The University of Mississippi Athletics
Men's Hoops Battles Georgia State to Complete Homestand
11/16/2017 | Men's Basketball
GAME 3
Matchup: Georgia State (2-0) at Ole Miss (2-0)
Tickets: OleMissTix.com
Date: Friday, November 17, 2017
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: SECN+
Richard Cross, play-by-play
Marc Dukes, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss IMG Sports Network
David Kellum, play-by-play
Keith Carter, analyst
Listen: OleMissSports.com
Watch: WatchESPN.com
Live Stats:
Series: Ole Miss leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 25, 2015
Ole Miss won 68-59
Oxford, Miss.
PROMOTIONS
Breein Tyree poster to first 2,000 fans.
TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Ole Miss and Georgia State will play for the second time over the last three seasons.
- Georgia State is the second Sun Belt opponent the Rebels will play through the first three games of the season.
- The matchup between the Rebels and Panthers is an "Undercard" game for the MGM Grand Main Event, which will take place in Las Vegas Nov. 20-22. Ole Miss is playing in the "Heavyweight Bracket" with Utah, Rice and UNLV, while Georgia State is in the "Middleweight Bracket" with Prairie View A&M, Eastern Kentucky and Eastern Washington.
- The Rebels are coming off an 85-75 victory over Eastern Kentucky in their first MGM Grand Main Event Undercard game, Nov. 13.
- Ole Miss is finishing a three-game homestand before heading to Las Vegas for a pair of games.
- The Rebels are 2-0 for the 11th time in 12 seasons under Andy Kennedy.
- Ole Miss is 1,283-1,282 all-time to hold a program record over .500 for the first time since Jan. 12, 1959.
- The Rebels are looking to improve to 3-0 for the eighth time in the past 12 seasons.
- Ole Miss is in the 12th season of the Andy Kennedy era; Kennedy, the Dean of the SEC, is the winningest coach in school history with 236 victories.
- Only two games into this season, Kennedy already has the fifth-most wins in SEC history by a coach in his first 12 years in the league at one school.
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in offensive rebounding with 14.5 per game.
- The Rebel bench is averaging 41 points per game to start the season, 45.8 percent of the team's scoring.
- With 75 career blocks, senior Marcanvis Hymon is one rejection away from tying Murphy Holloway for 11th on the school's all-time list.
- Hymon celebrated his 22nd birthday on Thursday.
- Hymon is the only Rebel who has faced GSU; he recorded seven points and six rebounds in 26 minutes.
- First team Preseason All-SEC honoree Deandre Burnett has scored 17 points in each of the first two games this season, both coming off the bench.
- Guards are accounting for 74.3 percent of the Rebels' scoring through the first two games.
PARTY LIKE IT'S 1959
With a win over Eastern Kentucky on Monday, Ole Miss improved it's all-time record to 1,283-1,282. It marked the first time the Rebels held an all-time winning percentage over .500 since Jan. 12, 1959 when they were 441-440 overall. To put that in perspective, a gallon of gas cost 25 cents, while 1959 was also the year that Alaska and Hawaii became states. As a program, Ole Miss was 95 games under .500 when Andy Kennedy took over in Oxford prior to the 2006-07 season.
SCOUTING GEORGIA STATE
Friday's matchup will be a battle of two undefeated teams as Georgia State enters with a record of 2-0. The Panthers defeated Carver Bible College by 40 to open the season (Nov. 10) and are coming off a 75-54 road victory at Rice (Nov. 14). GSU also went 3-0 in exhibition games, including a 65-58 win over Georgia Tech. Sophomore guard D'Marcus Simonds, last year's Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, leads the Panthers with 17.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg. In the team's season opener, he recorded the first triple-double in school history. Juniors Malik Benlevi (14.0 ppg), Devin Mitchell (13.0) and Jeff Thomas (10.0) are averaging double figures in scoring as well. Georgia State is coached by Ron Hunter, who is in his seventh season with the program and has 125 victories as the school's winningest coach.
