NCAA Tournament hopes for the Ole Miss men’s basketball team have virtually ended following Tuesday’s 69-66 loss at Georgia.
After losing senior guard Matthew Murrell to an illness early in the first half, the Rebels (20-10, 7-10 SEC) were unable to muster up enough consistent scoring to defeat the Bulldogs (16-14, 6-11 SEC) in their home arena.
Georgia had lost nine of its last 10 games entering the midweek showdown, but a dominant second half showing by big man Russel Tchiewa carried a Bulldogs team unlikely to play in the postseason after the conference tournament to a victory.
A slow start to the game benefitted Georgia as Ole Miss struggled to score early, especially after Murrell exited the game with a reported illness after only logging just two minutes of action. At one point, the Rebels had turned the ball over four times and connected on one of seven shots in a span of 10 possessions.
Though the Rebels were sloppy at best offensively, the Bulldogs experienced their fair share of difficulties, setting up for a low-scoring first half.
After trailing by two or more for nearly 15 minutes, an Allen Flanigan free throw put Ole Miss within one point of its foe with 4:36 left in the half, but a Noah Thomasson triple after a Rebel turnover prevented the Rebels from ever taking a lead in the first 20 minutes.
Georgia began to separate a little as the intermission approached. However, Jackson native Jaemyn Brakefield put his team on his back, knocking down a triple and a jumper in the final minute to have the Rebels trailing just 35-32 at the break after a dismal half offensively.
Brakefield, picking up where he left off, hit a three to begin the second half, knotting things up 35-35. A Brandon Murray layup on the Rebels’ next possession gave Chris Beard’s team their first lead of the game.
That Ole Miss lead was short-lived as Georgia proceeded to go on a 12-4 run to take a 47-41 lead with 11:24 left in the contest. The Rebels experienced yet another scoring drought, scoring just six points in the next five minutes while Georgia began to pull away, taking a double-digit lead with just under six minutes of action left.
A Jaylen Murray triple ended the Rebels’ scoring hiatus, but Ole Miss was unable to stop Tchiewa on the defensive end. The Georgia big man bullied his way to the basket and essentially scored buckets down low at will with Brakefield guarding him.
Trailing 11 with under three minutes remaining, Brakefield spiked a dunk to get the Rebels back within single digits. The Jackson native got another dunk on a fastbreak in the subsequent possession, and just like that, Ole Miss was back in the game.
Beard dialed up the defensive pressure and was able to stave the Bulldogs’ offense long enough for his squad to make things interesting. With 49 seconds left to go, Jaylen Murray knocked down a triple to put the Rebels down just 65-63. Ole Miss’ defensive efforts fell flat down the stretch as Tchiewa scored the dagger to ultimately put the game out of reach.
Brakefield and Juju Murray highlighted the Rebels offensively, scoring 19 apiece. Flanigan had 11 points, despite only connecting on only one of eight shots from the floor. His production came at the charity stripe where he hit none of 10 shots. The rest of the team had a combined 17 points in a contest that they could not afford to lose.
Thomasson led the Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points. Tchiewa had a double-double consisting of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Two other Georgia players reached double-figures on the scoreboard.
The big difference in Tuesday night’s game came down low. Georgia had 32 points in the paint compared to Ole Miss’ 22 down low. Despite grabbing just two more offensive boards than the Rebels, the Bulldogs scored nine more second-chance points.
Ole Miss will welcome Texas A&M to the SJB Pavilion on Saturday at 1 p.m. central for senior day. As far as chances at an NCAA Tournament berth are concerned, the Rebels would most likely have to win the entire SEC Tournament to make it to the big dance.
