Suffice it to say, that was not the most enjoyable game to sit through the other night. While the offensive struggles weren’t unexpected, particularly with working in more new pieces the last few games, the defensive woes popping up at critical times are inexcusable. The MTSU game was the second straight game that we failed to get back on D in transition. MTSU seemed to beat us to all the loose balls, particularly in the second half.

They also played a very tight, in-your-face, man-to-man defense. When a D is that aggressive, it (theoretically) sets them up for back screens and other team-oriented offense. Of course, we can neither confirm nor deny this hypothesis, because our spacing on the offensive end was terrible and we relied on a lot of one-on-one moves. With Kendrick’s height at the point, I’ll never understand why we didn’t at least run something basic like a UCLA set or some other kind of high-low set that would allow a little more space for him to operate from and distribute out of.

Anyway, on to the numbers…

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After a fairly lackluster home win Wednesday night more memorable for not being the Rebel debut of Jelan Kendrick, the Rebs dropped a close one on the road to a pretty good USM team. I said before the game that I thought we’d win and even having watched it, I think we should’ve won, but some lazy transition D and some questionable shot selection did us in down the stretch. It was also the first game that Nick Williams was a complete non-factor in. While he may not be the most talented guard on the team, he’s been the steadiest YTD. We cannot afford for him to pull these disappearing acts like he did in conference season last season.

On to the numbers…

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In an otherwise unremarkable game, Saturday's game against MVSU marked the season debut of Snoop White, who provided the Rebels with something they've lacked all season - consistent 3 point shooting. While I doubt he puts up 16 points on even a semi-regular basis, if he can knock down a couple of 3s a game, it will help unclog the middle of the 2-3 zone defenses any team with a half a brain will use against us.

White's emergence and the pending arrival of Kendrick (who had a late final and a professor in no big hurry to get grades posted) could spell the end of any meaningful playing time for Aniefiok. I thought before the season it would be great to redshirt him, but with neither Snoop nor Kendrick available, I guess the staff felt like they needed a warm body out there. I don't know how many more meaningful minutes he'll play this year, unless it's an offense defense situation like we used late in the Miami game when Summers had 4 fouls.

Anyway, on to the numbers...

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Disclaimer: I fully recognize that +/- statistics are an imperfect measurement of a player's impact on a game in a single game scenario. With 9 other players on the court, there's a lot that an individual has zero control over. I do think that over the course of the season though, it starts to paint a picture. And since Excel does everything for me except 8-10 minutes of data entry, why not?

This is definitely a new look Rebels team from the past several seasons. Gone are the explosive scoring and the defensive detriments of Chris Warren. Instead, it's a team that plays very good defense (outside of the Marquette game) and one searching for an identity on offense. I've harped on the Ewing Theory regarding Warren repeatedly on this site and I still believe this will be the year that Kennedy's Rebs break through and Dance at the end of the year, but time will tell.

Anyway, on to the numbers...

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Per Chuck Klosterman, Johnny Neumann is the second best SEC basketball player of all time behind Pistol.

So he's got that going for him, which is nice.

With SEC season tipping off today, I figured I'd post a final look at how the numbers stack up through the 15 non-conference games.

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First things first, what a joke of a tournament. Kudos to Colorado State for winning it, but there couldn't have been 100 people at those games. The field looks better for next year certainly, but is there actually a chance that the attendance improves dramatically? It's not so much the location as the timing of the tournament. Christmas Eve? Seriously?

Anyway, here's how it shaped up game by game:

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Juco did a great job summing up the game from yesterday. Buckner was a monster and Chris was efficient, but it was Terrance Henry leading the way yesterday with a +27 in only 25 minutes yesterday before fouling out.

Here are the numbers from yesterday...

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There seemed to be some interest in the concept after my post the other night, so I figured I'd post again with the updated numbers. These are updated through last night's game

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ED: Frontpag'd and rec'd. This is how good fanposts are done.

Chris Warren is one of the most explosive players in Ole Miss basketball history. The numbers he has put up, particularly form behind the arc, are going to leave his name scattered all over the Ole Miss and SEC record books. If not for the torn ACL as a sophomore, he'd have a real shot at 400+ 3-pointers.

So how the hell are we -23 over the last two games when he's on the floor?

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