Ole Miss has lost four games in a row, but the team felt better about its performance in a 63-58 loss at then-No. 23 St. John’s last week.
The Rebels (5-4) hope the improvement carries over into a game against Southern Miss (6-4) on Saturday afternoon in Biloxi, Miss.
Forward Malik Dia, who had his first double-double of the season (18 points, 10 rebounds), said he thinks the Rebels had a “sense of urgency” against St. John’s that was absent during the first three games of the losing streak and that gives them “something to build on.”
“But it can’t just be because we’re playing St. John’s,” Dia said. “It has to be every single night, approach each game like that.
“I know that when we come together as a team we can do very special things. Our effort has to be consistent.”
Ole Miss coach Chris Beard, who praised his team for its effort in the last game, constantly emphasizes the need to minimize turnovers, but the Rebels, who average just 11.1 turnovers per game, committed a season-worst 20 against St. John’s. Their previous high was 13.
“We talk a lot about not turning the ball over, keeping it less than 10,” Dia said. “So to see 20 turnovers in the game is unacceptable and something we have to fix.”
Southern Miss has won five of its last six games, including a 68-60 home victory against Grambling on Monday, which avenged a 75-70 road loss to the Tigers on Nov. 13.
The Golden Eagles have just two scorers averaging in double figures — forward Tylik Weeks (17.7) and guard Isaac Taveras (16.7) — but their scoring average of 77.9 is significantly better than their average of 71.3 last season.
“We have a lot of guys that can score,” head coach Jay Ladner said. “We have a very talented group of players. We have good depth in the backcourt.”
This is the third consecutive season that these in-state rivals have met on a neutral court in Biloxi. Ole Miss won 77-46 last season and 89-72 two years ago.
–Field Level Media
