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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Ready for Nationally-Televised Tilt Against Middle Tennessee
11/27/2017 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. â€" Round Four of Insell vs. Insell will play out this Wednesday night, as head coach Matt Insell and the Ole Miss Rebels will play host to Insell's father, Rick, and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on national television inside The Pavilion at Ole Miss at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (5-1, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Matt Insell • 5th Season • 63-69 career record (5th Season)
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (4-0, 0-0 Conference USA)
Head Coach: Rick Insell • 13th Season • 303-97 career record (13th season)
ON THE AIR
Television: SEC Network | Play-by-Play: Cara Capuanao; Color: Christy Thomaskutty
Online Video: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Radio: 105.1 / 105.5 FM | Play-by-Play: Graham Doty; Color: Lindsay Roy
Audio: RebelVision (OleMissSports.com)
TEAM NOTES
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss improved to 5-1 overall after a key road win over 2017 NCAA Tournament team Temple on Nov. 25, taking down the Owls in a 64-48 contest in Philadelphia. The victory marked the second straight by the Rebels over a tournament team. Senior Shandricka Sessom led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds, moving up to 24th all-time in career scoring at Ole Miss in the process. Freshman Promise Taylor (15 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) and junior Alissa Alston (10 points, six assists, five rebounds) also scored in double figures while the Rebel defense held Temple to an Ole Miss opponent season-low shooting percentage of .250 (15-of-60).
FATHER AND SON
For the fourth time since Matt Insell was named the Rebels' head coach he will square off against his own father, Middle Tennesse head coach Rick Insell. The duo constituted the first-ever meeting between a father and son in NCAA Division I history on Nov. 23, 2014 in Oxford. The elder Insell holds a 3-0 advantage in the series, taking the first contest, 71-65, before winning in the third round of the WNIT later that season, 82-70, and taking the return trip of the home-and-home in the opening months of the 2015-16 season, 84-75, in Murfreesboro.
SEASON OPENING SUCCESS
Ole Miss is off to a 5-1 start for the 30th time in the 43-year history of the program and the third time in the five-year Matt Insell era. The Rebels are averaging 83.5 PPG (2nd SEC, 23rd NCAA), including 87.4 PPG in wins. The Rebels have now started at least 5-1 in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2011-12 and 2012-13 season. Those two seasons are also the last instance of a Rebel squad starting 6-1 in back-to-back years as well.
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
The Rebels have bolstered an efficient shooting output with a solid shooting defense, holding opponents to just 34 percent from the field this season -- the 34th-best defensive clip in the nation. Ole Miss most recently held Temple to a season-low 25 percent shooting, and have yet to allow an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent in a game this year -- holding four under 40 percent.
CAN'T MISS
The Rebels have been money from the field in the opening six games of this season, shooting the second-best clip in the SEC and 18th-best in the nation at .482.
Helping that is an impressive 13 quarters (out of 24 total) where the Rebels are shooting 50 percent or better. Ole Miss has not shot worse than .433 in a game (vs. Saint Louis, L, 79-64), and it has not shot worse than 32.6 percent in any half (second half vs. SLU).
HIGH-FLYIN' REB OFFENSE
The fast-paced Rebel offense has been difficult to slow down in the opening stages of the season, and it shows in where Ole Miss ranks in the SEC and nationally in some offensive categories:
FG% - .482 (2nd SEC, 18th NCAA)
Scoring - 83.5 PPG (2nd SEC, 23rd NCAA)
Scoring Margin - +19.3 (33rd NCAA)
Reb./Game - 44.8 (3rd SEC, 38th NCAA)
Rebounds - 269 (43rd NCAA)
Threes Made - 47 (48th NCAA)
3PT% - .379 (48th NCAA)
GETTING TO THE LINE
After only being able to get to the line a total of 66 times in the first four games of the season, the Rebels visited the charity stripe an impressive 37 times against Troy -- the most since Ole Miss attempted 38 vs. Florida on Jan. 8, 2015. The Rebels also sank 29 of those 37 free throw attempts, the most conversions since hitting 25 that same game vs. Florida in 2014-15. Madinah Muhammad was 12-of-13 from the line in that game alone, the most in a game in the SEC this year and the most by a Rebel since Alissa Alston sank 12 vs. Auburn on Feb. 16, 2017.
