How another offensive lull doomed Ole Miss basketball in loss to No. 10 Tennessee
In just about every Ole Miss basketball defeat, you can point to a run of poor offense that caused it.
In a 63-59 loss to No. 10 Tennessee at the SJB Pavilion on Wednesday, that stretch started at the beginning of the second half.
Ole Miss (8-5, 0-1 SEC) missed nine of its first 12 field-goal attempts in the second half, and gave the ball away seven times in the first 12 minutes of the frame, too.
The result was a 24-11 Tennessee run that turned an Ole Miss lead into a seven-point Vols' advantage, and they rode that buffer to a road victory to start SEC play.
Offensive rhythm has been rare for the Rebels this season. They found it to a degree in the first half, then Tennessee (11-2, 1-0) destroyed it in the final 20 minutes.
It was, to an extent, understandable. Tennessee entered the game as the No. 1 team nationally in KenPom's defensive efficiency metric. Still, the Rebels looked disorganized in the second half. Any confidence that had been built over the first 20 minutes disappeared as Ole Miss constantly made poor decisions with the basketball that allowed the Vols a route back into the game.
Tennessee shuts down Matthew Murrell
Of particular frustration for Ole Miss was that the Rebels actually got some solid contributions from their secondary scorers, which has not often been the case this season. Chief among them was Jaemyn Brakefield, who tallied 18 points.
They lacked the volume provided by leading scorer Matthew Murrell, though, who dealt with foul trouble throughout the game and fouled out with 1:10 left.
Murrell came into the contest averaging 15.6 points per game, and had scored in double figures in all but two of Ole Miss' contests this season.
With his rhythm disrupted, Murrell managed just five points on 1-11 shooting.
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Rebels ride strong defense to positive start
Any recipe for a competitive showing for the Rebels had to be based on excellent defense, and Ole Miss started very well in that regard.
The Rebels allowed Tennessee to shoot just 37.5% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The Volunteers connected on just two 3-point shots, and Ole Miss opened up a 10-point lead midway through the half.
While the Vols' balanced offensive attack didn't show in the first half, they did get enough from guard Santiago Vescovi to stay relatively close. Vescovi tallied 10 points in the half, and Ole Miss took a six-point lead into the half. He finished with a game-high 22.
Up next
Ole Miss will have nearly a week to prepare for its next game. The Rebels are set to visit Alabama on Tuesday (8 p.m., SEC Network).
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: OIe Miss basketball blows early lead, falls to No. 10 Tennessee
