A Look at the Weekend

The Rebels remain at home on Saturday as they take on the Gamecocks of South Carolina. The Gamecocks are a decent team who has struggled a littel bit this year under retiring head coach Dave Odom. One thing is for sure there is no room for the Rebels to let up. They need to get up early on this team and learn how to keep a lead much like they did against Vandy.

One player to watch for the Gamecocks will be Devon Downey, a transfer for Cincy that Andy Kennedy really tried to bring to Oxford. Downey is an outstanding player who leads the SEC in scoring and will be hard to stop. It will be interesting to see who Kennedy matches up on defense against Downey.

A couple of other notes before the UMAA scouting report:

• The latest RPI rankings have the Rebels at number 9. There is a long way to go in the season, but this is a great RPI for the Rebs, and I would bet the highest they have ever had.
• The biggest game of the season thus far in the SEC is probably coming up this weekend at Humphrey Coliseum. The Vols vs. the Dog$ will be a good matchup. UT is playing good ball and the Dog$ are coming off a blow out at Arkansas on Saturday.
• There are no more tickets avaiable for the game Saturday against the Gamecocks and the game in several weeks against the Bulldog$. I am sure there will be plenty of State fans in attendance at that game and they have bought alot of tickets. It is going to make for an interesting month of February in the state of Mississippi.

(UMAA Notes)

REBELS HOST SEC EAST’S GAMECOCKS Following an impressive 74-58 win over No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 22 Ole Miss looks to remain unbeaten at home this year when South Carolina visits Oxford on Saturday. The Rebels are 10-0 this year at home and 25-1 at the Tad Pad since Andy Kennedy took the helm last season. The Rebels sit in third place in the SEC West with a 3-3 league mark, while Carolina is tied for fifth in the East. Wednesday’s win marked the second for Ole Miss this year over a ranked opponent, including the victory over No. 15 Clemson in San Juan. The Commodores’ 58 points matched the second-lowest by a Rebel opponent this season. Chris Warren tallied 20 points for his fourth 20+ effort of the year. Eniel Polynice had 18, while Kenny Williams posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS South Carolina is 10-10 on the year and sits in a tie for fifth place in the SEC Eastern Division with a 2-4 league record. The Gamecocks most recently earned a 62-56 win over Georgia on Wednesday. They are led by the SEC’s top scorer in sophomore point guard Devan Downey (19.6 ppg), a former pupil of Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy at Cincinnati. Downey has poured in 20+ points in five of the last six games. He also leads the nation with 3.4 steals per game and ranks third in the SEC with 5.1 assists per contest. Another transfer, junior Zam Fredrick (Georgia Tech), is second on the team with 16.3 ppg. Dominique Archie chips in 10.6 points and a team-high 6.4 boards. SC averaged 74.7 points to its opponents’ 69.7.
OLE MISS-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES Saturday’s game will be the 24th time the two schools have faced each other on the hardwood. Ole Miss holds a 12-11 all-time edge and has won seven of the last 11 meetings. South Carolina has never won in Oxford, as Ole Miss enjoys an 8-0 edge at Tad Smith Coliseum. Last year, the Rebels dropped a 76-63 decision in Columbia. The two schools met only once prior to South Carolina joining the Southeastern Conference in the 1991-92 season. The two teams played in the Gulf South Tournament in the 1960-61 season, with the Gamecocks taking an 85-79 decision. The teams have also met in the SEC Tournament six times and have split those games 3-3.