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USA Today
22-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Five takeaways from UNC's season-ending loss to Ole Miss in Round of 64 NCAAT matchup
Five takeaways from UNC's season-ending loss to Ole Miss in Round of 64 NCAAT matchup UNC heads into its offseason much earlier than it hoped. The North Carolina Tar Heels faced a golden opportunity right in front of their eyes, facing the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday afternoon, in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 64. UNC advanced to face Ole Miss by virtue of dominating San Diego State, 95-68, in its First Four matchup. The Rebels, on the other hand, were one of 14 teams in a loaded SEC to make the NCAA Tournament field. When the final buzzer sounded from Milwaukee, Wis. inside the Fiserv Forum, the Tar Heels walked into their locker room dejected, after a 71-64 defeat in which recurring issues forced their hand once again. North Carolina (23-14, 13-7) found itself playing from behind once again, just as it did too many times in the regular season, trailing by as many as 22 points. UNC scored just 26 points in the first half, something it couldn't afford to do against a balanced Ole Miss (23-11, 10-8 SEC) offense. The Rebels (23-11, 10-8 SEC) started Friday on an 11-2 run, in large part due to five quick points from Dre Davis. Jaylen Murray and Jaemyn Brakefield, the latter of who played at Duke for one season, drained two 3-pointers in the span of one minute. Despite the Tar Heels surging late in the second-half, like they've done all season, their 20-plus-point deficit proved too much to overcome. North Carolina had all the momentum with just over a minute to go, closing its gap to two points on RJ Davis' and-one, but Sean Pedulla took over with five points in the final minute. UNC can play in the struggles to finish I feel like the Tar Heels spent most of their close games down by double-digits at one point, then later give fans hope with a late surge. We saw this same exact scenario against Dayton and Michigan State in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Senior Night and in the ACC Tournament Semifinals against Duke, plus most recently Friday against Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament. As hard as North Carolina fights, it struggles to close out games after making its big comebacks. 17 seconds after RJ converted his and-one, Pedulla drained a 3-pointer and crushed UNC's hopes. The Tar Heels almost made the wrong kind of history Friday If North Carolina could put together a complete 40 minutes, they would be playing Sunday in the Round of 32. Alas, UNC proved once again, this time Friday against Ole Miss, it's a second-half team. The Tar Heels trailed the Rebels by 18 at halftime. If not for Elliot Cadeau's free throw with four seconds left in the first half, North Carolina would've tied an NCAA Tournament record. Chris Beard outcoached Hubert Davis I'm not going to make excuses for Hubert after Fridays' season-ending loss, but frankly, I'm tired of hearing "Fire Hubert." Unless North Carolina has someone waiting in the wings, this would be one of the most head-scratching decisions in recent program history. I will acknowledge, however, that Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard outcoached Hubert by a mile. Beard instructed his players to keep their foot down in the first half, helping them mount a massive lead against a UNC team many expected to win via upset. The Tar Heels mounted a near-comeback-for-the-ages, part of which you can credit Hubert for. Beard won the coaching battle, though. He made adjustments that Hubert failed to, which is why the Rebels are moving on to Sunday. Ole Miss' defense forced UNC to start jacking 3-pointers When your team trails by as much as North Carolina did Friday, what's the quickest way to cut back into a deficit? Making 3-pointers. The Tar Heels made 14-of-24 perimeter attempts against SDSU on Tuesday, so I liked their chances to quickly erase their deficit Friday. There's just one issue: UNC couldn't make a 3-pointer to save its life against Ole Miss. North Carolina made just 5-of-24 attempts, with Drake Powell nailing two of those. The Tar Heels couldn't replicate Tuesday's success from deep – and it cost them. The Tar Heels' missed layups cost them a comeback chance Layups are some of the most high-percentage looks a team can take in a basketball game. UNC loves to drive the rim, generating a ton of its offense from doing so. When you can't make layups, though, it's tough to win games. North Carolina missed three straight layups between the 4:12 and 3:16 mark of the second half, a microcosm of a stretch during which Ole Miss went scoreless for nearly six minutes.
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Mississippi State at Ole Miss odds, tips and betting trends
The Ole Miss Rebels (19-6, 8-4 SEC) will try to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6 SEC) on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. The matchup airs at 6:00 PM ET on ESPN2. In this preview, we dig into the Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State odds and lines for this game. The meeting between the Rebels and the Bulldogs currently does not have a line set. Ole Miss' record against the spread this season is 14-11-0, while Mississippi State's is 10-14-0. The Rebels have hit the over in 11 games, while Bulldogs games have gone over 12 times. Over the past 10 contests, Ole Miss is 4-6 against the spread and 6-4 overall while Mississippi State has gone 2-8 against the spread and 4-6 overall. Before watching this matchup, here is everything you need to know about Saturday's college basketball action. Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll How to watch Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Game day: Saturday, February 15, 2025 Saturday, February 15, 2025 Game time: 6:00 PM ET 6:00 PM ET TV Channel: ESPN2 Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State prediction Ole Miss 78, Mississippi State 71 Against the spread Ole Miss has won 14 games against the spread this season, while failing to cover 11 times. Mississippi State has covered 10 times in 24 matchups with a spread this season. The Rebels average 78.1 points per game, 6.3 more points than the 71.8 the Bulldogs give up. Ole Miss has a 13-7 record against the spread and a 16-4 record overall when scoring more than 71.8 points. When Mississippi State allows fewer than 78.1 points, it is 9-6 against the spread and 14-1 overall. The Bulldogs' 79.3 points per game are 10.9 more points than the 68.4 the Rebels allow to opponents. Mississippi State has put together a 10-8 ATS record and a 15-3 overall record in games it scores more than 68.4 points. Ole Miss is 10-8 against the spread and 17-1 overall when it gives up fewer than 79.3 points. Players to watch Ole Miss Sean Pedulla leads the Rebels with 14.6 points per contest and 3.8 assists, while also averaging 3.4 rebounds. Jaylen Murray posts a team-leading 3.8 assists per game. He is also averaging 10.8 points and 2.2 rebounds, shooting 41.9% from the floor and 40.8% from downtown with 2.0 made 3-pointers per contest. Jaemyn Brakefield puts up 10.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest. At the other end, he puts up 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocked shots. Mississippi State Josh Hubbard is posting a team-leading 17.6 points per contest. And he is producing 2.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists, making 40.0% of his shots from the field and 35.8% from beyond the arc, with 3.2 triples per game. KeShawn Murphy is the Bulldogs' top rebounder (7.5 per game), and he averages 11.4 points and 1.7 assists. Cameron Matthews is posting a team-high 4.0 assists per game. And he is producing 7.3 points and 6.8 rebounds, making 55.2% of his shots from the floor.
