford fresh off an 86-68 win against the Tide. Keep an eye on dynamic point guard Phil Pressey (13 ppg), who was the preseason selection for SEC player of the year mostly because of how he orchestrates the offense, dishing out assists in bunches. Rebel bigs Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner will have their hands full down low. Missouri out-rebounds its opponents by 4.6 per game, but the Tigers will be playing without senior forward Lawrence Bowers, who injured his knee against Alabama. Missouri still has plenty of other talented big inside guys though, including 6' 9", 255-pound Alex Oriakhi, who averages 10 points and 8 rebounds per game.
Ole Miss did in Tennessee by shooting 38 or 44 from the free throw line. That's a lot of free throws, and while that volume is unlikely to repeat itself, the Rebels' chances increase significantly if the percentage could stay the same.
A few more lively three's from Henderson wouldn't hurt either.
More Ole Miss Headlines:
1. Henderson makes Ole Miss 3rd Most Watchable College Team.
2. Ole Miss Adds Kailo Moore.
3. Mizzou shorthanded tonight.
4. Ole Miss could end up with the surprise class of 2013.
5. Ole Miss "IN" the NCAA Projection.