The University of Mississippi Athletics
GAME NOTES: Ole Miss Hosts Texas Tech In NIT Tuesday
3/22/2010 | Men's Basketball
NIT QUARTERFINALS: #2 seed Ole Miss (23-10) vs. #5 seed Texas Tech (19-15)
Tuesday 03.23.10 | 6 p.m. CT
Oxford, Miss. | Tad Smith Coliseum (9,061)
MEDIA
Live TV: ESPN (Jon Sciambi, play-by-play; LaPhonso Ellis, analyst)
Live Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network/RebelVision (David Kellum, play-by-play; Keith Carter, analyst).
Live Video: ESPN360.com
REBELS, RED RAIDERS BATTLE FOR TRIP TO NYC
No. 2 seed Ole Miss hosts No. 5 seed Texas Tech in Tuesday's NIT quarterfinal bout with the winner moving on to the Final Four at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Rebels have used an explosive offense to record an 84-65 win over Troy and 90-81 victory over Mid-South rival Memphis in the first two rounds. Texas Tech has beaten Seton Hall (87-69) and Jacksonville (69-64) to make it to round three. Ole Miss is making its ninth appearance in the NIT and first since 2008, when the Rebels earned the program's first ever trip to the Final Four.
Tickets for Tuesday's game are on sale now ($10 for adults and $4 for students) and can be purchased through the Ole Miss ticket office by calling 662-915-7167 or by clicking here for the ticket office web page.
QUICK NOTES
- Ole Miss has six wins in its last seven outings.
- The Rebels are 12-8 all-time in nine NIT appearances, including a 10-1 record in NIT home games.
- Texas Tech is 4-0 against Ole Miss in four games played between 1954 and 1975.
- Andy Kennedy is the second head coach in school history to guide the team to at least three postseason berths in his first four seasons.
- Ole Miss has reached 23 wins for the third time in school history.
- Kennedy has led Ole Miss to 20+ wins for the third time in his first four seasons. He is the second Rebel coach ever to reach the 20-win mark three times.
- Junior All-SEC guard Chris Warren has set school records with 104 3s this season (broke his own record of 103 set in 2007-08) and 43 straight games with a 3, which is tied for the third-longest streak in SEC history.
scouting the red raiders
Texas Tech comes to Oxford after claiming NIT wins over Seton Hall (87-69) and Jacksonville (69-64) as a No. 5 seed. The Red Raiders are 19-15 overall and went 4-12 in Big 12 games this season. Pat Knight's team has gone 14-5 at home, but is 4-9 in road games. The team averages 76.4 ppg and allows opponents to score at a 75.6 ppg clip. John Roberson paces three TTU players in double figures with 14.8 ppg, while adding 5.4 apg (22nd in NCAA). Mike Singletary adds 14.6 ppg with a team-high 6.8 rpg, while Nick Okorie chips in 10.8 ppg.
OLE MISS-TEXAS TECH SERIES
Tuesday's game is the fifth meeting between the two schools and the first since the 1975-76 season (Ole Miss lost 57-51 in Oxford). Texas Tech won all four contests played between 1954-75.
OLE MISS IN THE NIT
The Rebels are making their ninth overall NIT appearance and third in the last four seasons. Ole Miss has a 12-8 record in all NIT games after Friday's second-round win over Memphis. In their last NIT berth in 2008, the Rebels advanced to the semifinals in New York City for the first time in school history. The Rebels have a 10-1 record in NIT home games and have won nine straight contests in Oxford dating back to the 1983 NIT. The lone loss in an NIT home game was a 61-59 defeat to Virginia Tech in the 1982 second round. Ole Miss is 6-2 in NIT games under head coach Andy Kennedy. The Rebels are 2-0 this year and went 3-1 in 2008 and 1-1 in 2007.
NEXT ROUND
A victory Tuesday would advance the Rebels to the semifinals in New York City for the second time in three seasons. Ole Miss would play the team that advances out of the portion of the bracket that includes No. 1 Illinois, No. 2 Cincinnati, No. 3 Dayton and No. 4 Kent State. The NIT Final Four is March 30 and April 1 at Madison Square Garden.
REBELS CLICK ON ALL CYLINDERS VS. MEMPHIS
Ole Miss used an explosive offense to survive and advance against Memphis in Friday's 90-81 second-round win. The Rebels broke the school record for points in an NIT game, which had stood since 1983 (87 vs. Alabama State). The team made 50 percent of its FGs (28-of-56), 26-of-37 FTs and 8-of-18 3s. Ole Miss is averaging 87.0 points and 9.0 3s in two NIT games this year, while committing just 15 turnovers (7.5/game).
