The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Host Aggies in Key SEC Matchup
2/3/2015 | Men's Basketball, Blog
National Signing Day will grab most of the headlines Wednesday, but there's also an important basketball game in Oxford, as Ole Miss hosts Texas A&M in a matchup of two of the hottest teams in the Southeastern Conference.Â
The Rebels have won three straight games, their first three-game winning streak since November, while the Aggies have won six straight games after dropping each of its first two SEC contests, both without leading scorer and rebounder Jalen Jones.
"We're playing better," head coach Andy Kennedy said. "The two home games (Florida and Mississippi State), for us to win them in the fashion we did, battling back, and then to go to Missouri and lead the game from tip to buzzer, our team is continuing to evolve, which is what you want as you enter the month of February."
As the calendar turns to February, RPI rankings and bracket projections become more in focus and take on greater importance. Ole Miss ranks No. 47 in the latest RPI rankings released by the NCAA and boasts two RPI top-50 wins over Arkansas (No. 24) and Cincinnati (No. 34), looking for a third top-50 win in Texas A&M, which is ranked No. 32 entering Wednesday's game.
Looking at the NCAA Tournament bracket projections, CBSSports.com, ESPN.com and USA Today all have the Rebels among one of the last four teams into the field. The same three projections also have Texas A&M in the field, as CBSSports.com has the Aggies among one of the last four in, ESPN has them as one of the last four teams with a bye and USA Today with them solidly in the field.
"We don't really pay attention to it, but Coach does and he's always talking about that," said Ole Miss forward Anthony Perez of the RPI and NCAA Tournament talk. "When he talks to us, he always talks about the RPI and all that stuff. He lets us know where we are, what teams are ahead of us and what teams we have to beat."
Texas A&M is led by a pair of transfers in Jones (SMU) and Danuel House (Houston), the reigning SEC Player of the Week, who each average 14.2 points per game, while Alex Caruso, the SEC assists leader from last season, leads the the league in the same category this season, averaging 5.6 assists per game.
Defensively, the Aggies rank second in the SEC in field goal percentage defense (.377), while leading the league in 2-point field goal percentage defense (.401) and rebounding margin (+3.9/game).
Texas A&M, like Ole Miss, played No. 1 unbeaten Kentucky, the lone unbeaten team in the nation, to the wire, falling 70-64 in double overtime, despite the absence of Jones.
"You bring in Jalen Jones and Danuel House, two all-leaguer caliber players, and you couple them with the guys they returned, and Billy (Kennedy) has them playing at a really high level. They're good defensively and they can hurt you with a number of things offensively. They're going to pose a number of challenges for us."
Kennedy has been pleased with his team's progress but also said this team has a long way to go to reach its potential, as they enter the heart of SEC play and NCAA Tournament talk heats up.
"I'm proud of the things we have done," Kennedy said. "We have moved the program forward, and I think this team has chance to take another step. I like where we are right now, but I don't think we're close to being what we can be."