THE LONE MATCHUP VS. THE PANTHERS
Ole Miss and Georgia State will meet for only the second time in history. After going decades without playing one another, 52 years to be exact with GSU fielding its first basketball team in 1963-64, the Rebels and Panthers will play for the second time in the past three seasons. The first matchup took place at Tad Smith Coliseum (Nov. 25, 2015) with Stefan Moody scoring 21 points to lead Ole Miss to a 68-59 victory. Moody was 6-of-13 from the floor with two 3-pointers, and had five assists and three steals. Tomasz Gielo added 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting for the Rebels, who made five of their first six shots from beyond the arc before going cold and shooting 1-of-10 the rest of the game. Ole Miss was 21-of-44 from the field and 20-of-24 from the free-throw line, and had 15 turnovers and five steals.
THE ROAD TO VEGAS
Before the Rebels arrive in Las Vegas next week for the MGM Grand Main Event, they are hosting a pair of "Undercard" games this week. Ole Miss dropped Eastern Kentucky 85-75 Monday night in the first Undercard matchup of the event, and Georgia State will come to town for team's second Undercard contest. Both Eastern Kentucky and Georgia State will head to the Sin City and compete in the Middleweight Bracket with Eastern Washington and Prairie View A&M. Meanwhile, the Rebels will compete in the Heavyweight Bracket against Utah (Nov. 20) before facing either Rice or UNLV (Nov. 22).
GREEN LIGHT GUARDS
Andy Kennedy has proven to develop guards during his time at Ole Miss. Over Kennedy's 11 seasons in Oxford, 12 guards have earned All-SEC accolades to rank third among conference teams. This season, the depth at guard shows in terms of scoring. Through the first two games of the season, Ole Miss guards have accounted for 74.3 percent of the Rebels' points. Five of the top six scorers on the team are guards, including the top three in Terence Davis (18.5 ppg), Deandre Burnett (17.0 ppg) and Devontae Shuler (13.0 ppg). Graduate transfer Markel Crawford adds 9.5 ppg, while starting point guard Breein Tyree contributes 8.5 ppg.
OFF THE BENCH
Not only has there been increased depth at the guard position, but the Rebels are deeper as a whole. After the first two contests of the 2017-18 campaign, the Ole Miss bench has averaged 41 of the team's 89.5 points per game. That rate of 45.8 percent of the team's scoring ranks third among benches in the SEC. Texas A&M leads the conference with 55.7 percent of its points coming from the bench, while Mississippi State ranks second at a 52.1 clip. However, both teams have only played one game and only time will tell regarding the depth of benches throughout the SEC.
VICTORY OVER EASTERN KENTUCKY
As skilled and quick as Eastern Kentucky was in the post, Ole Miss' guard play provided the fire power to lift the Rebels over the Colonels 85-75 to improve to 2-0 on Monday evening. Ole Miss' lead ballooned to as many as 10 in the first half and 19 in the second. Ultimately, the scoring from Ole Miss' backcourt kept the Colonels at a comfortable distance for most of the second half. No one on the floor was more efficient for the Rebels than senior guard Deandre Burnett. He scored 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting coming off of the bench, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and knocking down 5-of-6 free throws. Devontate Shuler scored 12 points in his first career start, and Terence Davis had 16 of his own. Markell Crawford scored 10 points.
HYMON PICKS UP WHERE SAIZ LEFT OFF
Heading into the season, a big question mark for Ole Miss was who would fill the void left by Sebastian Saiz. With the help of a school-record 409 rebounds, Saiz recorded 23 double-doubles a season ago. Seeing the stat line of 12 points and 13 rebounds Friday night, one may have thought that Saiz returned for a fifth-year reunion tour. However, it was Marcanvis Hymon who produced the double-double in the season-opening win over Louisiana. In a team-high 32 minutes, Hymon notched his third career double-double and the first since his sophomore season (Feb. 13, 2016 vs. Arkansas). The Memphis, Tennessee, native followed the season opener with an 8-point, 10-rebound performance Monday night versus Eastern Kentucky. Through two games, Hymon ranks second in the SEC in offensive rebounds (4.5 per game) and third in total rebounds (11.5 per game).
