TJ’s Takeaways: What We Learned From Ole Miss’ 86-82 Win Over Mississippi State

OXFORD, Miss. — Tuesday night, Ole Miss defeated in-state rival Mississippi State in front of a record-setting crowd at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. The 10,630 fans on hand were treated to a high-scoring game that saw the Rebels emerge victorious, 86-82. With the win, Ole Miss remains undefeated at home this season with a 13-0 record in Oxford and a 12-0 record at the SJB Pavilion.

The Rebels shot 50.8% from the field in the contest, made 12 three-pointers, and had contributions from all over the roster. Ole Miss was led by Jaylen Murray who finished with 21 points. That was tied for a game-high with Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard. Murray would also finish with 11 assists in the contest. Matthew Murrell also logged 20 points in the contest while sophomore TJ Caldwell added 18 for a career-high scoring night.

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 let’s get to the takeaway’s.

A Round of Applause for Jaemyn Brakefield & Rashaud Marshall

When both Moussa Cisse and Jamarion Sharp have both played, the formula for Ole Miss has been repetitive. Cisse will start, then Sharp comes in to fill minutes and if anything happens, Ole Miss can use a spot filler at the five for a few minutes at a time. Cisse and Sharp have done a good job at tagging the five spot with consistent rim protection.

However, Tuesday night created a unique exception with Tolu Smith in town. Smith, as many know, is one of the more physical presences in the SEC and arguably one of the top scoring bigs in the conference. The backup for Mississippi State, Jimmy Bell, brings his own size presence as well. With that being said, Ole Miss found itself in a jam that required the Rebels to deviate from the normal plan. Cisse was in foul trouble for most of the contest, logging only 11 minutes and finishing with four fouls. Sharp only played six minutes and picked up a couple fouls as well.

With that situation, attacking the interior would seem like an advantage for Chris Jans’ Bulldogs. Credit to Ole Miss, as Smith and Bell finished with eleven points on six total shot attempts. Part of that credit goes to the Rebels’ defensive scheme; they did a really good job at keeping passing lanes closed and taking away feeds from the top of the key which is from where Tolu excels at getting post feeds.

The other credit has to go to Brakefield and Marshall. Starting with Brakefield, the forward played 38 minutes in the contest finishing with 10 PTS, 6 AST, and 4 REB. Ole Miss had to utilize the small-ball lineup for a larger portion of time which could exert more energy for Brakefield to have to battle down low. While he wasn’t one of the top scorers, his performance and impact should be applauded.

Secondly, Rashaud Marshall. Wow. Outside of the Auburn game, Marshall hadn’t played more than five minutes since the Temple game on November 22nd. He didn’t enter the contest against Texas A&M. Then Tuesday night, Chris Beard calls his number for an important nine minutes against two of the more physical centers in the SEC and he answered, providing quality minutes when Ole Miss needed someone to step up. Marshall made his only shot attempt on the night and finished with two points which showed some impressive touch on it.

This shows the amount of faith Chris Beard has in his players. We’ll see if Marshall can find some more time on the court, but it’s good for Ole Miss to know it has multiple players on which to rely.

A Career Night for TJ Caldwell

For a game that finished in the 80s, it was really a slow start for both teams. Ole Miss had 12 points around the 13:00 minute mark in the first half. Similar to the above section, Ole Miss was struggling to knock down shots early. The Rebels turned to their bench early entering in Brandon Murray and TJ Caldwell.

Caldwell took that opportunity and made the most of it. He added eight points in the first half, making two threes and another shot as well. In the second half, Caldwell came in and contributed to a key scoring stretch that kept the Ole Miss lead hovering around double digits.

The sophomore logged a high in minutes for conference play this season with 27 minutes. Caldwell finished the game with a career-high 18 points on 6-8 shooting. He also added four made three-pointers, three rebounds and two steals.

Caldwell added a scoring presence that helped Ole Miss keep its way in this game and similar to Marshall, showed that the Rebels can find impact from more than some may think. It was a historic night at the Pavilion and Caldwell had a major impact on that win.

The Offense Wouldn’t Let Up

Mississippi State finished this game shooting 53.6% from the floor, 44.4% from three, and finished with 82 points. The Bulldogs shot seven more free throws, had 44 points in the paint, and out-rebounded Ole Miss 38-25. It was certainly not a bad performance by Mississippi State, and on the road you’d normally feel pretty confident about that.

However, this was a rivalry game on the road in the SEC. What you normally feel good with isn’t always enough. In the second half, Ole Miss showed some of the most resilient basketball of the season to date. In the second half, the Rebels extended their lead to eleven, but Mississippi State tried its best to cut it down time after time.

DaShawn Davis hit a three for State at the 14:28 mark to cut it to eight, only for TJ Caldwell to answer it immediately. State would then go on a mini 6-0 run, only to see Ole Miss counter it with five straight points from Jaylen Murray.

It was jab for jab for a few minutes there later on. From the 9:26 mark, Ole Miss countered every basket until the 6:36 mark. The Rebels held an 8-point lead, then a 6-point lead, then back to an eight and so on. It felt like watching two boxers go at it round for round. No matter how much State tried, Ole Miss wouldn’t surrender the lead as the Rebels kept it the entirety of the second half.

It feels really valuable for Ole Miss to be in this game and have to answer those baskets with their own. It shows they are a team who has gained resiliency and doesn’t get rattled. It was an overall great game and really good win for the Rebels.

Next Up

Coach Beard and the Rebels will be back at home in the Pavilion on Saturday, February 3rd to take on the Auburn Tigers for the second time this year. Tipoff is set for 5 pm CT on the SEC Network.

(Feature image credit: Hannah Morgan White, Ole Miss Athletics)