TJ’s Takeaways: What We Learned in Ole Miss’ 79-76 Win Over Missouri

OXFORD, Miss. — Entering Saturday night’s game against Missouri, the Ole Miss men’s basketball team was just beginning a critical stretch of its schedule. The Rebels needed a win after three straight losses to get themselves back on track. In a second-half comeback, Chris Beard’s team did just that, pulling out a 79-76 win in front of the Oxford faithful.

Matthew Murrell led the way for Ole Miss after making three early threes en route to a 26-point performance. The Rebels received valuable contributions from Jaylen Murray and Allen Flanigan who added 16 points each. Jaemyn Brakefield scored in double figures with 14 points. Missouri was led by Sean East (who was a gametime decision) who added 25 points for head coach Dennis Gates’ unit.

With the win, Ole Miss sets itself up for an important contest in Starkville coming up. 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.

Second-Half Adjustments Pave the Way

The Ole Miss offense was perimeter dependent in the first half against Missouri. Twenty-four of Ole Miss’ 30 first-half points came via the three. Overall, it felt as if the Tigers were in control for a vast majority of the first 20 minutes. While a perimeter attack was in effect for Ole Miss, the interior play was scarce. Missouri owned the paint for the first half, holding a 16-4 advantage there and keeping Ole Miss without a free throw attempt in the half.

Give credit to Coach Gates here, as his Missouri team had a lot of energy. The Tigers haven’t won a game in SEC play, but watching the game you couldn’t tell as they play just as hard. Gates and his staff did a good job mixing up defenses (both man and zone) to create confusion for Ole Miss. The Tigers really pushed the Rebels out onto the perimeter for a greater portion of the first half.

The second half is where the credit moves to Chris Beard and company. Ole Miss flipped the switch and began to find its pace and aggression in the second half. After an Allen Flanigan jumpshot to start the second half, the next six Ole Miss points came via the charity stripe.  An increased focus on attacking to the rim favored Ole Miss as the Rebels reached the bonus with 13:53 left in the half.

Those early bonus opportunities proved valuable as Ole Miss registered 30 free throw attempts in the second half, part of which helped the Rebels come back from a double-digit deficit midway through the second half. The Rebels utilized their fast break scoring and aggressive play to start a 17-2 run to retake the lead and create some separation for the Rebels to hold on. Both Jaemyn Brakefield and Allen Flanigan were important in this stretch to get Ole Miss back in position to secure the win.

Understanding the Performance for Jaylen Murray

Transfer guard Jaylen Murray has been one of the more important players for Ole Miss this season. During the team’s three-game losing skid, Murray, too, experienced a bit of a slump. In those three games, Murray averaged 7.0 PTS and 3.5 AST. Murray’s shooting has been down, as well, as he shot 38% from the field and 12.5% from three.

Taking away the game against Tennessee, Murray averages 7.8 points in losses, overall (Murray had 23 against Tennessee). Some will criticize Murray’s defensive limitations and size as justification for his lack of minutes as of late. Those claims are fair, but to this date, Ole Miss goes as JuJu goes. In games Ole Miss wins, Murray averages 15.2 points a game and shoots 8% better from the field and nearly 14% better from three. With Ole Miss being a top heavy team in scoring, the Rebels need Jaylen Murray to be an impactful scorer. His offensive prowess and shooting outweigh any defensive question when he can give Ole Miss that scoring punch.

Against the Tigers, Murray began to find his form again on the offensive end. Playing 36 minutes, Murray added 16 points on 6-14 shooting while going 4-8 from three. A few of those threes came in the first half when Ole Miss was needing offense. The guard would also add 4 assists and 3 rebounds. It was a big bounceback performance for Murray. It is worth noting teams have begun to size up Murray by attacking him with bigger guards, and he did have four turnovers Saturday. It wasn’t a perfect performance for him, but it also wasn’t a perfect performance for the team. However, that being said, Murray was instrumental to Ole Miss getting this win, and he added that scoring punch that was needed for the Rebels to avoid a bad loss. Murray will be a critical piece in any game Ole Miss plays going forward.

Credit Murrell for a Two Way Performance

With a game-high 26 points, Murrell led the way early by knocking down three straight threes and scoring Ole Miss’ first nine points. He would finish the game making six total perimeter shots, grabbing three rebounds, and dishing two assists. After those nine, Murrell was relatively quiet until the second half. There, however, the guard added 15 points, including the game’s final points via two very important free throws that put the Rebels up three late.

Murrell needs to be credited for not only his offense, but his defensive output as well. On the year, Murrell has held opposing players to a 36.6 FG% and a 43% effective FG%. In the game against Missouri, Murrell started picking up Sean East II in the game’s final nine minutes. East II finished with a team-high 25 points, but during that stretch he missed both field goal attempts and committed a turnover. He would get eight points at the line, none of which were from fouls committed by Murrell.

This kind of defensive takeover was instrumental for Ole Miss to maintain its lead, and it showcases the veteran leadership that Murrell displays. His two-way ability has made him one of the most valuable players in the SEC. To highlight just how valuable he’s been on the offensive end, Murrell is one of six players in the SEC with more than 150 made field goals this season. Of those six, his 61.1 TS% is third trailing only Mark Sears (Alabama) and Antonio Reeves (Kentucky). Murrell is currently fifth in the SEC with 17.1 PPG.

Honorable Mention:

Earning honorable mention for Saturday’s game, I wanted to highlight the performance of Allen Flanigan. Playing a team-high 38 minutes, Flanigan shot 6-12 from the field and finished with 16 points. The wing brought down ten rebounds to record a double-double in the game. He also would have four assists to only one turnover. It was certainly an impactful performance in multiple ways to help make sure Ole Miss came out on top in this one.

Next up, Ole Miss travels to Starkville to take on in-state rival Mississippi State on Wednesday February 21st in what may be the most important game of the season.