Ole Miss men’s basketball rallies to come from behind and defeat Missouri, 79-76
OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss men’s basketball team prevailed, 79-76, over the Missouri Tigers in a late free-throw battle Saturday night in the SJB Pavilion.
W ✅#HottyToddy x #BuildTheCulture pic.twitter.com/IYsGtZ001g
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 18, 2024
First Half
Looking to put an end to their three-game losing streak, the Rebels got off to a hot start from deep in the first five minutes of play. Matthew Murrell hit back-to-back-to-back triples, scoring the first 9 points for Ole Miss. Jaylen “JuJu” Murray then drained his second 3-point attempt to give the Rebels an early 12-6 lead.
WOW is right 😱
That’s 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ career triples for @matt_murre11! pic.twitter.com/ZxCrRZQvOE
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 18, 2024
Coach Beard talked about Murrell after the game.
“He got off to a great start, really aggressive offensively…a lot of respect for how he plays defense, too. Matt is an effort guy, he plays hard. To play those kinds of minutes, do all the things we ask of him from an offensive standpoint, a leadership standpoint and to be guarding the way he does…his effort is always on point. I thought Matt was really a calming force tonight in terms of leadership. At halftime and throughout the game, we were down by 10 and his voice was heard loud and clear during timeouts and obviously, he had a great night scoring.“
~ Beard on Murrell’s impact on tonight’s win
After taking a 17-8 lead over the Tigers, the Rebels went cold on offense. Missouri proceeded to go on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes, taking a 19-17 lead, their first of the night.
Despite the Tigers taking the lead, Ole Miss did not give in. Both squads began trading baskets as JuJu Murray continued to rain 3-pointers down on the Missouri defense. The Rebel guard drained his fourth triple of the night to tie it at 27 with just under five minutes left in the half.
The Rebels went just 1-for-8 from the field in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the first half with Jaemyn Brakefield’s triple being the only basket. Ole Miss trailed Missouri 33-30 going into the break.
JuJu Murray and Murrell led the way, combining for 21 first-half points and seven of the team’s eight three-pointers.
Second Half
Ole Miss came out of the half looking to get to the rim with intensity. The Tigers fouled the Rebels five times in the first five minutes; resulting in Brakefield going 5-for-6 at the charity stripe to bring the Rebels within two.
Even though the Rebels reached the bonus with 13 minutes left to play, the offensive struggles continued. Ole Miss only had four shot attempts through seven minutes of the second, also playing more ‘sloppy’ than usual with 10 turnovers up to that point as well.
Trailing 51-42, Murrell took matters into his own hands midway through the second half. The senior scored the next 10 points for the Rebels, burying his fourth and fifth triples of the night to bring the Rebels within four and increase his game total to 20.
9️⃣- 0️⃣ RUN‼️ pic.twitter.com/lDIkm0hRm8
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 18, 2024
Sophomore TJ Caldwell talked about the team’s mindset during the game.
“We knew we had time. We just had to stay stone-faced, stay together, keep working, keep chipping away with our defense and offense. Just staying together, finishing the game.”
~ TJ Caldwell on the second half comeback
With Murrell getting a lot of attention from the Missouri defense, Allen Flanigan and Brakefield picked up the slack. The Rebel forwards combined for 12 of the next 15 points, allowing Ole Miss to cling to a 69-62 lead with four minutes left to play.
In the final three minutes of play, both squads began to trade fouls, leading to only one made field goal attempt between both the Tigers and the Rebels in the clutch. Both teams shot a total of 30 free throws on the night.
“I think that is just one of the ways we did not play well tonight…We’re sitting there at halftime, we got 30 shots on goal and 17 of them are threes. When you do that you’re not going to get to the bonus, but some nights the basket just opens up for you. In the second we only shoot 3 or 4 three-point shots, it’s just the different ways you play the game. We are not turning down threes, we always shoot the open threes, everyone who plays for us is a ‘green light’ shooter.“
~ Beard on the amount of second-half free throws from Ole Miss
The Rebels eventually won the free-throw battle, mostly due to the breathing room they gave themselves late in the second half. TJ Caldwell and Murrell were the closers at the line down the stretch going a perfect 8-for-8 in the last minute of play to secure to win.
In the postgame, I asked Caldwell what his mindset was when he was at the charity stripe late: “The work I put in on finishing games, staying together with my team, and letting my teammates believe in me.”
Murrell led the way in scoring with 26 points, draining six threes along the way. Flanigan finished with a 16 and 10 double-double, JuJu Murray added 16 as well and Brakefield racked up 14.
26 for @matt_murre11 – Matches a season-high pic.twitter.com/G4vyZYhlrc
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 18, 2024
Up Next
The Rebels will be back on the road next Wednesday, February 21st, as they travel to Starkville to play their in-state rival, the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Tipoff is set for 8 pm CT on ESPN/ESPN2.
Kameron Wicker
Kam is an undergraduate at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he’s from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn’t stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He’s a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.
