GAME NOTES: The Ole Miss Rebels and Florida Gators will open SEC play against one another tonight at the O'Connell Center.
Ole Miss has been cruising along with wins in four straight and nine of its last 10 outings. On Wednesday night, the Rebels notched a 75-57 win at SMU to close out its non-league slate. Now, they'll look to defend their SEC West Division title as conference play gets underway.
Florida presents a tough matchup, having won three straight and six of it last seven entering tonight's tilt. The most recent of those victories was an 84-59 rout of Rhode Island Monday night. The Gators had won eight straight SEC openers until falling to Vanderbilt last year.
Florida owns a 58-42 lead in the all-time series, as the Gators have won eight of the last nine meetings with Ole Miss.
Ole Miss led by just two at halftime Wednesday night at SMU, but the Rebels put the game away with a decisive 23-4 run in the second stanza. They shot a scorching 69.6 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes (16-of-23) and finished with just eight turnovers. Chris Warren led four players in double figures with 19 points. The Rebels are putting up 78.1 ppg, which ranks third in the SEC. They lead the league in field-goal percentage (47.5) and free- throw percentage (74.5). Warren is the SEC's second-leading scorer at 18.5 points per game. He is the league's active career leader in points, assists, three-pointers and 20-point games. Zach Graham is next in line with 14.1 ppg, while sophomore forward Reginald Buckner (7.1 ppg) ranks second in the conference and 11th nationally with 3.0 blocks per game. He also leads the league with a 64.6 field-goal percentage.
Florida has out-rebounded all but one opponent this year and is a league- leading +8.5 in rebounding margin. Over their last four games, the Gators have pulled down an impressive 73 offensive rebounds. Defensively, the team is allowing only 59.4 ppg as just two teams have reached 70 points against the Gators this season. Rhode Island was held to 37.5-percent shooting Monday night and finished right at that season average of 59 points. Florida's offense also got the job done with 84 points and 19 assists, and the team shot an efficient 8-of-18 from long range. Chandler Parsons (9.9 ppg) notched a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. Leading scorer Erving Walker (13.9 ppg) netted 14, while Alex Tyus and Kenny Boynton (12.3 ppg) finished with 10 points apiece.
Head coach Billy Donovan's Gators were 6-0 against the SEC West last year, and that included a 64-61 win in Oxford against the reigning West Division champion Rebels. The Gators will have their hands full with Warren and Graham, but they should be able to control the paint and win this one at home.
