Keys to the Game: Ole Miss hosts Arkansas in crucial SEC matchup

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss (15-3, 2-3 SEC) will return to the Pavilion tonight to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks (10-8, 1-4 SEC) in a key league game after the Rebels lost a tough road contest at Auburn Saturday.

Similarly to when Ole Miss lost to Tennessee, the Rebels will have a chance to move themselves back to .500 in conference play with a win over Arkansas tonight. 

Here are three keys to the game for an Ole Miss win. 

Maintain Rebounding Momentum

Despite getting dominated by Auburn in nearly every aspect of the game Saturday, Ole Miss showed a lot of improvement in its rebounding ability and even out-rebounded the Tigers. The largest margin was clearly seen in offensive rebounds, which was 16-10 in Ole Miss’ favor.

Arkansas sits in the 89th percentile for defensive rebounds, so it will likely be more of a challenge, but second-chance opportunities will go a long way on Wednesday night and play a big part in who will end up victorious.

Create Three-Point Opportunities

After two weeks of conference play, it has become evident that when this Ole Miss offense is operating at its best, it is making three-point shots and, more importantly, finding open ones. Against Arkansas, Matt Murrell, Jaylen Murray, and Jaemyn Brakefield should all take at least four three-point shots.

One of these players will likely go 2-4, and from then on, the Rebs need to find that guy for a look on nearly every possession. Against Auburn, in a game where you needed to take shots, the Rebs’ Murrell took two three-point attempts, and as a team, Ole Miss took 17.

To put it in perspective, the Rebs shot 25 threes against Vanderbilt and 20 against Florida. Even though a lot of the shots weren’t falling on Saturday night, there have to be more attempts to put themselves in a position to be competitive.

Compete! 

All in all, this game is being played by two teams who have performed very similarly this season, winning a couple of games that they weren’t favored in and losing some games by way too many points. It will come down to who is willing to make more shots, get more rebounds, foul less, and want it more.

Game info

Ole Miss hosts Arkansas Wednesday night in the SJB Pavilion at 8:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

For game updates and more, make sure you stay here with The Rebel Walk!