TAMPA, Fla. - Despite a solid first half, the Ole Miss men's basketball team was unable to survive an offensive outburst from Missouri, eventually falling to the Tigers, 72–60, in the first round of the SEC tournament. Watch the 2021-22 season finale on Wednesday night.
The Rebels (13–19, 4–14 sec) came out of the gate in battle-ready Tampa, flipping the ball just once, while recording four stalls to the head-tied break, but 11–0 by Mizzou. Opened by scoring runs. The second half helped give the Tigers a buffer that Ole Miss was unable to overcome. Missouri (12-20, 6-13 SEC) held a plus-12 rebounding margin and received strong outings from Kobe Brown (16 points) and Ronnie DeGrey III (14 points) that helped push the Tigers to the top.
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davies said, "Great credit to Missouri, they played well against us all three times." "I thought we had come out and our biggest lead was five, probably with about 5:30 to go in the first half, but then we've been really challenged throughout the year, with finishing half and second Have to start the half, and that kind of raised its head tonight. I thought we had some good spots of physical play, but in the end his team beat us 12 on the board, played physically in the paint, and Tonight they played really well and I thought they were very competitive in the second half."
The game proved to be sluggish from the start, with both the teams creating a ruckus during the first half. Rebel senior Jerkel Joiner will duel with Missouri's Ronnie DeGrey III on opening night, with each scoring double digits at the halftime buzzer for their efforts.
Despite Joiner's help to give the Rebels a big lead as five points on the 5:57 mark of the opening frame, DeGray and the Tigers responded to the stretch to send both teams to the locker room, even Even on pegging with that score 32-equals a score of 32.
To open the second half, the Tigers came out of the gate on a mission, opening the frame on a 13-2 run in the first 4:23 of the game, including an 11-0 run from 17:59 to 14:08. With this initial Tigers push, the Rebels were back in a deficit they would not be able to overcome.
Even after Matthew Murrell's 11-second half-point fell, fouls quickly became an issue for the Rebels, allowing the Tigers to maintain their double-digit advantage until the game's final buzzer. Got it. A total of four Rebels would end the game with three or more fouls on the night, including the dismissal of Luis Rodriguez for Ole Miss.
Paving the way for the Rebels to score the ball was Matthew Murrell, who finished with 16 points. Also scoring in double digits for Ole Miss was Jerkel Joiner, as the senior logged 13 points and a team-high three steals.
The defeat ended a rough season for the Rebels, who were battered by untimely injuries and bad luck despite flashes of talent. Ole Miss took down No. 18 Memphis on December 4 in the middle of a 9–4 non-conference season, again defeating a ranked No. 25 team on the road at LSU, and nearly had several rank upsets against the likes of No. . 18 Tennessee and No. 4 Auburn, but season-ending injuries from new star Dashoon Ruffin and key veteran backup Robert Allen, a protracted injury to Jarkel Joiner, and multiple bouts of illness throughout the team hampered the campaign. the rebels.
"You know, I think it's, I don't know, 38 or 39 years in college basketball, and that's probably the most typical challenge with some of the guys we've lost," Davis said. "Every loss is just excruciating for us and our players because it wasn't - we envisioned us to be an NCAA Tournament team, and I still think, no excuse, that we are whole. I know that We certainly didn't look like this one tonight."
As it stands, Ole Miss is set to lose only to graduate transfers Niceier Brooks and John McBride, with senior Jerkel Joiner testing the waters professionally before deciding whether to skip his final year of eligibility. Will give Others returning for Ole Miss include SEC top scorer Matthew Murrell and fellow starters Jamin Brackfield, Ty Fagan and Luis Rodriguez.
"You know, last year we beat Auburn and Kentucky, and we won the fourth most games in this league, and you think both of those teams have a chance to win the national championship now," Davis said. "You may get well in a hurry. We're going to get well in a hurry. It's not what we came to miss ole, and you may get well in a hurry."
"We're going to be working day and night to flip this thing next year, and they've given us every resource it takes to be successful at Ole Miss, so it's right on us," Davis concluded. "We're going to go out and put together a roster that Ole Miss fans can be proud of, and we look forward to playing for seeding in the NCAA Tournament right here next year."