Ole Miss basketball outmuscled by Memphis, falls in first true road test
MEMPHIS — Ole Miss basketball arrived at FedExForum on Saturday and walked right into a backyard brawl it wasn't ready for.
Memphis overwhelmed the Rebels with their physicality, throwing an early knockout punch in the form of a 30-8 run to start the game. Ole Miss saved face to some degree in a 68-57 defeat, but the outcome was never in true doubt even as the Rebels (6-2) made a run in the final moments.
The Rebels have endured stretches of offensive difficulty this season, but not like this. The Tigers made Ole Miss panic. The Rebels took wild shots. They experienced inexplicable difficulty taking the ball out after Memphis (6-2) made baskets.
In its first true road game of the season, Ole Miss withered under the heat.
"They came and popped us early," Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. "It was pretty obvious. They just dominated the game."
Inept offensive start dooms Rebels from beginning
When the halftime horn sounded, Ole Miss was shooting 8-for-33 from the field.
The Rebels started 2-for-18. By the time Daeshun Ruffin made Ole Miss' third field goal of the game, there were under eight minutes remaining in the half and the Rebels were in a 20-point hole.
The Rebels improved as the game went on, finishing with a 33.3% success rate from the field. But the early deficit was too large for the Tigers to feel much game pressure when Ole Miss figured things out later.
"We were shooting early threes and not attacking the rim," Davis said. "When we did, we couldn't finish around the rim. Credit Memphis' length there. They crushed us in 50-50 balls. That's kind of what we've been doing. It was 10-21. I think that's the worst we've ever gotten beat since I've been at Ole Miss."
Ole Miss dominated in the paint
The offense Ole Miss was able to generate came largely on the break or from outside.
The Rebels couldn't penetrate a physical, lengthy and determined Memphis interior defense.
On the other end, the Tigers got just about whatever they wanted in the paint for large portions of the game. It wasn't all down to brute force, either. Memphis was adept at passing under pressure inside, generating plenty of easy buckets that way.
In total, Ole Miss was outscored 46-30 in the paint, playing without big man Jayveous McKinnis, who was unavailable due to injury.
KIFFIN:Why Lane Kiffin will — and won't — remain Ole Miss football coach long term after contract extension
BOWL UPDATES:Ole Miss football bowl game: Projections, live updates from selection day
PORTAL:Ole Miss football transfer tracker: Follow all of Lane Kiffin's portal activity
Daeshun Ruffin returns
If there was a positive to be had Saturday, it was the return of a key contributor in sophomore guard Daeshun Ruffin.
The Jackson native played just 14 games as a freshman before his season ended due to a knee injury.
Ruffin had not participated in any of the Rebels' seven previous games, dealing with what Davis described as a bone bruise in his knee.
With a bulky brace on that right knee, Ruffin came off the bench to play 14 minutes Saturday, scoring three points.
"He's rusty," Davis said. "He hadn't done much, he really hadn't. He hadn't done the full court very much. It was good just to get his legs under him and just get a taste of it tonight."
Up next
Ole Miss returns home to take on Valparaiso next Saturday (2 p.m., SEC Network). The Beacons are 3-5 on the season, and came in at No. 270 in KenPom's ratings as of Saturday evening.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss basketball outmuscled by Memphis in first true road test
