Ole Miss Rebels at Mississippi State Bulldogs Preview and OPEN THREAD

The Ole Miss Rebels will take their first SEC road trip this afternoon to the hostile (to us, at least) Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville to play the Mississippi State Bulldogs in yet another installment of the SEC's oldest basketball rivalry. Both Ole Miss and State have 10-4 records, with State sitting at 0-1 in the SEC after losing by 22 points to Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

Despite the even records, this isn't a contest that Ole Miss is accustomed to winning. Even good Ole Miss teams have lost to bad Mississippi State teams in Starkville, with last year's 6-point loss serving as evidence enough to that frustrating fact. Still, the Rebels could win if they do the following:

• Rebound well - The Rebs haven't really done this all year, but when they have they've been able to outpace their opponents on offensive possessions. The goal should be to keep State from making offensive rebonds and limit their scoring opportunities.
• Keep the blocks up - Ole Miss is the best shot blocking team in the SEC. If Aaron Jones and Demarco Cox can have big games on defense today, the Rebels should be competitive.
• Somehow unsuspend Marshall Henderson - Henderson gets a reprieve from the madness in Starkville today, as he'll be completing his three-game suspension on the bench (actually, we're not even sure he made the trip down - if he did, he's bound to have all sorts of shit thrown his way). If this somehow magically isn't the case in a half-hour, the Rebels will have another outside scoring threat to compliment Jarvis Summers.

We at the Cup aren't so optimistic about the Rebels' chances. Regardless, it should be a good measuring stick of what this team should be capable of in SEC play.

Your open thread begins... now.

Ole Miss Rebels vs. CLANGALANGALANGA