The Ole Miss Rebels basketball team returns home tonight as they play host to the Arkansas Razorbacks inside the Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.
Ole Miss (11-14, 4-8 SEC) is coming off of an 82-66 loss at LSU on Saturday. The Rebels were led in scoring by Bruce Stevens and Deandre Burnett with 16 points apiece in the game.
The loss counted as Ole Miss’ fifth-straight as they remain winless on the road in true road games. Andy Kennedy announced Monday he would be stepping down as head coach, at the end of the season.
Kennedy has been at the helm of the program for 12 seasons, and he is the winningest coach in school history with 245 victories. With 102 SEC wins, he is one of only 23 coaches all-time with 100 SEC victories.
When the Rebels take the court against the Razorbacks, Kennedy will be coaching his 400th game at Ole Miss.
Arkansas comes into this SEC series tilt with a 17-8 record, including a 6-6 mark in SEC play. The Razorbacks won both of their games last week, claiming home wins over South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Arkansas leads the SEC in third-point field goal percentage, shooting at a 40.3 percent clip to rank 18th in the nation.
Overall, Arkansas is shooting 48.6 percent from the field to pace the conference. Senior guard Jaylen Barford leads the team in scoring, ranking second in the SEC with 18.7 points per game. Fellow classmate Daryl Macon adds 17.4 ppg, while leading the team in assists (100). Bursting onto the scene as a freshman, forward Daniel Gafford has scored 11.2 ppg to go along with a team-high 51 blocks (sixth in the SEC).
Mike Anderson is in his seventh season as Arkansas head coach. He spent 17 seasons as an assistant for the Razorbacks, then went on to lead UAB (2002-06) and Missouri (2006-11) before returning to Arkansas.
This evening, matchup will be the 79th meeting between the two schools with the Razorbacks holding an all-time series lead of 46-32. The series began in 1937 and Arkansas won 32 of the first 38 meetings, but Ole Miss has won 24 of the last 37 meetings and 11 of the last 17. Arkansas swept last season’s series with a win at home and in the SEC Tournament before winning the first game of a home-and-home series this year.
Adam Brown is the sports editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.
