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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Look to Keep Rolling Against Arkansas State
12/1/2017 | Women's Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. -- After a big win on national TV on Wednesday night against Middle Tennessee, the Ole Miss Rebels will hit the court in The Pavilion for a tilt vs. Arkansas State at 3 p.m. following the men's game against Virginia Tech.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (6-1, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Matt Insell • 5th Season • 64-69 career record (5th Season)
Arkansas State Red Wolves (3-3, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Brian Boyer • 19th Season • 308-257 career record (19th season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: SEC Network + | Play-by-Play: Seth Austin; Color: Lindsay Roy
Radio: 105.1 / 105.5 FM | Play-by-Play: Graham Doty
Audio: RebelVision (OleMissSports.com)
TEAM NOTES
LAST TIME OUT
Ole Miss improved to 6-1 for the second straight season and the third time in the Insell era after a momentous 65-56 victory over Middle Tennessee at The Pavilion on national TV Wednesday night. The Rebels and head coach Matt Insell were able to best the Blue Raiders for the first time in 17 years, and Insell was able to top his father, MTSU head coach Rick Insell, for the first time in his career. Ole Miss overcame a 12-point deficit, opening the second half on a 23-3 run to reverse the tide of the game. Junior Alissa Alston led the way with 22 points and five assists, and the Rebs forced a season-high 23 turnovers while only turning the ball over a season-low 10 times.
OUT OF THE BLOCKS
Fast starts have been a hallmark of head coach Matt Insell's Rebel squads, and the 2017-18 team has been no different. Ole Miss is off to a 6-1 start for the third time of the Insell era and the second season in a row -- marking the first back-to-back years with at least a 6-1 start since 2011-12 and 2012-13. A win on Saturday vs. Arkansas State would move Ole Miss to 7-1 for the first time since 2008-09.
FEARSOME DEFENSE
The Rebel defense has proved difficult to maneuver in the opening stages of the 2017-18 season, stifling opponents from the field. Ole Miss has held five of its seven opponents under 40 percent shooting, going 5-0 in such games. No Rebel opponent has eclipsed 50 percent shooting for a game, whereas Ole Miss has done so three times (going 3-0 in those games). Furthermore, the Rebels have held four of their seven opponents to under 30 percent three-point shooting.
Ole Miss is holding opponents to a stingy .340 clip from the field, the third-best opponent percentage in the SEC and 26th-best in the NCAA. On the year, the Rebels have held opponents to under 35 percent shooting in five of seven games played -- including a season-low 25 percent at Temple on Nov. 25.
CRASH THE BOARDS
Ole Miss has had a recent rebounding renaissance, starting with the second-half surge to lift the Rebels to a big road win at NCAA Tournament team Temple on Nov. 25. The Rebels rank second in the SEC in defensive rebounds (28.1/game) and third overall in rebounding offense (43.0/game). Ole Miss has had at least three individuals with at least five rebounds in five of seven games played.
CAN'T MISS
The Rebels have been money from the field in the opening seven games of this season, shooting the fourth-best clip in the SEC and 27th-best in the nation at .465. Helping that is an impressive 14 quarters (out of 28 total) where the Rebels are shooting 50 percent or better.
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:
Reb./Game - 43.0 (3rd SEC)
FG% - .465 (4th SEC, 27th NCAA)
FT Attempts - 155 (35th NCAA)
Scoring - 80.9 PPG (5th SEC, 36th NCAA)
Scoring Margin - +17.9 (39th NCAA)
FT Made - 104 (45th NCAA)
Threes/Game - 7.4 (5th SEC)
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 have visited the charity stripe an impressive 89 times in the following three games. The recent surge in trips to the free throw line began with 37 against Troy on Nov. 21 -- 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.
The Rebels followed that up with a crucial game on the free throw line vs. Middle Tennessee, going 26-of-31. Much of that came from Alston, who went 14-of-16 -- the most makes since Tia Faleru hit 15 at Missouri on Feb. 15, 2015. Alston was just two shy of the single-game record set by Armintie Price at UAB in 2006-07.
