The Showdown in O-Town: USM-Ole Miss basketball bonanza

Bars of Oxford, stock your shelves. Larry Eustachy is coming to town.

Last year, the Mustard Buzzards jumped on a depleted Ole Miss team on the coast last season defeating our mighty Rebles 78-59. 

Now, the Rebels return with a renewed vigor. Andy Kennedy's teams play well at home, and USM's best player is probably former Jackson area stand-out R.L. Horton. 

So let's look into the another non-conference bloodletting. 

The Rebels have a 16-5 advantage against USM in their 21 game series history. Southern does boast a 5-0 record with wins at Louisiana Lafayette, at Montana State and three patsies at homes(William Carey, Spring Hill and Loyola-New Orleans).

Ole Miss comes into the game much more battle tested against Kansas State and Villanova. They know what it feels like to lose, and hopefully don't want to do it very much more often. 

Southern Miss has a roster overhauled since last season. Jeremy Wise was the biggest loss for the team as a do-anything scorer. He declared for the NBA draft and has disappeared into anonymity(see: NBA D-League).

Larry Eustachy has pretty much broken even while at USM(75-80 overall). He had his problems in the past with boozing, hanging out with co-eds and generally things that Andy Kennedy probably does but hasn't been documented yet.

Ole Miss is marketing this game to be the "Showdown in O-town" and selling tickets for $5 a piece. If you're in the general vicinity, go see the Rebels embarrass Southern Miss. People in Hattiesburg are excited about basketball and the hot start the team has gotten off too.

Also, there's a general belief that although USM doesn't have the big time facilities or budget that Ole Miss has, they can still put a dominant product on the court/field. I get it. Everyone likes to cheer for the underdog, but generally, Ole Miss is usually the underdog. 

So now, if you're a USM basketball fan, you're cheering for an underdog of a usual underdog. Then you're just either being loyal to your school or you just really like to obsess about Ole Miss. 

Southern Miss fans won't show up en masse to this game. It should be 95 percent red and blue on Saturday. Terrico, I want to see a dunk. Murphy, bring me someone's head on a stick. Chris, Trevor and Eniel, don't make any sudden movements.

Final prediction: Ole Miss 85 Southern Piss(TURNED THE TABLES!!!) 64

Put your predictions and USM hate below. DO IT.