Rebels Head to No. 19 Arkansas for SEC Showdown

Jan. 15, 2015

Ole Miss Game Notes - Arkansas

Ole Miss (10-6, 1-2 SEC) at No. 19/19 Arkansas (13-3, 2-1 SEC)

Date: Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015

Time: 8:30 p.m.

Location: Fayetteville, Ark.

Arena: Bud Walton Arena (19,200)

Television: ESPNU

John Brinkley, play-by-play

Cory Alexander, analyst

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network

David Kellum, play-by-play

Keith Kessinger, analyst

Satellite Radio: Sirius 113, XM 191

Live Video: WatchESPN.com

Live Audio: OleMissSports.com

Series: UA leads 42-30

Streak: UA, W1

In Fayetteville: UA leads 15-10

Last Meeting: UA W, 110-80 (3/5/14)

TIP OFF

Â• Ole Miss has won nine of the last 11 meetings with the Razorbacks, including four of the last five meetings in Arkansas.

Â• Rebel head coach Andy Kennedy is 10-4 all time against the Razorbacks.

Â• Ole Miss leads nation in free throw percentage, hitting 78.9 percent of its attempts. The Rebels have hit 116 of their last 139 (.835) attempts from the line. Junior G Stefan Moody ranks second in the SEC and 15th in the nation shooting 90.3 percent from the free throw line.

Â• Nine of the Rebels' 13 scholarship players posted a 3.0 GPA or above in the fall semester, as Ole Miss posted a record team GPA.

Â• Senior C M.J. Rhett scored a career-high 15 points and pulled down 7 rebounds against LSU.

Â• Junior G Stefan Moody scored 25 points and knocked down 5 3-pointers in the Rebels' overtime loss to No. 1 Kentucky. Moody is averaging 16.7 ppg and shooting 45.2 percent from 3-point range over his last 11 games.

Â• Senior G Jarvis Summers named to the Cousy Award Watch List, which is given to the nation's top point guard, and is the SEC active career leader in points (1,448), assists (425), minutes (3,358) and wins (75).

Â• Ole Miss is looking for its first road win over a ranked opponent since 2003.

OLE MISS TRAVELS TO ARKANSAS

Ole Miss heads to Arkansas Saturday for a showdown with the Razorbacks. The Rebels have won nine of the last 11 meetings against the Hogs, including four of the last five in Fayetteville.

SEC RPI STRENGTH

Entering league play, the SEC was one of only three leagues with 10 teams in the top 100 of the RPI and one of only four leagues with five teams in the top 50.

REBELS HITTING FREEBIES

Ole Miss leads the nation hitting 78.9 percent of its free throw attempts. The Rebels hit 19-of-22 attempts (.864) against Kentucky and have hit 116 of their last 139 from the line (.835). Seven Ole Miss players are shooting at least 75.0 percent from the line, including junior G Stefan Moody, who ranks second in the SEC and 15th in the nation shooting 90.3 percent (56-of-62).

RHETT HAS CAREER NIGHT AGAINST THE TIGERS

Senior C M.J. Rhett scored a career-high 15 points and pulled down 7 rebounds in the Rebels' 75-71 loss to LSU. Rhett was 4-of-7 from the field and hit a career-best 7-of-8 attempts from the line on the night. Sophomore C Dwight Coleby also chipped 10 points and grabbed a career-high 8 boards against the Tigers.

OLE MISS BLASTS GAMECOCKS

Senior G Jarvis Summers led all scorers with 20 points, while junior G Stefan Moody added 16 points, all in the second half, as Ole Miss rolled over South Carolina 65-49. Defensively, the Rebels held South Carolina to a season-low 49 points and forced 15 turnovers, turning them into 17 points.

OLE MISS DROPS HEARTBREAKER TO NO. 1 CATS

Junior G Stefan Moody scored 25 points and senior G Jarvis Summers added 23 for the Rebels, who beat Kentucky 30-26 in the paint and controlled the boards for much of the game, before falling to No. 1 Kentucky 89-86 in overtime. Trailing Kentucky 12-0 and 18-5, Moody helped Ole Miss' offense regroup to mount runs of 10-0 and 7-0 to get within 23-22 before eventually taking a 30-26 lead with 7:01 left in the half. The junior guard went 4-of-5 from long range en route to 16 points in the first half. Summers added 18 in the second half and overtime.

