Ole Miss Basketball Preview 2015

New Faces, Same Expectations

Senior Guard Stefan Moody is Preseason First Team All-SEC for 2015

Just like most years in the preseason, there is a large question mark surrounding the Ole Miss basketball program. Many are wondering how the new faces will contribute, and others are waiting to see whether some guys on this roster will step into new roles smoothly. However, these questions are normal for a new-looking team like Ole Miss, but Andy Kennedy seems always to pull through with any roster he is given.The only known on this basketball team is the star from Kissimmee, Florida, Stefan Moody. As a junior, Moody led the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game, a stat which was fourth in the conference. He led the conference in FT percentage with .903, a stat which was a respectable seventh in the country. But anyways, the point is this guy is the real deal, but he cannot do it alone.

New Faces

Andy Kennedy has brought in some new players who are looking to contribute immediately. The new guards include Sam Finley, Rasheed Brooks, Terence Davis, and J.T. Escobar. The only new face from the forward position is graduate-transfer Tomasz Gielo, a 6'9" stretch-four from Liberty University. From what I have seen, it looks as though Sam Finley will take over the point guard role as Jarvis Summers graduated months back. It is clear that Ole Miss will need key contributors out of this group in order to reach the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. 

Familiar Faces

As previously noted, Stefan Moody is a familiar face that Rebel basketball fans have come to know very well. The familiar faces include Moody, Martavious Newby, Anthony Perez, Sebastian Saiz, Marcanvis Hymon, and Terry Brutus. Newby is one with much experience under his belt while he has played 84 games in his first 3 seasons, and he is easily the best defender on this squad. Anthony Perez is another senior who will have to have an increased role this year after having dropped from 7.1 from 2.6 in PPG from 2013-14 to 2014-15. However, Perez averaged 24.5 PPG for the Venezuelan national team in the summer. Also, Sebastian Saiz will have to boost his role in order for the Rebels to have success this year. The junior from Spain averaged 7.6 PPG with 5.5 RPG last year, and with Dwight Coleby having transferred to Kansas, AK will have to rely on Saiz for post duties. Hymon and Brutus have both seem slim minutes during their times as Rebels, but as Brutus tries to get back healthy and on the floor, Hymon will have his role significantly improved from his freshman year where he averaged 1.2 PPG. 

With all of the new faces, it is very tough to put a postseason prediction down for this team, but after a glance at the 29-game regular-season slate, I think high teens-low twenties in the win column would be likely for this team. An NCAA Tournament bid would not be surprising, but even though predictions do not matter, I have not seen a website having the Rebels in the tournament. Do not forget; the NEW Pavilion at Ole Miss is scheduled to open January 7 against the Alabama Crimson Tide. ICYMI, here is the schedule for the 2015-16 season.

Ole Miss' Unlikely Maze to the CFB Playoff

Path to the Playoff

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium

The Ole Miss Rebels(7-2, 4-1 SEC) need to win out and need some help from other teams in order to sneak in the CFB Playoff. There are a few schools the Rebels will need to cheer for and cheer against in these next few weeks, but obviously, the main goal for the Rebels is to win their next game. The #18 Rebels have a while to go before they will even be considered for the top 4, but if this debate continues throughout the end of the month into December, that means Ole Miss will be the 2015 SEC Champion. 

First of all, Ole Miss needs to beat likely Florida in the SEC Championship, a win which may cancel out a loss in the committee's eyes. A win over Alabama, LSU, and the SEC East Champion would be very attractive.

In this weekend's LSU at Alabama game, Ole Miss would like LSU to win for this reason: if LSU wins, they will likely move to number 1, and if Ole Miss beats the number 1 team, then we will go even higher up the rankings. Ole Miss needs some help in the Pac-12 also. The Big 12 and Big Ten should be the two locks for teams getting into the playoff with Ohio State, Michigan State, TCU, Baylor, and Iowa in there. A two-loss SEC team with great wins like the Rebels could have should be above a one-loss team from the other conferences in the Power 5.

Also, Ole Miss needs Florida State to win this weekend over Clemson. With as weak as the ACC is, the committee should leave any one-loss ACC team out in my opinion. Clemson would need to run the table to get into the playoff most likely because of their strength of schedule being so low in that weak conference.

Additionally, the Stanford-ND winner will be key. The winner of that game would likely be given a spot in the playoff, and the Rebels need all of the eliminations they can get. Stanford's hardest game behind ND is California, and ND's toughest opponent behind the Cardinal is at Pittsburgh. 

Lastly, Memphis would need to lose a game to eliminate them. Memphis' only shot of getting in would be running the table because no non-power 5 one-loss team would EVER get in. The committee would likely give Memphis head-to-head over Ole Miss if they were to both run the table, so the Rebels are cheering for Memphis opponents.

As Ole Miss fans, we just need to cheer our Rebels on to a hopeful and unlikely SEC Championship, and we just need to pray everything else falls in the right place. I know the playoff is VERY unlikely for the Rebels, but all we can do is hope that God blesses the Rebels with some magic and upsets around the country. 

Recap -- (19)Ole Miss at Auburn

Rebels Squeak Out Big Road Win on the Plains

WR Laquon Treadwell Makes Tremendous Catch To Help Secure Win At Auburn

The Ole Miss Rebels were looking to take care of business in a hostile environment in Jordan-Hare Stadium. 

With a defender tugging and draped on his back, Laquon Treadwell was given an opportunity by Chad Kelly to make a big play. He did just that. 

After a gruesome injury in 2014's heart-breaking loss to the Tigers, Treadwell let everybody know that Auburn would "feel his pain" in this game. They did just that. The junior from Crete, IL, had 7 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. He also had one pass for 21 yards on a trick play.

Many thought the SEC's leading receiver should have been given more opportunities, meaning that the Rebels should get him the ball more. In the end, you cannot complain, but everything seems to be better when the ball is in number one's hands. Treadwell's thoughts on his huge touchdown reception: "I think every player on our team wanted to make that play. So when you get that opportunity, you've got to make it. The team was counting on me. The ball came to me, and I just had to make a play".

For the second straight week, the rushing attack did wonders for the offense. The Rebels had 156 yards rushing, a stat which was more than an Auburn rushing kind of team. They took pressure off Chad Kelly, and it made it more difficult for the Auburn defense to defend a more balanced offense. What a coincidence that two of the Rebels best rushing games occurred when LT Laremy Tunsil was present and playing.

Defensively, the Rebels played well. They did not, however, play as well as they did against Texas A&M, but you do not see many defensive performances like that to be honest. The defense allowed 427 yards of offense to Auburn but held Auburn to four field goals. Those four field goals were key in the Rebels' victory. If the Landshark D does not bow up in the red zone, the outcome of this game could have been very different.

QB Chad Kelly had a solid game for Ole Miss. He went 33/51, 381 yards, 2 TD's, and 2 INT's. Kelly is seventh in the country in passing yards with 2,856 yards. He also leads the SEC in passing yards by 808 yards. 808 is a large number, guys. He is tenth in the country in TD passes with 20, and that stat also leads the best conference there is in CFB. 

This was not a pretty win for the Rebels, but it was a road win nonetheless in the toughest conference in America. This game puts the Rebels at 7-2(4-1), and the Rebels' SEC Title hopes still remain. This win keeps Ole Miss ranked 19th in the AP Poll but propels the Rebels to 19th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Starting this week, those polls do not matter. The College Football Playoff poll comes out Tuesday night, November 3rd. I will tweet where the Rebels stand(@OM_Sports).

Next Game: Arkansas, 2:30 CT on CBS in Oxford, Mississippi.