Ole Miss, led by junior Deandre Burnett, secured a 80-77 win Saturday in Oxford against the Missouri Tigers. Although Missouri was only sporting a 7-20 record, including a three-game losing streak, the Tigers came close to upsetting the 11th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats earlier in the week.
Deandre Burnett, dribbles towards the basket during victory over against Missouri. Burnett scored 19 points. Rebels defeated the Tigers 80-77.
Deandre Burnett was a force in the second half, scoring 19 of his 28 points and going 3-5 from 3-point range. Others also stepped up, such as Terence Davis, Sebastian Saiz and Breein Tyree, all scoring in double figures. All three hit big shots down the stretch, including back-to-back threes from Saiz and Davis and a huge mid-range jumper from Tyree with less than a minute to play.
“At the end of the day, it’s a bottom-line business, and when you get to this point in the season, only one thing matters– is this going in the right column or the left column,” head coach Andy Kennedy said. “This goes in the right column.”
Free throws were a big reason for the win. Ole Miss hit 27 of 29 from the line, with Burnett going 13-14 on free throws. Nobody on the team missed more than one free throw against the Tigers.
“We lead the nation in free throws made on the season; this has been something that we feel like we can be successful at,” Kennedy said. “Obviously, we needed every one of them.”
The first half was filled with sloppy offensive play from both teams. Missouri shot a pedestrian 29 percent from the field in the first half while turning it over nine times. Ole Miss could not capitalize on the Tigers’ mistakes, shooting 36 percent from the field with 11 turnovers of its own.
“Our margin for error is just too small,” Kennedy said. “Typically, if it’s going to be a blowout, it’s not going to be be good for us.”
The 3-pointer was also a key aspect of the Rebels’ win: Ole Miss shot an impressive 52 percent from three on the day. Burnett chipped in five threes alone, while Saiz and Rasheed Brooks both hit two each. Burnett bounced back in stellar fashion for the Rebs after going 1-12 against Mississippi State Tuesday.
“Once the first one goes in, the basket starts to open up,” Burnett said. “Seeing that first one go in was a big relief for me.”
Ole Miss is back in action Wednesday against Alabama (16-11) in Tuscaloosa.
