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The "Tad Pad," Tad Smith Coliseum
Dateline: Oxford, Mississippi.
Setting: "The Tad Pad," home of Andy Kennedy's Ole Miss Reb...err...Black Bear....err...men's basketball team, where Kentucky will face Ole Miss in a SEC men's basketball contest at 9pm ET.
Protagonist Villain: Marshall Henderson, the player fans everywhere love to hate. Unless he's your hero. And even then...
The Kentucky Wildcats (13-6, 4-2) men's basketball team will face #16 Ole Miss (17-2, 6-0) tonight in what is a crucial contest for Kentucky, and perhaps, for Ole Miss as well. Kentucky can ill afford a 7th loss this early in the season, and desperately needs a victory over a ranked team to perhaps solidify its chances at an NCAA bid. Although it is still early in the conference season, enough time has elapsed to put Kentucky precariously close to the "Not Invited" Tournament, rather than being given an opportunity to defend its national championship in the NCAA tournament. The Cats have had their chances, but stand at a lowly 0-4 versus the RPI Top 50 this season. Kentucky's signature win this season? RPI # 65 Maryland, with a runner-up nod to the victory over # 79 Tennessee. Ole Miss' RPI is not spectacular, but at # 31, it would at least remove the void of top 50 wins from Kentucky's resume.
For Ole Miss, the stakes may be just as high. Although the Rebels sport an impressive won-loss record, a closer examination shows that really, they have not accomplished much this season in terms of wins. Their record against the RPI top 50 this season is a lackluster 1-2, with the sole win over a Missouri team playing without a starter. While Kentucky does not have the computer rankings they would desire for a quality win, there is a certain "star power" quality to beating Kentucky any time that would likely go a long way toward helping the Ole Miss NCAA tournament cause.
Also helping the NCAA tournament cause for the Rebels is Marshall Henderson, who leads the team, as well as the SEC in scoring (19.2 PPG) and has scored 61 percent of his points from the 3-point line this season. Henderson averages nearly 7 points per contest from his teammates' screens freeing him to launch his missles from long range. Should the Wildcats wish to slow Henderson down, they'll force those shots to be taken from the left, rather than the right, where his 3-point shooting percentage falls from 40.7% on the right almost 20 points to 21.4% on the left. (Stats courtesy http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...tucky-ole-miss).
If Kentucky can limit Ole Miss' second-chance points, which lead the top six conferences at more than 16 points per contest, and not allow Henderson to go wild (see Turner, Elston) the Cats have a chance to beat the Rebels and start their march to the four-letter postseason tournament. If they permit offensive rebounds, and commit turnovers leading to fast break opportunities, it may be the "star power" win Ole Miss fans seek. A sold-out Tad Pad, and a nationally televised ESPN audience, awaits the 9pm ET tipoff.
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