The Longhorns (19-2, 5-1) and the Rebels (13-5, 4-2) have played very different conference schedules thus far. Ol' Miss started the year ranked and climbed as high as #17 before SEC play began. They took 3 losses in their non-conference slate against current #4 USC (68-66), #6 UCONN (73-60), NC State (68-61). In their 6 SEC games, they've played 1 ranked opponent, an 84-78 loss to #18 Alabama. That combined with a 60-58 loss to a 10-8 aggy squad cost them their ranking.
Rebels HC Yolett McPhee-McCuin is in her 7th season at Ol' Miss and is very similar to Vic in that she emphasizes an aggressive man defense. They are currently #6 overall in scoring defense (52.9) while Texas is #34 (56.4). That number can be a bit misleading as the Rebs' scoring defense in SEC play has been 65.5 (45 in non-conference games).
This will be the 8th meeting between the 2 teams with Texas holding a 6-1 advantage so far. The Rebels' lone victory was an 88-67 win in Oxford in 1988.
Ol' Miss has 2 players on the roster at 6' 3"+, 6' 4" C J'Adore Young and 6' 3" F Christeen Iwuala, along with 5 others listed at 6' 2". Young has not played this season (redshirting) and Iwuala comes off the bench for 13.4 minutes per game. That puts them at a considerable size disadvantage against Texas.
The Rebels have 4 players averaging 10+ points, led by 6' 1" G Sira Thienou's 12.9. She's also their best 3-pt shooter at 42.2% (19/45). As a team, they take 18 shots from beyond the arc a game, hitting 5.7 (31.5%).
On the boards, 6' 1" F Starr Jacobs pulls down 6.6 rebounds to lead the team.
While neither team is usually much of a threat from distance, Ol' Miss likely takes a few more than they're used ro rather than try to go into the paint too often against Taylor and Kyla. McPhee-McCuin is perfectly content grinding out a 52-51 win if she can.
Texas Notes:
@mln59 @thar0902 @wb3032 @icdb17 @BrownHorn
Rebels HC Yolett McPhee-McCuin is in her 7th season at Ol' Miss and is very similar to Vic in that she emphasizes an aggressive man defense. They are currently #6 overall in scoring defense (52.9) while Texas is #34 (56.4). That number can be a bit misleading as the Rebs' scoring defense in SEC play has been 65.5 (45 in non-conference games).
This will be the 8th meeting between the 2 teams with Texas holding a 6-1 advantage so far. The Rebels' lone victory was an 88-67 win in Oxford in 1988.
Ol' Miss has 2 players on the roster at 6' 3"+, 6' 4" C J'Adore Young and 6' 3" F Christeen Iwuala, along with 5 others listed at 6' 2". Young has not played this season (redshirting) and Iwuala comes off the bench for 13.4 minutes per game. That puts them at a considerable size disadvantage against Texas.
The Rebels have 4 players averaging 10+ points, led by 6' 1" G Sira Thienou's 12.9. She's also their best 3-pt shooter at 42.2% (19/45). As a team, they take 18 shots from beyond the arc a game, hitting 5.7 (31.5%).
On the boards, 6' 1" F Starr Jacobs pulls down 6.6 rebounds to lead the team.
While neither team is usually much of a threat from distance, Ol' Miss likely takes a few more than they're used ro rather than try to go into the paint too often against Taylor and Kyla. McPhee-McCuin is perfectly content grinding out a 52-51 win if she can.
Texas Notes:
- There should be an unusually loud, pro-Longhorn contingent on hand. Oxford is about a 2.5 hour drive from Madison's hometown of Ridgeland, MS, and she said she'll have at least 30 friends and family at the game. Hopefully she doesn't try to press and keeps playing relaxed. In the 3 games since her dismal shooting performance against S Carolina, she's hit 56.6% of her shots and has averaged 25.3 points per game.
- A familiar face will be seated on the Ol' Miss bench. Empress Davenport played at Texas from 2012-2016, appearing in 131 games with 97 starts for Karen Aston. She was a good defender but not much of a scorer (career 7.2 ppg) except against Stanford. In 2 victories over the Cardinal, she averaged 18 points. After stops at Lamar and UTSA (with Karen Aston), she's in her 1st season as an Ol' Miss assistant coach.
- In their previous 7 games, the Longhorns have faced 5 ranked teams (9, 18, 2, 8, 17). None of their next 4 teams are ranked though Ol' Miss and Vandy are receiving votes. Then the Longhorns will have to run a gauntlet of:
- #2 South Carolina in Austin
- @ #11 Kentucky
- #5 LSU in Austin
- Handling their business against the next 4 is critical to keeping them within striking distance of the SEC leaders and allow them to limit the minutes of key players.
- Vic's defense this season. Scoring output vs Texas compared to average points per game (** - Longhorns loss):
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@mln59 @thar0902 @wb3032 @icdb17 @BrownHorn
