Arkansas 80, Ole Miss 73: I do want to talk about it... briefly.

by Juco All-American on Feb 1, 2010 9:35 AM EST Comment 16 comments

Rogelio V. Solis - AP

Murphy Holloway had 17 rebounds. That's not a misprint. Also, we lost.

Let me say this. I was deeply concerned about this game headed into it; What a trap game. We have Kentucky coming up on Tuesday, having just won two games on the road; Arkansas is supposed to be a pretty bad team, but they just go Courtney Fortson back and have been a completely different team of late. This Arkansas team lost to Texas by ten, beat State by five, and was crushed at Kentucky by only 31 points (I'm starting to believe that's a positive).

That being said, we should have won this game. It's the first loss this season that made me die a little bit inside. Arkansas traveled to the Tad Pad, a venue that some would have you believe is menacing to opponents. We were just beginning to play a like a team that wanted to hold onto its ranking. Then we blew it.

Anyway, in case you didn't read the caption to the photo, Murphy Holloway was the best Rebel on the court by a mile. He scored 19 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, eight of which were offensive. Three cheers for Murphy. On the other hand, the only thing that Terrance Henry and DeAundre Cranston did of note is collect nine fouls between them and play for 30 minutes total. Way to step it up when Reginald Buckner is out with a sprained ankle.

Because of Cranston and Henry's foul trouble, Arkansas' bigs were able to abuse our defense. Among the two major big players for Arkansas, Michael Washington and Marshawn Powell had 41 points and 17 rebounds. Yeah. It sucked.

Eniel and Chris Warren both played quite well, but Terrico White was invisible offensively again. He went 3-14. That's horrible. Also, White had a chance to tie the game late, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one. I know that he's a pretty good free throw shooter normally, but in that situation, he had to make those free throws, and he didn't. It was just disappointing.

Since i couldn't watch the game, I can only see that statistically Zach Graham performed moderately well, however I do remember hearing on the radio that he picked up two quick, stupid fouls. That's not normal for Graham, so I'll cut him some slack.

That's basically it. It was really ugly. We led for roughly 34 minutes, but when the time came to put the game away, we just couldn't do it.

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On the way back to North MS from the Delta,

I was listening to the game and talking to my wife. She was really good at bball in high school, and I was asking her what causes a team to fall apart when the pressure is on. How many times have we bounced the ball off of our knee or just thrown it away when it counted the most? Anyway, she said, “A team’s personality is indicative of the type of coach they have. If the coach is hotheaded, goes crazy on the sidelines, and shows a finicky personality, the players are basket-cases in those types of situations.” I would say that explains Kennedy’s and Bianco’s failures in tough spots and Nutt’s success in pressure situations (FL 2008 and overtime games (his many overtime triumphs).

Thoughts?

by BrianWalker'sElbow on Feb 1, 2010 10:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I buy...

especially the part about Bianco.

I watched it manifest itself last year in the Super. He tightened up his game plan and played for a pitcher’s duel. Our bats responded by giving him one run and very few threats against a midweek pitcher. If Bianco would loosen up in those situations, he’d probably have been to Omaha a few times already.

by RebelBruiser on Feb 1, 2010 10:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree.

At least with regard to yesterday. I think Andy Kennedy did great with the X’s and O’s. He put the squad out there that could do the most damage and he had them switch the defense at appropriate times. The team did not execute. (See below for an example of stupidity.)

AK was calm and poised throughout the game. He lost it at the one point that I really would have if I were he (shot clock expiring and no review), and I was happy about it.

Stawp g’tin tuchee-feelie, zzzEmoGoestzzz. I dun’t lyke noin ur Emoshuns!

by Role Player on Feb 1, 2010 12:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sure...

There are exceptions at times, but I think the rule still holds up. How does the coach act in practice? We can’t see that, but we’ve all seen Kennedy go bizzerk even at the good times. It’s not necessarily how he acts during the last two minutes; rather, it’s how he acted prior to that moment. That was my point.

by BrianWalker'sElbow on Feb 1, 2010 6:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

On Terrico...

was I the only one that knew he’d miss the front end? Maybe it’s just my general Ole Miss cynicism, but I tend to expect things like that. We needed the two free throws and we’d have been right in it in the final 30 seconds. Instead, we missed the front end and Arkansas hit free throws like they were lay ups over the final minutes.

by RebelBruiser on Feb 1, 2010 10:35 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I told myself I was not going to vent...

