Missouri will try to compete a season sweep of Ole Miss when it hosts the Rebels on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
The Tigers (9-14, 3-7 Southeastern Conference) are coming off their fifth defeat in six games with a 70-62 loss at Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
The Rebels (12-12, 3-8), in turn, sustained their second straight setback with a 97-83 loss to Alabama on Wednesday.
Missouri posted a 78-53 victory over Ole Miss on Jan. 18 behind a 23-point outburst from Amari Davis, who made all 10 of his shots from the floor.
Kobe Brown had 15 points and seven rebounds in that game, while Javon Pickett and Ronnie DeGray III each scored 11 points.
Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin wants to see his team regain that sort of offensive balance on Saturday.
“We have to understand who we are,” he said. “We’re a team that shares the ball, we play well together, we have a passion for each other. And there’s accountability in doing the right things. But I think if we come out and take a quick, off-balance shot, then those sorts of things, we’re not as good.”
To address that, Martin called on freshman Kaleb Brown, Kobe’s younger brother, to run point in place of Jarron Coleman for long stretches versus Vanderbilt. Kaleb Brown played 25 minutes and recorded seven points, three rebounds and three assists to go along with no turnovers and sturdy defense.
“I thought he played very well on both sides of the basketball,” Martin said. “He’s really worked on that 3-point shot. Happy to see it go for him.”
Daeshun Ruffin led Ole Miss in scoring with 12 points in their previous game against Missouri. Ruffin, however, sustained a season-ending knee injury during the Rebels’ 76-72 victory over LSU on Feb. 1.
On the other hand, Ole Miss saw the return of leading scorer Jarkel Joiner from his lower back injury. Joiner excelled in his second game back, scoring 33 points and making a career-high six 3-pointers in the loss to Alabama.
But the Rebels couldn’t contain Crimson Tide guards Jaden Shackelford (30 points) and Jahvon Quinerly (eight assists) in the loss.
“It was just a guard game,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. “Jarkel was great, so give him a lot of credit. Shackelford had 30, but we couldn’t do anything against Quinerly. He just stayed in the paint the whole game. We tried everybody on him, but their guards were just a little too good for us tonight.”
–Field Level Media
