Ole Miss hoops begins conference play with No. 7 Tennessee

While the Rebel football program takes on Texas Tech in Houston on Wednesday, the hardwood Rebs will tip off its conference schedule against No. Tennessee.

There is no easy lead into league play in the SEC, but it is especially difficult starting off against a top 10 team... at least the Rebels are at home?

Ole Miss finished the first portion of its schedule an underwhelming 8-4. There were only two wins with any type of clout: Stanford and Temple. That is simply because they are historically good programs. In reality there is nothing impressive about beating mediocre teams.

How about losing, at home, to North Alabama for the program’s first ever win against a Power 5 program? Yikes.

This season has lacked excitement from the start. Everyone knew that the Rebels needed to add scoring threats to its roster, creating space for Daeshun Ruffin and Matthew Murrell to thrive. Instead, the coaching staff went with defensive guys and the offense constantly trudges through the mud.

If you paid attention heading into the season, your expectations would not have been all that high in the first place. At 8-4, the Rebels are almost certain to be 8-8 after facing the Volunteers, Crimson Tide, Mississippi State and Auburn in their first four games.

A bold prediction for what is to come for the Rebels: 7-11 seems like a best scenario while 5-13 seems more realistic. Coach Davis really needs Ruffin to return to form and Murrell to become a more efficient scorer. Amaree Abram has been a bright light, but the staff needs to see what they have in James White. I understand bringing in older transfers and making sure they play, but to what detriment?

You can catch Ole Miss vs Tennessee at 4 pm on SEC Network. They are calling it Hump Day Happy Hour as the promo for those attending in person, so you can grab cold beers for half price if you get there when the gates open. Yeah, that’s where we are now.