After an 0-2 start to the SEC schedule, the Rebels notched their first conference victory against the Missouri Tigers on January 10th. Following the two game home stand, Ole Miss will hit the road for the next two.
Tonight’s contest is in Athens against the 14-2 (2-1) Georgia Bulldogs. Ole Miss is 16-44 all time in Athens, so uh, not good. The Dawgs are a salty 10-0 at home this season with wins over Georgia Tech and Auburn. They also have victories over Cincinnati, Florida State and Xavier. Their only losses are at Florida and an overtime tournament contest against Clemson.
This will be a massive opportunity for a resume win for Chris Beard and company as Mike White has his Georgia squad sitting at 23 in the NET Rankings. So, it’s a Quad 1 opportunity however you want to look at it. Ole Miss won by 12 last year but as we have learned, this year’s team is a far cry from the 24-25 team.
If there is a turnaround in conference play, this could go down as Coach Beard’s best coaching job. For whatever reason, this team just hasn’t clicked or found their stride. They believe that the insertion of Eduardo Klafke into the starting line up might provide the spark needed going forward.
Georgia is led by Cal transfer Jeremiah Wilkinson. The 6’1” guard is averaging almost 17 points per game on 35% shooting behind the arc. Junior guard Blue Cain makes up the other half of the dynamic back court, scoring just under 15 points per game. Somto Cyril is their only inside presence but not much of a scoring threat.
The Rebels will have to limit their turnovers on the road and control the glass. The size of the Ole Miss backcourt should cause some issues for the Bulldogs. This could be a close Rebel victory or the story of the season continues and Ole Miss struggles to score and gets run out the gym.
The game will tip off at 6:00pm on ESPNU.