FINE SHOWING IN FIRST ROUND WIN
Ole Miss cruised to an 84-65 win over Troy in the first round of the NIT behind Terrico White's 27 points and an impressive all-around effort. The Rebels eclipsed 80 points for the 14th time this year and out-rebounded the Trojans by 15 (47 to 32). Ole Miss dished out 18 assists while committing only seven turnovers.
THREE POSTSEASON BERTHS IN FOUR YEARS
Ole Miss is making its third NIT appearance in the last four seasons (2007, 2008, 2010). Andy Kennedy is the second head coach in school history to guide the Rebels to at least three postseason berths in his first four seasons.
KENNEDY LEADS OLE MISS TO 20 WINS, AGAIN
Andy Kennedy has led the Rebels to a 23-10 record, becoming just the second coach in school history with three 20-win campaigns (Rod Barnes), doing so in his first four seasons at the helm. He is the ninth coach in SEC history to record 20+ wins in three of his first four campaigns. The Rebels claimed 21 wins in his first year and 24 in the next before last year's injury-riddled 16-15 campaign. Kennedy now boasts three of the 10 20-win seasons in program history.
IMPRESSIVE WIN TOTAL
Ole Miss has recorded 23 wins for just the third time in program history. If the Rebels beat Texas Tech, their 24-win total would tie the 2007-08 squad for second-most in school history.
Most Wins In School History
1. 27 2000-01 (27-8)
2. 24 2007-08 (24-11)
3. 23 2009-10 (23-10)
SEC WEST CHAMPS
Ole Miss claimed its fifth SEC Western Division title by finishing with a 9-7 league record this season, tied atop the division with Mississippi State. The Rebels also won the West crown in 2007 (Kennedy's first season), 2001 and back-to-back years in 1997 and 1998.
WARREN MOVING UP IN 1,000-POINT CLUB
With 14 points against UCF, junior point guard Chris Warren became the 31st player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Warren enters the Texas Tech NIT game with 1,335 career points, 15th-most in school history. He reached 1,000 points in his 60th career game, tied for the fifth-fastest pace in school history with all-time leading scorer John Stroud. Gerald Glass is the fastest Rebel to reach the milestone (37 games).
WARREN BREAKS HIS OWN SCHOOL RECORD
With 104 3-pointers this season, All-SEC junior guard Chris Warren has broken his own school record for 3s in a season that he set as a freshman in 2007-08 (103). He is the only Rebel to ever eclipse the century mark in triples and has now done that twice in his career.
ANOTHER SCHOOL RECORD BROKEN BY WARREN
With another 3 in the NIT game vs. Memphis, junior guard Chris Warren extended his school record with 43 consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal, formerly held by Aaron Harper. Warren's streak is tied with Tennessee's Scooter McFadgon and Vanderbilt's Shan Foster for the 3rd-longest in SEC history.
BUCKNER TIES SCHOOL BLOCKS RECORD
Freshman forward Reginald Buckner has established himself as one of the best shot-blockers in the SEC and in school history. With three blocks vs. Memphis, his season total rose to 56, which ties David Dean's school record for a season set in 1992-93. Buckner already holds the school freshman record.
TERRICO SHINES IN NIT
In the first two round of the NIT, sophomore guard Terrico White has shown the skill and prowess that made him last year's SEC Freshman of the Year and a preseason All-SEC first-team pick. White is averaging 24.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in the NIT, including team highs of 27 points vs. Troy and 21 against his hometown school, Memphis. His shooting percentages have skyrocketed in the NIT, including 54.8 percent FGs (17-31), 66.7 percent from 3 (6-9) and 72.7 percent FTs (8-11).
HOLLOWAY ON A TEAR
Sophomore forward Murphy Holloway has posted some big numbers in recent outings. In the last nine games, he is averaging 10.7 ppg and 9.6 rpg and adding 10 blocks and 12 steals. The South Carolina native notched his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 20 rebounds against Auburn. His 20 boards are the most by a Rebel since 1975 and the most by an SEC player this season. Since then, he led the Rebels with 16 points and 7 rebounds at Alabama, posted 12 points and 9 boards vs. LSU, had 11 rebounds and career highs of 3 blocks and 6 steals at Arkansas, dropped in 11 points with 6 boards vs. Troy in the first-round NIT game and 11 points and 8 boards in the second round vs. Memphis.
