Ole Missed Again?

It was a horrible, terrible, exceptionally bad day for SEC teams with NCAA Tournament hopes. Kentucky lost. Tennessee lost. Alabama lost. But Ole Miss may have sank.

The Rebels were a 12-point favorite at Mississippi State, who had lost 13 in a row. The Bulldogs' season had been marred by suspensions and injuries, and looked to be just playing out the string - except when it came to spoiling the hopes of their hated in-state rivals.

The ragtag Bulldogs held on behind a gutty effort and a boisterous crowd, and may have finished an Ole Miss season that once looked so promising.

As of this evening, esteemed ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had only 2 SEC teams in. Florida still has a shot at a very high seed despite the performance of their conference as a whole. And Missouri (where I was today) solidified their position with a thorough win over surging LSU.

Lunardi has Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, and Ole Miss on the outside looking in. There's still time to play their ways in, but time is running out. If they hadn't noticed the calendar has already flipped to March. And the Ole Miss campus may not be experiencing the madness...again. They'll just be plain mad.

Rebel Without a Conscience

He shouts, he taunts, he over-emotes, and he makes shots - a lot of them. Just 16 games into his SEC career, and Marshall Henderson is already the most passionate, exciting, and combustible Ole Miss player in years.

The Rebels are off to a 14-2 starts, 3-0 in conference and tied atop the SEC. Henderson has 4 games with 25+ including 32 & 26 in road wins at Tennessee and Vanderbilt. But the numbers aren't as impressive as the heroics.

Look at the form from 37 feet away with one chance to keep his team alive at Vandy. He's got that kind of range and is deadly at the foul line.

As a TV analyst pointed out the other night, Ole Miss has to always keep an eye on Henderson becoming "emotionally intoxicated." There were plenty of bumps on the road to Henderson's arrival in Oxford, where he's now a 22-year old Junior.

Henderson is from Hurst, Texas, practically in the shadow of DFW. He started at Utah as a Freshman, then transferred to Texas Tech but left when Coach (Pat) Knight was dismissed. But Henderson stayed in the Lubbock area, attending South Plains College, where he was National Juco Player of the Year and led the Texans to the Junior College National Championship.

He already has the shot of the college basketball season, and has even popped up on Grantland's radar. His in-game skills and swagger are reminiscent of another Texan you may have heard of lately, Johnny Football. Hoops Henderson, anyone?

Ole Miss hosts Arkansas Saturday in a surprisingly important early-season SEC game.