Mississippi @ Middle Tennessee St. preview
Murphy Athletic Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2019 ) Middle Tennessee St. 64, Mississippi 82
The Ole Miss basketball team will go after its fourth win in seven days Wednesday night when it plays at Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro.
To get that win, Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis knows his players will need to find their shooting touch. The Rebels (3-0) are making just 44 percent of their field goals and 26.2 percent of their 3-point shots.
"We've got good shooters but aren't in a great spot right now," Davis said. "I told them to continue to shoot them. Stay aggressive. It's like being in a foursome and one guy misses a putt and three or four guys miss a putt. We just got to keep building confidence."
Ole Miss is led by Devontae Shuler, who is averaging 20.3 points a game and is shooting 53.8 percent from the field.
"Devontae, I think, is playing at a good level," Davis said. "We got be able to keep going, keep building confidence. Keep shooting the ball."
Romello White (12.3 ppg) and Luis Rodriguez (10.0) also are averaging in double figures for the Rebels.
One place where Ole Miss isn't lacking confidence is on defense, as the Rebels are holding the opposition to an average of 52.3 points per game and 35.1 percent shooting from the field.
Middle Tennessee (2-3) will look for its second straight win; the team beat Covenant College 76-57 Saturday in its most recent game.
Jordan Davis and Dontrell Shuler lead the Blue Raiders in scoring with averages of 11.8 and 10.2, respectively. Davis had 22 against Covenant.
"We just need to use this momentum from tonight going into our game Wednesday," Davis said. "We'll just prepare and keep working hard."
Ole Miss' Davis will return to a place he knows well. He is Middle Tennessee's all-time winningest coach.
"It's a special place," said Davis, who spent 16 seasons as head coach of the Blue Raiders.
"This basketball program has meant a lot to Murfreesboro for a long time, and so has Kermit Davis," Middle Tennessee coach Nick McDevitt said. "I hate the fact that he's not going to be able to have a big crowd (because of COVID) in here to watch us take the floor Wednesday night."
--Field Level Media