Big 2nd half coming up for @OleMissMBB pic.twitter.com/eID5VgG09C
— OleMissPix (@OleMissPix) January 11, 2014
I ran the Mississippi Blues Marathon Saturday morning. Badly. But I did finish. That's the kind of marathon runner I am. A finisher. I've run a bunch of them and I'm really no better at them than I was when I ran my first one way back in 1997. In fact, as of right now, I'm a little worse. I run them because they give me a reason to run all the other days of the year (you have to train even to finish slowly) and so I don't immediately gain 20 pounds. The gene pool wasn't kind to the Adams family when it comes to metabolism. Combine that misfortune with my emotional eating and general love of food and it's easy to see why not running marathons really isn't an option for me. Even though on miles 16 through 24 I swore with each grueling step that I would be giving them up after Saturday.
But I won't. In fact, I think I'm signing up to run the Mississippi River Marathon in Greenville to be held on February 8. I obviously have a problem.
So Saturday afternoon I was hobbled on the couch with throbbing legs and even a slight fever (not sure whether that was marathon related) hoping for an Ole Miss victory over Mississippi State to help ease the pain.
No such luck. As most of you know by now Ole Miss, playing without leading scorer Marshall Henderson, lost to its in-state rival 76-72.
The Good: Snoop White scored 16 points. The Rebels need contributions like that from White this season. Like the rest of us Andy Kennedy keeps waiting for White to step up and be a serious, dependable contributor. There's no question as to whether White has the talent. The problem is we only see it in spurts and then White disappears. He played well on Saturday, appropriately up for the occasion of playing a rival. Hopefully, Ole Miss will get more production like that from White as the season continues.
Jarvis Summers scored 23 points. He's getting pretty reliable with these 20+ point games.
The team was 10 of 29 from 3-point range. That's not bad considering Henderson wasn't on the floor.
Also, as much grief as the Rebels have gotten for being out-rebounded, it would be wrong not to point out that Ole Miss did win the rebound battle over the Bulldogs 47-37.
I also have to give credit to the Rebels for withstanding the emotion of the Hump and the 43-36 halftime deficit and getting back in the game in position to win in the final minutes.
The Bad: Mississippi State shot 42 free throws. Ole Miss? 12. The Rebels couldn't penetrate State's zone defense and draw fouls. Mississippi State could and did. With 30 additional free throws its surprising the 76-72 final score was as close as it was. Also, the Bulldogs profited from Ole Miss' 16 turnovers.
The Ugly: Ole Miss couldn't get any points down low. Someone has got to produce underneath. Aaron Jones, Demarco Cox and Sebastian Saiz combined for 9 points. Also, I'm not blaming the game on the officiating, but Jarvis Summers was clearly fouled at the end. That no-call was ugly, too.
Also ugly - Andy Kennedy is 5-10 against Mississippi State. These last two years, with State as down as its been in 20 years, would have been a great time for Kennedy to make up that disparity, but it didn't happen. Ole Miss hasn't won in Starkville since 2009.
Next Up: Ole Miss hosts LSU 8 p.m. (CSS).
With 16 conference games remaining it's way too early to make judgments about the season. Ole Miss was playing without its leading scorer at a venue where it historically struggles. This game is best forgotten, but the consequences of it can't be. The Rebels dropped to 10-5 (1-1 SEC). It's time to start winning. The SEC is a weak sister conference again this season. Ole Miss has to win a lot of conference games to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Probably 13. Maybe 12.
LSU, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State are next. All are beatable. The Rebels have a chance to pile up some wins, and that's what they'll have to do for us to enjoy another dose of March Madness.