Ole Miss Rebels vs. Charleston Southern Buccaneers Basketball Open Thread

In what is going to be her last year as the home of the Ole Miss Rebels, Tad Smith Coliseum will host its final season tip off tonight when the Ole Miss Rebels take on the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at 6:00 PM Central. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network and across the Ole Miss Basketball radio affiliates.

If we could preview the season better than our allies from Rock M Nation did - with a little help from yours truly - than we would have. But, we didn't, so check theirs out. If you want a quick overview of what to expect out of the Rebs this year, then just know the following:

• Jarvis Summers is pretty damn good, and should have a tremendous year barring anything crazy like injuries.
• Marshall Henderson is gone, and has been replaced by a jitterbug of a guard in Stefan Moody. He's got ups and quickness underneath, so if that can translate into "making his own shot" as opposed to "why did you just do that" then he would be a nice complement to Summers' more deliberate, calculated style.
• Sebastian Saiz and Dwight Coleby have to be better this year, right? If Saiz can be the prototypical European big man we want him to be and if Coleby can be a back-to-the-basket type with consistency, then the Rebel frontcourt will be average-ish. That's an improvement on last year, folks.
• Does having a healthy Terry Brutus and Aaron Jones make a huge difference? I would have to think so. Couple them with junior college transfer M.J. Rhett and you've got a handful of very athletic players who can play multiple roles.

But with the SEC improving as a conference across the board, maybe none of that will matter. It's conceivable that Ole Miss is actually better this year than last year with a just as lackluster season. But, hey, we'll agonize over that bridge when we get there, won't we.

So let's just see what this team's made of tonight, shall we?