Ole Miss (7-2) will take on the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Rebels are coming off a win at home over Middle Tennessee State, but they’ll get tested offensively by a stingy Warhawk defense. Louisiana-Monroe (3-2) has the most efficient defense in the Sun Belt and one of the best in the country.
Louisiana-Monroe’s defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) is 90.4, tops in the Sun Belt and 20th best in Division I. Their defensive strength is in their frontcourt, where the starting power forward and small forward as well as their back up power forward all have defensive ratings under 90.
Backup big man DeMondre Harvey is first in the Sun Belt with a defensive rating of 78.4. While the starting power forward Tylor Ongwae and small forward Jayon James have the second and third best defensive ratings in the conference, respectively.
The reason behind their efficient start has been their ability to defend from the perimeter. The Warhawks have held opponents to the worst three-point percentage in the country, as opponents have shot just 22.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Ole Miss is shooting 37.7 percent on threes, second best in the SEC. Jarvis Summers is shooting a career-high 54.5 percent on threes – second best in the SEC. Marshall Henderson is shooting a career-high 37.8 percent on three pointers.
Louisiana-Monroe has struggled with turnovers this season, as they average 17 per game, fourth most in the country. Warhawk starting point guard Nick Coppola has a turnover percentage of 37.8, the highest in the Sun Belt.
Ole Miss is forcing 14.3 turnovers per game and in their last game against Middle Tennessee State, they forced 14 turnovers and turned that into 25 points.
Louisiana-Monroe has only played five games this season. They opened with a 17-point loss to Kansas, and most recently lost at LSU on Saturday 61-54. They held the Tigers’ big man, Johnny O’Bryant, to four points – he is averaging 14.9 on the season.
For Ole Miss, pay attention to the rotation. Head coach Andy Kennedy is looking to get a final feel for the distribution of minutes. Last game, Anthony Perez played just four minutes, while Martavious Newby and Derrick Millinghaus were knocked out of the starting lineup and played 10 and 13 minutes, respectively.
Millinghaus is the backup point guard and should still see regular minutes, especially when Ole Miss needs an offensive spark. But given the way Jarvis Summers has started the season, and that Kennedy has played LaDarius White as the point guard in small amounts, Millinghaus will need to perform at a high level to continue to get significant minutes off of the bench.
Newby is a defensive specialist that will still get some time when Ole Miss is struggling to keep opponents off the scoreboard. He’ll also be a part of offense/defense substitutions late in games when Ole Miss is trailing.
Ole Miss is a 13.5-point favorite over Louisiana-Monroe, according to VegasInsider.com. Ole Miss is just 2-4 against the spread this season.
Graphic By Tyler Bischoff | The Daily Mississippian
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
