Projected Starters:
Ole Miss:
F Sebastian Saiz 6'9 233 12.5ppg 10.3rpg
F Marcanvis Hymon 6'6 207 5.4ppg 4.9rpg
G Rasheed Brooks 6'5 192 7.9ppg
G Martavious Newby 6'3 210 5.5ppg 5.4rpg
G Stefan Moody 5'10 179 23.9ppg 4.1apg

LSU:
F Craig Victor
F Ben Simmons
G Keith Hornsby
G Tim Quarterman
G Antonio Blakeney

About Ole Miss:
Ole Miss comes into this contest 12-3 overall and 2-1 in SEC play. They have lost neutral site games against George Mason and Seton Hall. They also have a 20+ point drubbing on the road at Kentucky. They have road victories @Memphis and @Umass. There are many different RPI predictors out there, but currently Ole Miss on average as an RPI around mid 50's. They do not have a very deep team. On average they play 7-8 a majority minutes, then a few sprinkle in depending on foul trouble. There is a good chance Hymon does not start and instead they start Gielo or Perez. Both have better size to match up with Simmons, but they may prefer the smaller Hymon

Offensively
Stats:
PPG: 75.4 (142nd)
FG%: 42.6 (248th)
AST: 12.6 (241st)
3P%: 30.3 (314th)
FT%: 71.8 (96th)
Turnovers per game: 12.4 (114th)

Ole Miss will go how Stefan Moody goes. They only have 2 players averaging double figures: Moody and Saiz (who I absolutely loathe). They only have 4 players averaging over 7 points a game, as well. They do not shoot the ball well from deep or from 2-point land. Much of that is due to Stefan Moody shooting like Kobe Bryant. Moody has always been a high volume shooter, but he is taking it into another stratosphere this year. Moody is averaging 16.5 shots per game...one of the highest in the country. He's shooting 41% overall and 35% from 3. However, the guy is nearly automatic at the line shooting 87% and gets there nearly 9 times per game. Considering how many free throws he gets and makes, combined with his shots per game, he's a very inefficient player. Moody will score at least 20. The question will be does he only take 10 shots to get it or 20. He will shoot and shoot and shoot. It is important LSU not let him get going and get in a rhythm. Saiz is a high energy player with a decent skill set, Brooks and Gielo can hit 3's, everyone else are scrappy and tough players.

Defensively
Stats:
PPG: 70.1(157th)
FG%: 41.4 (114)
RPG: 39.5 (62nd)
Turnovers Forced per game: 14.1 (100th)

Ole Miss is a solid defensive team. They take a lot after their coach. They don't block a lot of shots, but they do get a fair amount of steals, specifically Newby and Moody. But as a team, they are hard nosed and scrappy. They won't be nearly as physical or physically imposing as Florida, and because of quick shots from Moody, they can be scored upon via fast break.

Prediction:

At the end of the day, LSU is a better team. Moody is a very good scorer and good player, but LSU is by far a better overall team. Although 12-3, Ole Miss has only played one very athletic and superior talented roster and they lost by over 20 to them. If this was at the Tad Pad (I know it's not the Tad Pad, but dammit I loved that place and all the dark, gloomy JP Sports memories along with the Rod Barnes memories that go with it...so I will ALWAYS refer to it as the Tad Pad) I think LSU would win, but it would be much more of a battle. Because we are coming off of a tough loss, and the way our team has battled since Hornsby and Victor have been inserted into the lineup, I feel like there is no way we will lose. On a side rant, I am desperately hoping TQ rises to the occasion of guarding Moody and plays well like he did last year against him. Many criticize Blakeney's offensive struggles (which do exist), but TQ is the 2nd most important player behind Ben Simmons. When TQ is playing with energy, not jacking up 3's but getting into the lane and scoring or creating, and is crashing the boards...LSU has shown they are virtually unstoppable. However, on the flip side, when Tim wants to show NBA scouts he can hit pull-up 3's or force shots early in the shot clock, we can lose to anyone. 6'6 freakish athletic PG's don't grow on trees, but Tim needs to understand he is a high effort player and get back to who he is. I think CJJ and our team know that they can afford a few more losses overall, but we have a brutal schedule remaining and this is an extremely winnable game.

LSU- 83
OM- 70

LSU and the NCAA Tournament:

I'm not going to get into all the RPI and numbers stuff because we are in the 2nd week of January. I'll just say this: This team has wiggle room. Is it a lot? No...but it exists. LSU lost to Florida and everyone said we have virtually no chance of making the tourney unless we pull off major upsets. Well, UF is looked upon very favorably as our some of our losses. Hypothetically we could go 17-1 and beat Oklahoma and probably get a top 3 seed..that won't happen. But as others have mentioned, ranked games against A&M twice, @UK, Oklahoma, @USCe, plus road games @Bama and @Tennessee give us plenty of chances to increase our RPI and make some statements.

I know this season has not gone well for our team or our fans. Trust me, I won't go into detail, but I'm taking it about as hard as anyone. But there is still lots of reasons to be hopeful. Despite what many will acknowledge, we have played with a different edge since Victor and Hornsby have gotten back. I look for us to finish SEC play well and get into the tourney. Instead of bashing specific players or especially the coach (who yes, has downfalls), let's hold out a little hope until we have ABSOLUTELY played ourselves out of contention for the postseason. I look forward to seeing many familiar faces tomorrow night in the PMAC.

PS: If Craig Victor's uncle looks at this site, and you sit 2 rows in front of a crazy guy with a purple jacket...holla at me