LaDarius White drives the ball during the game against Mississippi State Saturday.
Ignacio Murillo I The Daily Mississippian
Ole Miss looks to continue its hot start in Southeastern Conference play as the Rebels take on Tennessee tonight in Knoxville.
The Rebels (14-5, 5-1 SEC) enter the contest on a four-game winning streak, most recently winning 82-63 over in-state rival Mississippi State this past Saturday. The Volunteers (12-7, 3-2 SEC) are looking to stop the bleeding after scoring a season-low 41 points in their most recent loss to SEC-leading Florida this past Saturday.
Ole Miss has been led all season long by its guard play. Senior Marshall Henderson and junior Jarvis Summers are averaging 18.7 and 18 points per game, respectively.
“Our formula is pretty simple,” Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy said. “Jarvis has established himself as one of the best guards in the league and has given us the leadership that goes above and beyond what we need. Marshall is Marshall; he’s the only guy in the country who can go 4-for-15 and be the leading story. We need to feed off of the attention they will pay toward him, and we need to do a good job playing off of that.”
Henderson and Summers are certainly the catalyst that makes the Ole Miss offense go, but they can’t do it alone.
The Rebels have had help from their supporting cast the past few games, and it has to continue for them to be successful. No one has stepped up more than sophomore forward Anthony Perez, who is averaging 9.8 points per game in conference play.
Tennessee is led by guard Jordan McRae. The 6-foot-6 senior is averaging 18.5 points per game and will be a tough matchup for Ole Miss junior guard LaDarius White, who will likely be matched up on McRae throughout the game.
“McRae is a really good player,” White said. “I plan on containing him and taking away his looks. I have never been the type to back down from anyone and I will not start now.”
The Volunteers present a huge challenge for the Rebel frontcourt. Tennessee has one of the best frontcourts in the SEC with junior forward Jarnell Stokes and senior forward Jeronne Maymon. Stokes, a Memphis native, is nearly averaging a double-double, as he is putting up 13.6 points and grabbing 9.7 rebounds per game.
As a team, Tennessee is 25th in the country in rebounding, and its physicality sets it apart.
Ole Miss has had problems all season long grabbing rebounds, as the play of junior forward Aaron Jones and freshman forward Sebastian Saiz has been inconsistent. If the Rebels can get good play from Jones and Saiz, that should favor Ole Miss. However, going against Stokes and Maymon won’t be an easy task.
“We have to make sure we buckle that chinstrap and know that there will be nothing easy in Knoxville,” Kennedy said.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, and the game will be televised by SEC TV.
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