BLOCK PARTY
Ole Miss has been a dominant force in shot blocking this season, thanks primarily to freshman center Promise Taylor. The Rebels rank 12th in the NCAA with 38 blocks this season, 18 of which come from Taylor, who ranks 13th nationally in shots blocked per game. The Rebels have blocked at least seven shots in a game three times this year.
FROM DOWNTOWN ... YES!
The Rebels have been on fire from three in the early part of this season, as they currently draining 7.8 treys per game (47 total). Seven different Rebels have drained threes this season, with 42 of those threes alone coming from Madinah Muhammad (19), Shandricka Sessom (15) and Torri Lewis (8). At its current pace of 7.8 threes per game, the Rebels are on pace to break the single-season record for threes in a season with 234, potentially besting the 233 treys the 2009-10 squad sank.
RECORDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN
Ole Miss put on a dazzling offensive spectacle against Delaware State on Nov. 18, putting up the third-most points in a game ever while re-writing several other records in the process. The Rebels held a 64-19 advantage at halftime, the largest scoring margin in any half in school history (+45) and the second-most points scored in any half. Ole Miss was also tied for the ninth-largest win margin at +52 at the 110-58 final.
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INDIVIDUAL NOTES
THE KID CAN PLAY
True freshman Promise Taylor has wasted no time in cementing herself as a valuable piece of the Rebel puzzle this season. Taylor was named the SEC Freshman of the Week following two strong season-opening performances vs. Northwestern State (13 points, .833 FG, four rebounds, two blocks) and Kennesaw State (19 points, .818 FG, five rebounds, five blocks) to open her Rebel career.
Since, she has been a steady force for the Rebels down low, currently ranking as the top freshman nationally in both field goal percentage (.660; 2nd SEC, 13th NCAA) and blocks (3.0/game; 3rd SEC, 13th NCAA). She has scored in double-digits in all but one game this season, and has also have multiple blocks in all but one contest as well.
Taylor is on pace to annihilate the single-season blocks record, with her current pace at 90 by season's end (previous record is 67, set by Shawn Goff in 2007-08).
#SplashSisters
Senior Shandricka Sessom and junior Madinah Muhammad, the self-dubbed #SplashSisters, entered the season as one of the top duos in the SEC and have lived up to the hype with a scorching start to the year. The duo was near-unstoppable in Chicago vs. Saint Louis and Delaware State, combining for 89 points (51.1 percent of all Rebel scoring), shooting .545 and nailing 15 threes in two games vs. Saint Louis and Delaware State.
Combined, the duo is shooting .504 from the field, .480 from three and averaging 38.2 PPG (45.7 percent of all Rebel scoring). Combined in their Ole Miss careers they own 1,845 points scored
While on the court together in their careers, the #SplashSisters are 33-30 when at least one is in double-digit scoring, 13-10 when both are, 0-4 when neither are, 3-0 when both score 15 or more, and 1-0 when they both eclipse 20 points scored.
OH MY, SHE'S ON FIRE
Despite an eight-minute scoreless outing at Temple while nursing an injury last Saturday, junior Madinah Muhammad has barely had a cold moment from the floor thus far this season. Muhammad led the SEC in scoring before that game at Temple with 24.6 points per game (currently ranking third now at 20.5).
Muhammad scored in double-digits in all five games to start the season, the second streak in her career of at least five in a row (her career-long streak is six from Jan. 22 to Feb. 12 last season). Muhammad also scored three straight games with at least 20 points for the first time in her Rebel career.
