TJ’s Takeaway’s: What We Learned From Ole Miss’ 71-68 Road Win Over Texas A&M

OXFORD, Miss. — Saturday night, Ole Miss earned its first road win in SEC play. With the 71-68 victory over Texas A&M in College Station, the Rebels improve to 17-3 on the season and 4-3 in SEC play. In a tough road environment against a quality Aggie opponent with one of the top scorers in the conference, it would be Ole Miss who would walk away victorious thanks to some strong stretches of play and some big-time shot making on the perimeter.

The Rebels were able to get ahead thanks to a big output from Jaylen “Juju” Murray, Jaemyn Brakefield and Allen Flanigan. Murray, a junior guard, led the way with 16 points on 6-14 shooting. Brakefield also added 15 points on a highly efficient 5-7 shooting. On the rebounding end, Allen Flanigan put together another solid performance with a seven-rebound outing. He also added 11 points, 3 steals, and a block.

In a rather even game, things were pretty back and forth. Ole Miss made a higher percentage of its shots and was vastly more efficient from the free throw line. The Aggies did win the rebounding battle as the Rebels continue to find a solution on the defensive rebounding effort. Texas A&M was led by its All-SEC guard Wade Taylor IV who scored a game-high 30 points.

This series, TJ’s Takeaways, is here to help identify things that really stand out from the games, things you may not be able to find from a box score. If you’re looking for a recap of the game, don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Check it out HERE.

Now lets’s get into the takeaways.

Winning on the Road… When It Matters

Ole Miss got that first road win in SEC play on Saturday night. Yes, it is a Q1 win and will likely stay one for the rest of the season. However, that’s not what I’m referring to with this section title. While this is a very impressive and likely-needed win for the Ole Miss tournament hopes, it’s how the Rebels won the game within the game that is the big takeaway for how this team has grown.

This is in reference to the middle-ten. A lot of coaches, analysts, and basketball fans talk about how teams need to close the first half strong or start the second half strong. Both are important and when on the road, that importance elevates. I looked back at how Ole Miss has performed in the final five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second, specifically in the four road games the Rebels have had in SEC play thus far.

In the Auburn game, the score was 33-12 at the 5:00 minute mark of the first half and 52-33 at the 15:00 minute mark of the second half. At both points Auburn was leading. The Tigers outpaced Ole Miss by 7 points in this middle-ten. Against LSU, Ole Miss led 29-28 at the 5:00 minute mark. By the time the ten minutes were over, LSU was leading 48-41. This was an 8-point difference in LSU’s favor. Against Tennessee, the score was 26-17 in the first half and 56-38 at the 15:00 mark. The Vols were ahead both times. An overall nine-point difference.

Now we get to the game against the Aggies. Texas A&M led 24-18. At half, however, Ole Miss led 31-29, At the 15:00 minute mark, Ole Miss led 44-36. This is a 14-point difference in favor of Ole Miss and is the first time in any road game the Rebels have won this time. At one point in this sequence, Ole Miss had a 16-2 run going. For the Rebels to win on the road, these are the types of games they need — where they do not let the crowd get going and they keep momentum at bay. Winning the middle-ten will likely have you in a good position to control the game’s final 15:00 minutes. This was a big step for a team looking to find a way to win on the road.

Backcourt Bench Help

Including Saturday’s game against A&M, Ole Miss has averaged 13.4 bench points per game. In conference play, that number goes down to 12.0 points per game. As a unit, Chris Beard’s group has struggled some to find that help off the bench. On the year, they rank in the 13.4 percentile in this. Given Ole Miss’ roster construction and the time before Moussa Cisse and Brandon Murray got to play, while awaiting the NCAA decision on their eligiblity, that figure isn’t too shocking. The Rebels had to rely heavily on their veterans early on.

Against A&M, Ole Miss received a significant impact from three guards off the bench: Brandon Murray, TJ Caldwell and Austin Nunez. Murray, who was one of those players who had to wait before gaining eligibility, added eight points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Murray also made all three of his free throws throughout the game.

Caldwell has seen a recent uptick in minutes lately with 17 against A&M. During that time Saturday, he added five points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal. Nunez came in and added a three in four minutes of play, as well. That trio added 16 bench points for the game last night, and while the points figure isn’t large it still helps out in a close game. Ole Miss will need help from its bench more and more in some of these Q1 contests coming up, whether the focus is on the offensive or defensive end. Against A&M, they got it and on a night when some of the better players struggle, that helps a lot.

Jaylen Murray… With a Chip on his Shoulder

That’s how Chris Beard describes him, that Jaylen “JuJu” Murray plays the game with a chip on his shoulder, and his toughness and his style all encompass that. However, one thing we know is that Murray can score the basketball. In his last five games, Murray has increased his scoring average to 16.0 points per game.

Against Texas A&M, Murray led the way for Ole Miss with 16 points. In an earlier article the question was who would be the guy to get you a basket when you needed one? Saturday night provided that exact moment and answer. In the second half with :22 seconds left in the ball game, Jaylen Murray took a three point shot in front of a College Station crowd of over 12k people and made it like he would any other shot. There wasn’t anything special in the play; Murray dribbled right from the left side of the court to the top of the key before he fired the deeper three.

That shot would give Ole Miss a 65-62 lead with merely seconds left in the contest. This was the final big scoring play before Ole Miss would win the game by making its free throws to end it. Ole Miss was 11-15 from the line for the game, but 6-6 in the key closing minutes.

Jaylen Murray is this guy. He should be this guy from here on out. The moment is never too big for him. The game is never out of hand. Earlier in the year when Ole Miss lost on the road at LSU, Murray went minutes without a field goal attempt. Then, when the game got to the closing seconds and LSU was up nine, Murray would hit a three to cut it to six. Then after a couple of made free throws by LSU, he would do it again to cut it to five. While there was little chance that Ole Miss would defeat LSU at the end of that game, it proved that JuJu isn’t scared to take on those chances and to take those shots. The final shot against A&M was just the first one to give the Rebels the edge.

Everyone wants to take the shot but it takes a special player to make the shot. Jaylen Murray is a special player.

Next Up

Ole Miss returns home next for a rivalry game with Mississippi State in the SJB Pavilion on Tuesday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.

TJ Oxley

TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Community Relations for The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience providing in-depth analysis of college basketball through multiple platforms. A former MBA graduate of Ole Miss, TJ started with The Rebel Walk in 2019.