BUT WE DID A LOT OF STUPID *^ YESTERDAY!

Ex. Eniel had White-Boy-Hot-Hands guarding him (a total mismatch in our favor) and our own players get in his way while he drives, causing a TO. This happened more than once.

Stawp g’tin tuchee-feelie, zzzEmoGoestzzz. I dun’t lyke noin ur Emoshuns!

by Role Player on Feb 1, 2010 12:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thoughts...

I don’t really buy into the post about AK’s temperament reflecting in how the team plays down the stretch in close games. He is high-strung, but I don’t think you can put it all on his personality. Besides, he can’t go out there and make the front end of a one-and-one for Terrico.

As for the fouls called on them versus us last night, we will always have more fouls called on us because of the way we play. There is not a big SEC conspiracy against us in basketball- we play uptempo and rely almost exclusively on jumpers. As such, we don’t draw fouls. Good teams, like Kentucky and even Arkansas last night, drive to the basket and make things happen (like drawing fouls). We have the ability to get in the lane, but end up settling for jumpers or shooting a difficult floater/layup rather than draw contact. Terrico could foul out entire teams with this strength and athleticism if he would get in the lane and draw contact.

by bball1984 on Feb 1, 2010 12:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Sure, that makes sense to an extent, but

how do you explain Eniel Polynice getting absolutely run over on a drive to the basket and no call and on the very next play Murphy Holloway not even making contact on a steal and getting whistled?

by weloveum on Feb 1, 2010 12:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I understand...

It was definitely not a perfectly-officiated game. I was just saying that for people to be upset because Arkansas shot a lot more free throws then we did is a little ridiculous. They were more aggressive, they shot more free throws. However, the call you are talking about with EP was a terrible no-call. There were also some bad calls on Arkansas as well. I thought Fortson was whistled for a couple fouls that weren’t fouls. We should have taken advantage of him being on the bench.

by bball1984 on Feb 1, 2010 12:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh yeah..

Another reason we have more fouls called on us- we just foul more. Period. We play an uptempo game, and we are an atrocious team defensively. This leads to A LOT of fouls by guys who can’t guard the player they are trying to cover.

by bball1984 on Feb 1, 2010 12:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The Rebs made my son cry

Seriously. It was his first game at the Tad Pad, too.

by rebpup on Feb 1, 2010 12:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

Your son is a good Rebel. I’m sorry to hear that your kid cried, but at least he’s letting the self-loathing begin early.

Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.

by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 1, 2010 2:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Gotta start 'em early.

He’s 6. He did ask if we were going to the Bama game, so I think he shook it off pretty good.

by rebpup on Feb 1, 2010 3:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Saw this one coming a mile away

No Buckner, confidence sky high after 2 road wins, huge game two days later… this was the dictionary definition of a trap game. You can laud Murphy’s performance all you want – and Lord knows we needed everything he gave us – but he and Cranston and Henry gave up many more points than they scored. In Terrance and Murph’s case, it was more physical disadvantage than effort or IQ, but Cranston is a dreadlocked waste of flesh on the basketball court.

Terrico continued to play like a superhero, only it was Invisible Boy instead of the Superman that showed up in the 2nd half against Auburn. He’s the basketball equivalent to Greg Hardy: Everyone talks about how great he is, he’ll have flashes of said brilliance, then he disappears and is not heard from for a game or two at a time.

When life gives you the chance to be with somebody special, you grab that brownish area by its points and don't let go no matter what your mom says.

by buster_bluth on Feb 1, 2010 12:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Those two fouls on Graham were ridiculous

I remember yelling wildly after the second whistle especially. They were calling everything on us, and when Eniel nearly broke his face trying to drive to the hoop, the refs stood around with their whistles shoved up their butts. It was atrocious.

I get crunk 25 days a week!

by 25 Days a Week on Feb 1, 2010 2:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs