Know the Opponent: Memphis

Know the Opponent: Memphis (6-1)Â

KenPom ranking: 89Â

Ole Miss is presented another opportunity on Saturday to grab a nice win when Memphis travels to the Pavilion for the Tigers first road game of the season. The Rebels let an opportunity slip by against Middle Tennessee with an awful first half, but a win against Memphis would put that game firmly in the rearview mirror. It will be interested to see how Andy Kennedy tweaks the rotation, given the spark that Breein Tyree gave the Rebels in the second half on Wednesday.Â

Tigers On Offense: The good news for Ole Miss is that Memphis is not a team that shoots 3s with great regularity. Just 25 percent of Memphis' points come from behind the arc, the 276th-most in college basketball. That's noteworthy because the Rebels have not been able to stop teams from shooting from deep. Ole Miss is near the bottom of the barrel in 3-point defense and percentage of opponents' points from long range.Â

Memphis is very effective in what they do, though. They shoot 58 percent on two-point shots, 11th in the nation. Adding to that, Memphis has been one of the best teams so far this year at crashing the offensive class, ranking inside the top-30 in basketball. Ole Miss will have to be especially strong on the defensive glass to keep Memphis from being able to rack up extra opportunities. Dedric Lawson can make Ole Miss pay if the Rebels don't put a body on him on rebounds.Â

Lawson can do a little bit of everything and do it well. He shoots over 50 percent, averages 20+ points, grabs nearly 12 rebounds a game, and leads the team in blocks.Â

One of the few things Memphis has not done well this season is hit free throws. The Tigers are one of the worst teams in the nation at hitting their freebies, barely making 60 percent of them.Â

Tigers On Defense: Ole Miss has to cut out the turnovers that have haunted the team through the early part of the season. The 14 in the first half took away any chance of a win against Middle Tennessee. Nearly 22 percent of Ole Miss' possessions have ended in a turnover, one of the worst marks in the country. Despite that, Ole Miss is still above the D-1 average in offensive efficiency. If Ole Miss does drop the turnovers to more of a norm for an AK team, the team can score.Â

Memphis has been very good against the 3 so far in this season, allowing opponents to shoot barely over 30 percent. Three-point offense has been a strength for Ole Miss, ranking second in the SEC in 3-point percentage.Â

That doesn't mean it's easy to score inside against the Tigers, though. Memphis reject nearly 15 percent of opponents' shots, ranking 32nd in the nation. Lawson has already turned away 15 shots in this young season. However, Ole Miss hasn't been a team to get shots blocked this season.

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Players Mentioned

Breein Tyree

The University of Mississippi Athletics