SETTING MILESTONES
Madinah Muhammad is on pace to be one of the top scorers by the end of her Ole Miss career. The Chicago native just passes 700 career points scored, sitting now at 714 points after dropping 123 points in her first five games this season. At her current career pace of 11.2 points per game, Muhammad is on pace to reach 982 by season's end -- putting her well within the realm of becoming the 29th Rebel to score 1,000 points in a career. If she does, she will become the second junior in as many years to do so (senior Shandricka Sessom did so in 2016-17), and the third in the last six seasons (Valencia McFarland, 2012-13).
SESSOM LOOKING TO MAKE A MARK
Senior and Preseason Second-Team All-SEC member Shandricka Sessom is part of an elite company in Ole Miss women's basketball history as one of 28 to score 1,000 points in a career, but this season she will be looking to cement her place among the top scorers in Rebel history. Sessom currently sits 24th all-time with 1,131 career points scored, recently moving past Regan Seybert (1993-97, 1,126), Kayla Melson (2007-11, 1,101) and Kristen Goehring (1989-93, 1,102) on the all-time list. At her current career scoring average of 11.5 PPG, she is on pace to finish her career with 1,407 points -- which would be 15th all-time.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR DRIQUE
Senior Shandricka Sessom broke the double-double bubble for the Rebels this season, claiming the first one of the year with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance against Troy -- her seventh career double-double. No Rebel has had back-to-back double-doubles since Sessom herself did so during her sophomore season vs. Tulane on Dec. 16, 2015, and again vs. McNeese State on Dec. 19, 2015.
ALSTON HEATING UP
Junior Alissa Alston has jumped back into the starting lineup with a vengeance, leading the Rebels with a massive career day vs. Troy. Alston led Ole Miss with 26 points scored, a nine-point increase on her previous career high. That offensive showing followed a career day as a distributer vs. Delaware State in Chicago, where she dished out a career-high 10 assists against the Hornets. In her career, Alston holds 144 assists, giving her a career average of 2.4 per game.
EFFORT ON THE BOARDS
Ole Miss was able to pull away late at Temple due to a flurry of effort on the boards down the stretch. Three Rebels had eight rebounds -- Bree Glover, Shandricka Sessom and Promise Taylor -- the first game since three did in the first round of the WNIT vs. Grambling last season. Ole Miss is the third-best rebounding team in the SEC at 44.8 boards per game.
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SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
Middle Tennessee is off to a perfect 4-0 start, including a season-opening win at Vanderbilt (65-54). The Blue Raiders are outscoring their opponents by an average of 16 points per game, helped by two currently averaging double-figures: Rebecca Reuter (12.3 PPG, .552 FG) and Kyla Allison (11.5 PPG, .571 FG).
MTSU is coming off a 23-11 season, another in a long line of postseason appearances for the Blue Raiders with a trip to the third round of the WNIT.
As a team, the Blue Raiders are sharp shooting .473 from the field, .444 from three and .744 from the free throw line.
TOURNAMENT TEAMS ON THE DOCKET
Ole Miss plays 12 schools in 2017-18 that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2016-17. The Rebels came out victorious against the first, Troy (96-93) on Tuesday afternoon, and will meet its second at Temple on Saturday.
Troy (Nov. 21, W, 96-93)
1st Round, lost to runner-up Mississippi State
Temple (Nov. 25, W, 64-48)
1st Round, lost to Oregon
Oregon (Dec. 17, in Eugene)
Elite Eight, lost to UConn
Texas Southern (Dec. 28, at home)
1st Round, lost to Baylor
South Carolina (Jan. 4, at home)
Defending NCAA Champions
Mississippi State (Jan. 11 away; Jan. 28 home)
Defending NCAA runners-up
Missouri (Jan. 18, at home)
2nd Round, lost to Florida State
Tennessee (Jan. 25, in Knoxville)
2nd Round, lost to Louisville
Texas A&M (Feb. 8, in College Station)
2nd Round, lost to UCLA
LSU (Feb. 15, in Baton Rouge)
1st Round, lost to Cal
Kentucky (Feb. 22, at home)
2nd Round, lost to Ohio State
Auburn (Feb. 25, in Auburn)
1st Round, lost to NC State