Ole Miss ranks 35th in the NCAA with 155 free throw attempts.
BLOCK PARTY
Ole Miss has been a dominant force in shot blocking this season, thanks primarily to freshman center Promise Taylor. The Rebels rank 16th in the NCAA with 41 blocks this season, 20 of which come from Taylor, who ranks 16th 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 7.4 treys per game (52 total). Eight different Rebels have drained threes this season, with 46 of those threes alone coming from Madinah Muhammad (1), Shandricka Sessom (15) and Torri Lewis (10). At their current pace of 7.4 threes per game, the Rebels are on pace to come near the single-season record for threes in a season with 222, 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.
FATHER AND SON
The student became the teacher vs. Middle Tennessee on national TV on Wednesday night, with Ole Miss head coach Matt Insell earning his first-career victory over his father, MTSU head coach Rick Insell, in his fourth try. 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 3-1 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.
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INDIVIDUAL NOTES
HEARTBREAKING LOSS
Senior and Preseason Second-Team All-SEC member Shandricka Sessom tore her ACL during the closing minutes of the first quarter vs. Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, ending her season. Sessom, who was averaging 17.7 PPG entering Wednesday, will redshirt and return in 2018-19.
Sessom currently ranks as the 24th-best scorer in Ole Miss history with 1,131 career points scored.
SLICE AND DICE
Junior point guard Alissa Alston knows how to distribute to the many scorers Ole Miss possesses, but this season she's beginning to shore up her scoring bonafides as a legitimate threat off the dribble. Alston has eclipsed the 20-point mark twice this season: a career-high 26 points vs. Troy and a team-leading 22 points in the nationally-televised win vs. MTSU on Wednesday evening. She hasn't given up on her bread-and-butter, though, leading Ole Miss with 5.0 assists per game. In her career, she has scored in double-digits and had at least five assists six times -- including twice this season.
Alston has a career-high 10 assists to her credit this year as well in the Rebels' record-breaking victory vs. Delaware State on Nov. 18. In her career, Alston has 149 assists (2.4/game).
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 field goal percentage (.679; 2nd SEC, 7th NCAA). Taylor also ranks high nationally in blocks per game in 16th (2.9/game)
She has scored in double-digits in five of seven games this season, and has also have multiple blocks in all but one contest as well. On the glass, she's had eight rebounds in four of the last five games -- including each of the last three.
ON PACE FOR GREATNESS
Freshman Promise Taylor is on pace to annihilate the single-season blocks record,. At her current pace of 2.9 per game, Taylor would have 86 total blocks by season's end -- dismantling the previous record of 67 set by Shawn Goff in 2007-08.
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 second now at 19.9).
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 passed 700 career points scored, sitting now at 730 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 987 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).
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 43.0 boards per game and rank second in the SEC in defensive rebounds (28.1/game). Ole Miss has had at least three individuals with at least five rebounds in five of seven games played.
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SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
Ole Miss and Arkansas State meet for the 11th time this Saturday, the first since a 4OT thriller at Arkansas State on Dec. 7, 2001 (L, 86-81). The Rebels lead the all-time series, 7-3.
The Red Wolves sit at 3-3 on the season, but they already own something this year that the Rebels do not: an SEC victory. ASU won at Florida, 70-69, on Nov. 14.
Arkansas State also owns wins over UT Martin (84-73) and Tennessee State (68-62).
On the year, the Red Wolves are being outscored by their opponents by an average of about 18 points per game, yielding 80.3 PPG while only scoring 62.5.
Leading the way are two scorers averaging double-figures: Akasha Westbrook (13.2 PPG) and Jada Ford (10.5 PPG).
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), and won at Temple, 64-48.
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
Follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB on Instagram at Ole MissWBB and on Snapchat with the handle @OleMissWBB. Fans can also follow Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell.
