The University of Mississippi Athletics
Insell vs. Insell in Sunday WBB Matinee
11/22/2014 | Women's Basketball
Middle Tennessee State - Game 4 Ole Miss women's basketball will be a part of NCAA Division I women's basketball history when the Rebels take on Middle Tennessee on Sunday. It will be the first time a father and son have coached against each other in NCAA Division I WBB history. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. at Tad Smith Coliseum. Game 4: Ole Miss (3-0) vs. Middle Tennessee (1-2) |
Starting Five
1. Sunday's game will be the first ever in NCAA Division I WBB history that pits father vs. son as Ole Miss' Matt Insell will square off with his father, Rick Insell, when the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders make the trip to Oxford. The pair have faced each other before when the younger Insell was an assistant a Kentucky, but this is the first meeting as head coaches.
2. Tia Faleru continues her excellent start to her senior campaign. The forward scored 29 points and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in Ole Miss' win over Southern in their last outing. Faleru, is leading the SEC in scoring with 23.7 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game. She picked up her 22nd double-double and her 13th career game of 20 or more points.
3. The Rebels are looking for their fourth consecutive win and to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2012-13. Entering the Middle Tennessee game, Ole Miss has won its last four homes games after closing last year's regular season with an OT win over Auburn. Ole Miss is nine wins from the 400th women's basketball win at Tad Smith Coliseum.
4. Danielle McCray had a career night against Southern. The West Palm Beach, Fla., native tallied a career-high 18 points to go along with a career-best five steals. McCray was in double figures for the first time this season and was one rebound shy of her third career double-double. McCray's previous career-best was 17 points set last season against Mississippi Valley.
5. With Tia Faleru's 29 points against Southern, Ole Miss has had a 20-point scorer in each of its games this season. Faleru has reach the milestone twice this season with 20-point outing against Grambling and Southern while freshman Shandricka Sessom reached the mark against Mississippi Valley. Sessom is the first freshman to score 20 or more points this season.
Ole Miss vs. Middle Tennessee Notables
-This will be the 17th meeting between the teams, but the first meeting since the 2001-02 season. Middle Tennessee won that meeting 74-64 in Murfreesboro. This will be the first meeting with Insell's at the helm of both programs. Rick Insell took over prior to the 2005-06 season and his son Matt Insell took over the Ole Miss program prior to the 2013-14 season.
-Not only is there a father-son connection, but also there are plenty of assistant coach connections. Prior to joining the Ole Miss staff, Rebel assistant Alex Simmons served as an assistant coach for three years at Middle Tennessee with Rick Insell. Additionally, Middle Tennessee assistant coach Shalon Pillow was an assistant at Kentucky with Matt Insell.
-Middle Tennessee is one of three teams from C-USA that Ole Miss will face this season. The Rebels will also take on Western Kentucky and Southern Miss this season. Ole Miss is 56-25 against foes from C-USA. The last time Ole Miss faced an opponent from the new-look C-USA was LA Tech last season.
A Win Would...
-Move the Rebels to 4-0 this season and give Matt Insell a win over his father, Rick Insell and bragging rights for the year. Ole Miss will travel to Murfreesboro for a contest next season.
-Give Ole Miss 392 wins at Tad Smith Coliseum and move the Rebels eight wins from win No. 400. Should the Rebels remain undefeated at home, Ole Miss would have a chance for win No. 400 on Jan. 11 vs. Alabama.
Rebels By The Numbers
23.7-Number of points Tia Faleru is averaging through three games this season. Faleru entered the 2014-15 season as the SEC's top returning scorer (16.4 ppg) and rebounder (9.4 rpg). She is also averaging a double-double with 23.7 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game.
91.3-Number of points Ole Miss is averaging through three games. For comparison sake, Ole Miss only scored 90 ore more points twice last season.
19-Number of rebounds Tia Faleru had vs. Southern. She was one rebound shy of her first 20-rebound outing, which would have been the first since Ole Miss great Armintie Price pulled down 20 boards in 2005-06.
46-Number of turnovers Ole Miss forced against Mississippi Valley State. The 46 turnovers are the most since the Rebels forced 42 in a win over Alabama during the 2006-07 season. The 46 turnovers are thought to be a single-game record.
391-Number of wins Ole Miss has at the Tad Pad entering the 2014-15 season. Ole Miss needs just nine more home wins to reach 400 wins in its 41-year history at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Scouting Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee enters Sunday's game with a 1-2 record after dropping a rare, 58-51, home game to SEC member Arkansas on Thursday. Caroline Warden led the Blue Raiders with 15 points off the bench while Olive Jones added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Jones is leading the way fro Middle Tennessee averaging 16.0 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game. China Dow is also in double figures with 13.0 points per game. The Blue Raiders have one of the toughest schedules in all of Division I women's basketball facing six teams from Power Five conferences, including a stretch of five straight to open the season. The Rebels will be the second consecutive SEC opponent for the Blue Raiders.
About Ole Miss
Senior forward Tia Faleru is leading the Rebels with 23.7 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game. The Ozark, Alabama native had recorded three-straight games in double figures and has posted two games of 20 or more points already this season. Faleru is the lone Rebel in double figures but the rest of the scoresheet is balanced as Ole Miss has seven players averaging six or more points. Toree Thompson and Danielle McCray are each averaging 8.7 points per game while Erika Sisk, Shandricka Sessom and Kiara Golden are pulling down 8.3 points per game. After Faleru's 14.7 rebounds, McCray is the next leading rebounder at 5.3 rebounds per game. Ole Miss is seeking its fourth straight win in Sunday's contest.
On Tap
The Rebels havea short turnaround as they will take on SEMO on Tuesday (Nov. 25) afternoon at Tad Smith Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Ole Miss will then travel to the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev., hosted by the University of Nevada. Ole Miss will face Utah in opening round action on Friday Nov. 28.
