Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy reacts during the first half of a game against Troy in Oxford, Miss., Friday, Nov. 8, 2013. Ole Miss won 69-54. (Photo/Thomas Graning)
Ole Miss rolled through Georgia Tech on Friday to a 77-67 win. The Rebels used a dominant defensive performance to get a constant 20-point lead that shrunk to 10 due to Georgia Tech scoring 12 points in the final 1:47, when Ole Miss took their foot off of the pedal.
Now, Ole Miss will have to handle an excellent backcourt, as they will play Penn State for the Barclay’s Classic Championship today at 3:30 p.m.
Guards Tim Frazier and D.J. Newbill scored a combined 54 points as Penn State beat St. John’s in overtime, 89-82. Both players are averaging 19 points this season, and both are scoring over 1 point per possession for the season.
Frazier has done most of damage in transition and on the pick-and-roll; 59 percent of his points come from these two play types. But against St. John’s, Frazier won the game at the free throw line.
With Penn State down two in the last 10 seconds, Frazier got fouled on a three and knocked down all three shots. Then in overtime, Frazier went a perfect 10 of 10 at the line. In the final three minutes of regulation plus the five minute overtime, Frazier was 15 of 15 on free throws.
Newbill has excelled in isolations and pick-and-rolls this season, but his most frequent way to score has been on spot-up jumpers and in transition.
Newbill is shooting over 40 percent on three pointers this season, and he and Frazier will be the most difficult task for the Ole Miss guards to defend.
Ole Miss has played a lot of zone this season, and no opponent has made the Rebels pay by knocking down threes. Newbill can change that.
No one has punished Ole Miss for playing Marshall Henderson and Derrick Millinghaus together. Both players have the ability to get steals – which lead to transition opportunities – with quick hands, but both can be overpowered in one-on-one defending situations.
Rebel head coach Andy Kennedy may have to sacrifice some offensive firepower by not playing Henderson and MIllinghaus together if Frazier and Newbill prove too difficult to defend.
Anthony Perez was a train wreck last year on defense, usually due to poor footwork and being out of position. This year, he has become a much better defender and is properly using his length to defend. Perez has eight blocks this season in 94 minutes; last year, he had five blocks in 203 minutes.
Perez may need to defend Frazier or Newbill. Usually, Ole Miss has to go to LaDarius White or Martavious Newby to be a defensive stopper. But with White struggling offensively (shooting 30 percent) and Newby not being an offensive threat (just 10 field goal attempts all season), Perez could become a two-way player that Ole Miss needs.
Looking back at the Georgia Tech game, the defense was dominant. Ole Miss allowed Georgia Tech to an absurdly low .62 points per possession in the first half. The Yellow Jackets did get up to .93 points per possession for the game, but if you eliminate the final 1:47 (Georgia Tech scored 12 points on five possessions), Ole Miss held Georgia Tech to .82 points per possession for the game.
Ole Miss had 10 blocked shots – four from Aaron Jones and two from Anthony Perez – as they kept the Georgia Tech post play at bay, holding Daniel Miller and Kammeon Hosley to six points.
Ole Miss is allowing .88 points per possession this season; that’s best in the SEC and 14th in the NCAA. Penn State leads the Big Ten and is 16th in NCAA on offense with 1.22 points per possession.
For continuing coverage of Ole Miss men’s basketball, follow @Tyler_RSR and @thedm_sports on Twitter.
— Tyler Bischoff
tfbischo@go.olemiss.edu
