3/5/2024 basketball Edit

Rebels' NCAA hopes crushed with road loss at Georgia

Ole Miss Rebels guard Brandon Murray (0) dribbles against Georgia Bulldogs guard Noah Thomasson (3) during the first half at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Neal McCready • RebelGrove

Publisher

Without Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss simply didn’t have enough firepower Tuesday night to win at Georgia

Murrell, Ole Miss’ top offensive player, played just two minutes before leaving with a sickness.

Without him, the Rebels’ offense was stagnant. Shot selection, already a problem even with Murrell on the floor, was abysmal.

The result: Georgia 69, Ole Miss 66.

The ramifications: For Ole Miss, Tuesday’s loss ended the Rebels’ NCAA Tournament hopes. Ole Miss fell to 20-10 overall and 7-10 in the Southeastern Conference. The Rebels play host to Texas A&M Saturday in the regular-season finale, but that game against the Aggies is now utterly meaningless. Even with a win, the Rebels would have to win four games in four days next week in the SEC Tournament in Nashville to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. It’s possible, depending on results the rest of this week, Ole Miss could be relegated to play in Wednesday’s first-round games, something that was unimaginable at the end of January.

Other than two wins over Missouri — the Tigers are 0-16 in the SEC entering tonight’s game versus Auburn — the Rebels are winless in league play since a Jan. 30 win over Mississippi State. The Rebels were 13-0 in league play and won five of their first eight SEC games before this season fell apart.

Georgia improved to 16-14 overall and 6-11 in the SEC.

Tuesday’s loss was a final dagger for Ole Miss. The story for the Rebels was offense — or the lack thereof.

Ole Miss, which led for just one minute and 15 seconds in the second half, pulled to within two points in the final minute after a 9-0 run, only to give up an easy layup and have an empty trip on its ensuing possession.

Ole Miss was 25-for-64 from the field and just 6-for-22 from the 3-point line. Georgia shot just 44 percent from the floor and 19 percent from the 3-point line. The Rebels committed just eight turnovers but lost rebounding (39-30), second-chance points (17-8), bench points (21-15) and points in the paint (36-22).

Jaemyn Brakefield and Jaylen Murray scored 19 points each for Ole Miss. Allen Flanigan added 11.

Noah Thomasson led Georgia with 15 points. Justin Hill and Russell Tchewa had 11 apiece. Dylan James and RJ Melendez had 10 each.