If you are a fan of fast-paced, non-stop, pull up transition bombs, high-flying dunks, and poor defense, this was your game. If you were watching in the first half, maybe you didn’t tune in for the second. For your soul’s sake, I hope you kept watching. True, BYU was up 17 at halftime, but you have to know better than to change the channel during March, man. Such a rookie mistake. Ole Miss came raging back in the second half to somehow find a way to beat the Cougars, 94-90.
For all the talk that college basketball lacks scoring and is boring to watch, tonight’s game zipped a few lips for quite a while. This game was filled to the brim with ridiculous shots and alley oops that it seemed like a game of NBA 2K15. Granted, the defense wasn’t exactly Virginia-esque, but we can let that slide for one night. It’s tourney time, baby!
Turning Point
I want to know what Andy Kennedy said to light a fire under his team’s backside at halftime. The Rebs scored 62 — yes, 62 points — in the second half, the most by any team since 2007, on 60 percent shooting. The Rebels held BYU to just 35 percent from the floor in the second half. The Rebs used a huge 42-10 points in the paint advantage and 25-0 points off turnovers margin to send the Cougars back to Provo with their collective tails between their hindquarters.
Impact Player
Ole Miss’ 5-foot-9 shooting guard Stefan Moody dropped 26 points and led the second half Rebel charge that included a 15-2 run. Moody hit the go-ahead three, with noticeable contact, with just around two minutes left in the game, giving the Rebs the lead for good. Moody went 10-18 from the floor, including 5-9 from deep and topped off with five assists in 32 minutes of play. Moody is going to be the horse that takes Ole Miss as far as they can go.
Strange, But True
A couple of things here. First, BYU’s Tyler Haws, now BYU’s all-time leading scorer, and Chase Fisher combined for 66 points tonight and outscored the ENTIRE Ole Miss team in the first half — and still lost. Secondly, in 2012 BYU was down by 25 to Iona in the First Four play-in game in Dayton but rallied to beat the Gaels in what is the biggest comeback in NCAA Tournament history. Payback is a … mean, mean thing.
Up Next
Ole Miss heads south to Jacksonville to face off against sixth-seeded Xavier on Thursday afternoon in the East Regional.
Dorm Room Hoops 