OLE MISS IN THE RPI

Ole Miss ranks No. 63 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index rankings released by the NCAA. The Rebels are 4-4 against the RPI top 125, including wins over No. 34 Cincinnati and No. 87 Oregon. Arkansas is ranked No. 15 coming into Saturday's game.

MOODY BREAKS OUT

Junior G Stefan Moody scored 25 points, including 16 in the first half, as Ole Miss took No. 1 Kentucky to overtime. Moody knocked down 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc and 8-of-13 from the field. He scored a career-high 26 points, including 17 in the second half, as the Rebels knocked off Cincinnati to claim the Emerald Coast Classic crown. The junior college transfer was 9-of-17 (.529) from the floor and hit 3-of-7(.429) from behind the arc in the game after starting the season shooting just 28.9 percent from the floor and hitting only 3-of-21 from 3. Moody scored 22 points in the Rebels win at Oregon and added 25 points, including a career-high 6 3-pointers against Western Kentucky. Moody is averaging 16.7 ppg and has hit 33-of-63 (.452) from 3-point range over his last 11 games.

REBELS VERSUS RAZORBACKS

Saturday's game will be the 73rd meeting between the two schools, with the Razorbacks holding an all-time series lead of 42-30. The series began in 1937 and Arkansas won 32 of the first 38 meetings, but Ole Miss has won 22 of the last 31 meetings and nine of the last 11. The Rebels have won four of the last five games in Fayetteville, including a 77-75 triumph in Fayetteville in 2012. Arkansas holds a 15-10 advantage in games in Fayetteville. Head coach Andy Kennedy is 10-4 all-time versus the Razorbacks

KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION IN NINTH YEAR

In nine seasons under Mississippi native Andy Kennedy, Ole Miss has a 181-107 record, one SEC Tournament championship, two SEC West championships, six 20-win campaigns and six postseason berths, which includes an NCAA Third Round appearance and pair of trips to the NIT Final Four. The all-time winningest coach in school history, Kennedy has averaged more than 21 wins per season in his eight full years in Oxford.

AK GETS CAREER WIN 200

With the victory over Southeast Missouri, head coach Andy Kennedy earned his 200th career victory as a head coach in his 317th career game. Kennedy is the all-time winningest coach in school history with 181 career win as the Ole Miss head coach.

KENNEDY'S FIRST EIGHT YEARS RANK AMONG ALL-TIME SEC GREATS ...

Last season, head coach Andy Kennedy moved past Florida's Billy Donovan and Alabama's Wimp Sanderson for the third-most wins by a head coach in their first eight years in the league at one school.

See the list below:

1. Rick Pitino (Kentucky) - 219

2. Joe B. Hall (Kentucky) - 183

3. Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss) - 171

4. Bill Donovan (Florida) - 169

Wimp Sanderson (Alabama) - 169

... AND HE IS MOVING UP THE NINE-YEAR LIST

Kennedy is also tied for fifth on the list for most win by a coach in their first nine years in the league at one school. See the list below:

1. Joe B. Hall (Kentucky) - 205

2. Bill Donovan (Florida) - 193

3. Wimp Sanderson (Alabama) - 186

4. Rick Stansbury (MSU) - 185

5. Mark Gottfried (Alabama) - 181

Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss) - 181

OLE MISS `D' AMONG BEST IN THE LEAGUE

The Ole Miss defense is among the top units in the league ranking third in field goal percentage defense (.379) and sixth in blocked shots (4.1/game).

SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS

Arkansas is 13-3 on the season and 2-1 in the SEC after dropping a road game at Tennessee 74-69 Tuesday. The Razorbacks are ranked No. 19 in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls. Sophomore F Bobby Portis, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, leads the SEC in scoring at 18.0 ppg and is fourth in rebounding pulling down 8.0 boards a game. Portis also leads the league in field goal percentage shooting .582 from the field. Junior guard Michael Qualls is second on the team in scoring at 15.8 ppg, while junior guard Rashad Madden has dished out 86 assists. The Hogs lead the league in scoring at 83.0 ppg, but rank last in the SEC in defense allowing 70.1 ppg.

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

Stefan Moody

M.J. Rhett

Jarvis Summers

The University of Mississippi Athletics