Eastern Kentucky @ Mississippi preview
The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss
It took Ole Miss a bit of time to get going in its season opener, so it will try to click from the opening tip when it hosts Eastern Kentucky on Monday. The contest is being billed as an “Undercard Game” for the MGM Grand Main Event, which will be played from Nov. 20-22 in Las Vegas.
Ole Miss trailed by 10 points in the first half of a 94-76 win over Louisiana in Friday’s opener before turning in a dominant second half, and they hope to carry that over. The Rebels will be in the “Heavyweight Bracket” and Eastern Kentucky in the “Middleweight Bracket” in Las Vegas, but the Colonels already have taken down one of the heavyweights as they posted a 73-72 win at Rice on Friday. Eastern Kentucky hasn't won its first two games of the season since a 4-0 start in 2014-15. The Rebels won the only previous meeting, a 95-92 triumph in 1955, and the Colonels are 1-39 all-time against SEC teams.
TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network Plus
ABOUT EASTERN KENTUCKY (1-0): The Colonels have to be excited about freshman Dedric Boyd after the 6-4 guard put up 20 points in his collegiate debut on Friday, including three free throws with five seconds left to give them the lead. Eastern Kentucky doesn’t have a lot of size inside, but 6-9 forward Nick Mayo collected 25 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against Rice. Perhaps the most encouraging sign for the Colonels on Friday was the fact they won despite just getting only three points from guard Asante Gist, who averaged 15.9 as the Ohio Valley Conference’s top freshman last season.
ABOUT OLE MISS (1-0): The Rebels showed off their depth in the opener, as Terence Davis scored 21 points to lead five players in double figures. Deandre Burnett, the other half of the Rebels’ Preseason All-SEC duo, put up 17 points off the bench while Marcanvis Hymon recorded 12 and a team-high 13 rebounds as he looks to fill the role vacated by the loss of Sebastian Saiz. Ole Miss has plenty of scoring prowess coming off the bench in Burnett and highly-touted freshman Devontae Shuler, who scored 14 points in his debut.
TIP-INS
1. Ole Miss is 1,282-1,282 all-time and has a chance to move above .500 for the first time since owning a 441-440 record on Jan. 12, 1959.
2. The Rebels are trying to improve to 2-0 for the 11th time in 12 seasons under Andy Kennedy.
3. Eastern Kentucky won despite shooting 38.5 percent against Rice, recording only its third victory when shooting below 40 percent in the last three seasons.
PREDICTION: Ole Miss 86, Eastern Kentucky 72