Ole Miss tips off against Gamecocks Saturday

The Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team (9-5, 0-1 SEC) takes on South Carolina (9-4, 0-1 SEC) Saturday in its SEC home opener at 4:00 pm. The Rebels are 11-1 all-time against the Gamecocks at home and have won three of the last four meetings.

Stefan Moody is red-hot from the FT line, shooting 92.7 percent. PHOTO CREDIT: Bentley Breland

Rebels best in the nation at free throws

Ole Miss currently leads the nation in free throw percentage, making 78.9 percent of its free throw attempts. In the heartbreaking loss to No. 1 Kentucky earlier this week, the Rebels hit 19-of-22 attempts for an 86.4 percentage. Kentucky got to the line for 40 free throw attempts, making 28 of them.

Ole Miss has hit 84 of its last 101 from the line for an 83.2 percent average.

Individually, there are five Ole Miss players who are shooting at least 80.0 percent from the free throw line. Junior G Stefan Moody leads the way for the Rebels, shooting a blistering 92.7 percent (51-of-55) from the line, which puts him in first place in the SEC and sixth in the nation in free throw percentage.

Rebels look to rebound from OT loss to Kentucky

The Rebels came up just short against Kentucky this week, losing 89-86 in overtime. Stefan Moody scored 25 points, going 5-of-7 from long range and hitting all four of his free throw attempts. Moody is averaging 17.1 ppg and shooting 47.5 percent from 3-point range over his last nine games.

Jarvis Summers scored 23 against Kentucky, making 10-of-11 FTs. PHOTO CREDIT: Bentley Breland

Senior G Jarvis Summers scored 23 in the loss to the Wildcats. He is averaging 20.3 ppg over his last three games and is shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range.

Scouting the Gamecocks

South Carolina is 9-4 this season, but suffered its first loss since November in a 72-68 home defeat to Florida to open SEC play. The Gamecocks had won seven-straight games before that loss.

Duane Notice leads South Carolina, averaging 12.7 ppg. Sindarius Thornwell is second on the squad averaging 11.0 pgg. On January 5, Thornwell was named SEC Player of the Week—after strong performances in wins against North Carolina A&T and No. 9 Iowa State.

Defensively, South Carolina ranks fourth in the conference, allowing opponents just 59.2 ppg. The Gamecocks are a strong rebounding team—ranking third in the SEC at 40.1 per game and second in rebounding margin at +7.4.

Likewise, the Ole Miss defense is among the top units in the league ranking third in field goal percentage defense (.376) and sixth in blocked shots (4.2/game).

Catch all the Action

If you cannot make it to the Tad Smith Coliseum Saturday afternoon, you can still watch the Rebels play the Gamecocks on FSN. Or, listen to the game on the Ole Miss Radio Network with David Kellum handling the play-by-play.

The game will also be broadcast on Sirius 92 and XM 191. Live video can be seen on WatchESPN.com.

Photo credits: Bentley Breland Photography