Men’s Hoops Season Ends with Loss to Missouri in SEC Tournament
By: Tyler Komis, Sports Reporter
March 9, 2022
Ole Miss’ rollercoaster season has come to an end after falling to Missouri in the first round of the SEC Tournament, 60-72. The Rebels stay in Tampa was short lasting and were sent back to Oxford after just one day and finished the season 13-19 (4-15 SEC). With the win, the Tigers advanced to the second round and will face LSU Thursday night.
Despite a well put together first half by the Ole Miss Rebels, a second half offensive outbreak from the Missouri Tigers was enough to pull off the upset win. The second half burst by Mizzou featured a sequence that saw the Tigers get off to a fast start, going on an 11-0 run aftering being tied at 32 apiece going into the locker room.
Missouri’s win over Ole Miss marked their third-straight win over the Rebels in the 2021-22 season.
“They played well all three times against us,” head coach Kermit Davis said. “Our biggest lead was five with about maybe 5:30 to go in the first half. We’ve been really challenged all year long with finishing halves (or) starting second halves, and it kind of reared its head up tonight. I thought we had some good spots of physical play, but in the end I thought their team beat us by 12 on the boards (and) more physical in the paint. So tonight they played really well and I thought they were extremely competitive in the second half.”
In their final game of the season, Ole Miss shot 41 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc as a team. Matthew Murrell and Jarkel Joiner were the only Rebels to score double-figures with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Joiner and Murrell also finished the season as Ole Miss’ leading scorers, averaging 13.2 (Joiner) and 12.1 (Murrell) points per game throughout the year.
The hard-fought battle against Missouri reflects an adversity-filled season for Kermit Davis and Ole Miss, who were worn down by a series of injuries despite showing flashes of promising play in conference matchups. Season-ending injuries to freshman rising star Daeshun Ruffin and key veteran Robert Allen, in addition to Jarkel Joiner being in and out of the lineup with multiple spells of illness throughout the team, ended up hampering the 2021-22 campaign for the Rebels.
“We're going to work day and night to get this thing flipped next year, and they've given us every resource to be successful at Ole Miss, so it's right on us,” Davis reflected. “We're going to go out and put together a roster that the Ole Miss fans can be proud of, and we're going to be right here next year hopefully playing for seeding in the NCAA Tournament.”
As it stands, Ole Miss is inevitably going to lose graduate transfer center Nysier Brooks and backup John McBride. Senior guard Jarkel Joiner will test the waters professionally before deciding if he will forgo his final year of eligibility. Players set to return for Ole Miss include guard Matthew Murrell, forward Jaemyn Brakefield, guard Tye Fagan and guard/forward Luis Rodriguez.Type your paragraph here.