Game two for Ole Miss hoops is Coastal Carolina in a bizarre — same day as a football game but on the road — matchup. But Marshall Henderson is back. So rejoice.
These two teams played last season, also the second game of the season, and it was before we knew who Henderson really is. Henderson went for 27 points against the Chanticleers on 17 shots and 6 of 13 on threes.
This season, in two games, Coastal Carolina has defended the three well. In their first game, Akron shot 7 of 22 from deep, while in their second game Guilford College shot a dreadful 7 of 31 on threes. Overall, the Chanticleers’ two opponents have shot 26.4 percent on three balls. They held Matt McCarthy to 2 of 9 and Trever Hyatt to 0 of 8 on threes.
Likely, no one at Guilford College has the shooting stroke of Henderson.
Ole Miss struggled when facing 2-3 zones last year, and they did again in their opener with Troy. Ole Miss failed to penetrate the zone with either the pass or the dribble, and only beat the zone because Jarvis Summers shot 4 of 4 from three-point range in the first half.
When Henderson is in the game, teams won’t play zone, but for the eight or so minutes that Henderson hits the bench, Ole Miss will likely face a zone since no one else has proven themselves as a shooting threat.
Coastal Carolina has faced 148 half-court possessions this season, and they have only played zone on eight of them, per Synergy Sports.
In last year’s meeting, Coastal Carolina actually had a three-point lead at half time, but Ole Miss put it on the Chanticleers in the second half to get a 90-72 victory.
Coastal Carolina loses their best player from last season, Anthony Raffa. Raffa had 18 points against Ole Miss last season, and for the whole year, he posted a points per possession of 1.02. Also, their second best player is gone in Kierre Greenwood, who had nine points on 4 of 12 shooting against Ole Miss last season.
Now the Chanticleers are looking to a freshman, Elijah Wilson, to lead the offense. Wilson scored 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting against Akron, then turned in a less efficient 16 points on 6 of 16 shooting against Guilford.
They return Michel Enanga, a 6-foot-5 forward. He had a double-double last season against Ole Miss with 10 points and 12 rebounds, five of which were offensive. Although, Ole Miss forced him into a 3 of 10 shooting performance.
Looking at overall efficiency, Coastal Carolina posted a decent .95 points per possession last season in Oxford, but they had an offensive efficiency of just .86 in their loss to Akron. Ole Miss was good defensively against Troy, as they held the Trojans to .81 points per possession.
The game can be seen online – for free – through the Big South Network here.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
