Ole Miss aims for SEC West lead against No. 18 Alabama

Posted 6:29PM on Friday 9th February 2007 ( 18 years ago )

JACKSON, Miss. - When the season started or even two weeks ago the most optimistic member of the Mississippi men's basketball team wouldn't have envisioned a scenario in which the Rebels might take the Southeastern Conference's Western Division lead. New coach, new style of play and no recruiting class to speak of hindered the Rebels. But win against No. 18 Alabama on Saturday in Oxford and the Rebels will have done just that. ``Having a losing record (in conference) and being up at the top is very surprising,'' Ole Miss point guard Todd Abernethy said. ``We're really excited for this opportunity and think we can do some special things.'' The Rebels (15-8) are playing their best basketball of the season and have improved to 4-5 in the SEC West with wins in three of their last four games. The loss came by five points to No. 23 Vanderbilt. The recent success doesn't surprise Alabama coach Mike Gottfried. ``I think first of all you've got a veteran team; that's been forgotten a little bit with this group,'' he said. ``Those kids have played together, they've played in the SEC. ``The coach is new but the players aren't.'' The Rebels face a Crimson Tide (18-5) team that has won three straight to improve to 5-4 in conference. But this is not the Alabama that was ranked in the top five for much of the season. Point Ronald Steele has been injured, center Jermareo Davidson has struggled at times and the Tide has been vulnerable. Even their three-game streak has been built on narrow come-from-behind victories, including a last-shot 80-79 win over Mississippi State on Wednesday. ``We've got some great young guys,'' Gottfried said. ``They never quit. They just play through difficult things, which I've liked. They play it to the buzzer. So we've been fortunate a few times. But I still think we can get a lot better.'' Ole Miss might be catching the Crimson Tide at the right time. Not only did the Rebels have an off week, allowing more preparation for Alabama than most teams get, but the Crimson Tide next plays top-ranked Florida a game that could draw their attention away from Oxford. Perhaps more importantly, the Rebels used a little of their free time to work on themselves. ``We got a little head start on (preparing for) them, but the first couple of days it was a lot of looking at ourselves and things we could do to give our kids a better chance to be successful and also to really show them a lot of tapes of ourselves so we could make some improvements,'' Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. The Rebels also have a little more motivation than usual. ``With one more win we'll guarantee ourselves a winning season and we don't have anybody on our team that has experienced that at a Division I level,'' Kennedy said. ``With that comes some understanding that it takes a little bit of time, but I've been really pleased with our guys and their attitudes and their ability to continue to grow as a group.'' Ole Miss faces an Alabama squad that has four players scoring in double figures, led by Davidson with 15 points and nine rebounds per game. Kennedy said forward Richard Hendrix (14.8 ppg, 9 rpg) is playing the best ball of his career and that swingman Mykal Riley is making the crucial shots for the Crimson Tide and presents a difficult challenge. It's a formidable lineup, but the Rebels feel they've got the ability to pull off an upset and climb to the top of the division. Ole Miss, which has relied on the long jumper in its up-tempo offense, also has four players scoring in double figures, led by Bam Doyne with 16.7 ppg. But the statistics don't really matter for the Rebels right now. It's more about attitude. ``We feel like we're getting just better and better,'' Abernethy said. ``If we just keep playing the way we're playing we feel like we can beat anybody.''

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