Spring Break
Ole Miss struggling after strong start
Around the SEC
Brandon Harris
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: Sports
Ole Miss isn't doing itself any favors as of late.
Less than a month after starting the season undefeated and being ranked as high as No. 15. the Rebels (16-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) have taken a step in the wrong direction, dropped out of the polls and lost three of their last four games. Even when the Rebels lost their first game on Jan. 9 at Tennessee, it was just a two-point defeat, and they still managed to bounce back with two more victories.
Then out of nowhere, came the Auburn debacle - an 80-77 road loss to a team long thought of as a doormat of SEC basketball. The Rebels followed with a 20-point loss at Mississippi State, a win over then-No. 18 Vanderbilt and most recently, a disappointing 80-77 home loss to South Carolina.
"I don't get it," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said of the loss. "We had our opportunities. We didn't execute down the stretch, and that's happened to us a couple times. You get what you deserve."
It was Ole Miss' first home loss of the season, South Carolina's first-ever win in Oxford and another in a series of black eyes the Rebels have been dealt in what has otherwise been a surprisingly successful season.
Ole Miss plays at Arkansas on Saturday in a matchup of two teams just outside of the Top 25. Afterward, the Rebels will step out of conference to play Presbyterian College, and go back into SEC play at Alabama. Winning at least two of those games could be very crucial for Ole Miss, which, as of late, is doing a good job of playing itself out of a good seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky keeps chugging
Kentucky's three-game winning streak has the Wildcats back above .500, and the Wildcats even had to do part of it without Ramel Bradley.
Kentucky (10-9, 4-2 SEC) got 26 points from Joe Crawford and 16 points from Patrick Patterson to help the Wildcats to 63-58 victory over Georgia on Saturday. The win gave Kentucky a winning record for the first time since December and put the Wildcats right outside of second place in the SEC Eastern Division.
Less than a month after starting the season undefeated and being ranked as high as No. 15. the Rebels (16-4, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) have taken a step in the wrong direction, dropped out of the polls and lost three of their last four games. Even when the Rebels lost their first game on Jan. 9 at Tennessee, it was just a two-point defeat, and they still managed to bounce back with two more victories.
Then out of nowhere, came the Auburn debacle - an 80-77 road loss to a team long thought of as a doormat of SEC basketball. The Rebels followed with a 20-point loss at Mississippi State, a win over then-No. 18 Vanderbilt and most recently, a disappointing 80-77 home loss to South Carolina.
"I don't get it," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said of the loss. "We had our opportunities. We didn't execute down the stretch, and that's happened to us a couple times. You get what you deserve."
It was Ole Miss' first home loss of the season, South Carolina's first-ever win in Oxford and another in a series of black eyes the Rebels have been dealt in what has otherwise been a surprisingly successful season.
Ole Miss plays at Arkansas on Saturday in a matchup of two teams just outside of the Top 25. Afterward, the Rebels will step out of conference to play Presbyterian College, and go back into SEC play at Alabama. Winning at least two of those games could be very crucial for Ole Miss, which, as of late, is doing a good job of playing itself out of a good seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky keeps chugging
Kentucky's three-game winning streak has the Wildcats back above .500, and the Wildcats even had to do part of it without Ramel Bradley.
Kentucky (10-9, 4-2 SEC) got 26 points from Joe Crawford and 16 points from Patrick Patterson to help the Wildcats to 63-58 victory over Georgia on Saturday. The win gave Kentucky a winning record for the first time since December and put the Wildcats right outside of second place in the SEC Eastern Division.
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