TD SCORING
Terence Davis burst onto the scene as a sophomore last year, averaging 14.9 points per game after only providing 1.8 points per game as a freshman. It was the largest increase in scoring among any returning player in the conference. Shooting 48.2 percent from the field, the Southaven, Mississippi, native ranked fourth in the league in field goal percentage and recorded 20+ points in six different games. He quickly became a playmaker on both sides of the floor, leading the Rebels with 50 steals as well. Davis showcased his scoring ability in Friday's season opener, scoring a team-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. He currently leads the Rebels in scoring by averaging 18.5 ppg.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT DRE
Not often does a first team preseason all-conference selection come off the bench, but senior Deandre Burnett is embracing the role. The guard averaged a team-high 16.5 points per game and finished fifth in the SEC in both free-throw percentage (88.1) and three-point percentage (37.6) during the 2016-17 campaign. Finishing eighth in the league in scoring, Burnett reached double figures in 26 of 33 games, including 10 20-plus performances and a career-high 41-point output (Nov. 18 vs. Oral Roberts). He also shared the rock, providing 104 assists throughout the season (3.2 apg). Being the first off the bench this season, Burnett provided a spark Friday night for the Rebels by scoring 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He followed that with a team-high 17 points in Monday's victory over EKU, going 4-of-5 from three-point land.
SHULER'S STATEMENT
A 4-star guard out of perennial powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, there was a lot of hype surrounding Devontae Shuler entering the season. The freshman did not disappoint in his debut, recording 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench. The Irmo, South Carolina, native knocked down four shots from beyond the arc. Shuler's offensive output was the most points by a freshman in a season opener since Trevor Gaskins recorded 21 versus Mississippi Valley State, exactly 10 years ago (Nov. 10, 2007). On Monday night versus Eastern Kentucky, Shuler earned his first career start and tallied 12 points.
12TH YEAR OF THE KENNEDY ADMINISTRATION
With the 12th season led by Mississippi native Andy Kennedy underway, Ole Miss has a 236-140 record, one SEC Tournament championship, two SEC West championships, nine 20-win campaigns and eight postseason berths, which includes two NCAA Tournament appearances 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 11 years in Oxford after the Rebels posted just three 21-win seasons in the 96 years before his arrival.
KENNEDY MOVING UP SEC COACHING WINS LIST
Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy is climbing the SEC coaching wins chart, ranking 18th with 236 career victories. See complete list below:
1. Adolph Rupp (Kentucky) - 875
2. Billy Donovan (Florida) - 467
3. Dale Brown (LSU) - 448
4. C.M. Newtown (UA/VU) - 340
Harry Rabenhorst (LSU) - 340
6. Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt) - 332
7. Tubby Smith (UGA/UK) - 308
8. Joe B. Hall (Kentucky) - 297
Hugh Durhman (Georgia) - 297
10. Rick Stansbury (MSU) - 293
11. Ray Mears (Tennessee) - 278
Roy Skinner (Vanderbilt) - 278
13. Wimp Sanderson (Alabama) - 265
John Mauer (UK/UT/UF) - 265
15. Hank Crisp (Alabama) - 264
16. Nolan Richardson (Arkansas) - 249
17. John Calipari (Kentucky) - 248
18. Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss) - 236
19. Norm Sloan (Florida) - 232
20. Rick Pitino (Kentucky) - 219
21. Joel Eaves (Auburn) - 214
KENNEDY'S FIRST 12 YEARS RANK AMONG ALL-TIME SEC GREATS
Andy Kennedy is also fifth on the list for most wins by a coach in their first 12 years in the league after taking over an SEC program. See the list below:
1. Bill Donovan (Florida) - 285
2. Joe B. Hall (Kentucky) - 279
3. Wimp Sanderson (Alabama) - 265
4. Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State) - 255
5. Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss) - 236
5. Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt) - 236
7. Hugh Durham (Georgia) - 219
8. Ray Mears (Tennessee) - 218
9. Dale Brown (LSU) - 212
10. C.M. Newton (Alabama) - 211
11. Roy Skinner (Vanderbilt) - 204
11. Adolph Rupp (Kentucky) - 204
DEFENDING HOME COURT
Winning at home has been a trademark of Andy Kennedy's squads since he took the reins in 2006-07. Ole Miss is 135-34 (.799 win pct.) in games played homes during Kennedy's tenure. In two seasons playing in the $96.5 million Pavilion at Ole Miss, the Rebels hold a 22-8 (.733) advantage against the opposition. Ole Miss has won 260 of its last 326 games (.798 win pct.) in Oxford dating back to the 1996-97 campaign.
