Deandre Burnett grabbed his ankle and laid near mid-court in pain as a trainer rushed over to assist him. He hobbled off of the floor and into the locker room putting little-to-no weight on his left leg. The junior guard’s sprained ankle highlighted a frustrating first half in which Ole Miss made just five field goals, and 14 total in the game in its 69-47 blowout loss to Georgia on Wednesday night.
“Deandre is probably the most composed player on our team,” freshman guard Breein Tyree said. “Losing him, it definitely hurt us a lot. Players had to step up and we just couldn’t get it done tonight.”
Ole Miss’ shooting woes had already begun before Burnett’s premature departure. The Rebels missed 12 of their first 15 shots and made just two of their next 15 in an opening half that saw Georgia open up a lead as large as 12, and went into the halftime break leading 30-18. It likely could have been worse because as bad as the Rebels struggled offensively, they made up for it in some respects on the defensive end. Ole Miss rotated between a man-to-man defense and 1-3-1 zone that kept the Bulldogs off balance, shooting just 10-23 themselves from the floor in the opening half.
“The changing of defenses I thought was effective. It allowed us to stay in the game despite our inability to score,” Kennedy said. “When you shoot 16% in half, when you shoot 53% from the free throw line, and we’ve shown one thing– that we are going to turn that thing over– I try to be transparent. It is my fault. I can’t imagine guys that can’t dribble, pass and shoot at this level. I cannot imagine it. Some of the things that we do with the ball, I have never seen in my ten years of coaching.”
(Photo by Ariel Cobbert)
As badly as Ole Miss struggled to score, it didn’t do itself any favors at the free throw line, either. A team that had made just under 76 percent of its foul shots heading into the night, missed 15 on the night going 17-32. It lost the rebound margin by ten and it all ultimately equated to a bad home loss that dropped the Rebels to 10-6 on the year and 1-3 in SEC play.
“It was just a recipe for disaster. I wish I could tell you I saw it coming, but I certainly did not,” said Kennedy who said this game was up there in terms of the most disappointing losses during his time in Oxford. Through it all, Ole Miss hung around for most of the second half.
Terence Davis attempted light a fire under his team with five quick points coming out of halftime that cut the deficit to 30-23. Davis made plays in transition, but picked up an early fourth foul that forced him to sit for a large chunk of minutes down the stretch.
“TD is a guy that can make plays because he is athletic. He made a play in the open floor and got an and-one. Then he made another play in the open floor,” Kennedy said. “We are constantly trying to coach him to play in the open floor, to run, run. He’s a selective runner. You can’t be a selective runner.”
Ole Miss continued to hang around despite its inability to score, especially in the post. Sebastian Saiz went just 3-9 from the floor. He faced a double team every time he touched the basketball.
“I could probably count on my hand how many times we have double somebody in the post,” Georgia head coach Mark Fox said. “We just don’t do it. But we did it with him because he is so good, and he’s having a great year.”
The Rebels hung around for most of the second half, cutting the lead to seven once more, but eventually fell victim to its own shortcomings at the free throw line and its dysfunction on the offensive end.
“We are at about the halfway point in the season. This isn’t about anything other than players making plays and playing hard enough, and being committed,” Kennedy said. “Big difference than being interested. I think we are interested. Everyone wants to win, but are we committed to it? I don’t think we are to the level that we need to be based on our personnel.”
Ole Miss will head to South Carolina on Saturday to face a Gamecock team that was 12-3 entering the night and 2-0 in SEC play.
Injury update
- Kennedy said after the game that Burnett was on crutches and that it indeed was a sprained ankle. He said they will know more in the coming days when the swelling subsides. He had not update on the severity of it or a time table for return.
