Know the Opponent: Middle Tennessee State

Middle Tennessee State (6-1)

KenPom ranking: 108

The next six days could go a long way in building the Rebels' postseason resume, and that stretch begins tonight with Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders return seven players that knocked off No. 2 seed Michigan State in the first round of the tournament last year. Kermit Davis has built a consistent winner that competes for a Tournament bid each year.

Blue Raider Offense: Middle Tennessee has a very efficient offense based largely on the fact that they don't turn the ball over much. Their turnover percentage of 14.6 ranks 12th in the country. For comparison, despite playing one more game than Ole Miss, the Blue Raiders have 26 fewer turnovers.

When he's on the floor, expect forward Jacorey Williams to be the Blue Raiders' catalyst on offense. According to KenPom, he accounts for more than 1/3 of Middle Tennessee's shots when he's on the floor. He leads his team with 21.6 points per game. While Ole Miss tries to get down the court quickly on offense, MTSU would much rather slow the game down and get the ball inside to Williams.

If the game is to be decided in the last minutes, MTSU has struggled with freebies this year. They're shooting below 60 percent as a team.

Blue Raider Defense: Ole Miss has struggled with turnovers, although some of them have been self-inflicted. Those have to be eliminated against an MTSU defense that can make life difficult on an offense. Nearly 1/4 of MTSU's opponents' possessions have ended with a turnover, one of the best marks in the nation. Teams have struggled scoring inside on the Blue Raiders and had to rely on the 3-ball to score points. That's due in part to MTSU being one of the best teams in the nation at blocking shots. While Ole Miss will need to make shots, they need to be careful to not fall in love with the deep ball and keep Saiz involved inside.

Kennedy Quotable: "Kermit and I go way back. I have great respect for him. He's a friend of mine. Every time I get close to the game I wonder 'Why in the world would I schedule them' because they're good. They're going to be tough, and they're not going to give us anything free. It'll be a good challenge for our team."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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