Ole Miss hopes to hold on to momentum

By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
Feb. 2, 2004
Ole Miss enters this week coming off its biggest win of the college basketball season.
The Rebels, who have won three of their last four Southeastern Conference games, knocked off No. 24 South Carolina (18-2, 5-2 SEC) in Tad Smith Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
Ole Miss senior Justin Reed led the charge scoring a career-high 23 points, as the squad improved to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in the SEC.
The Rebels, who started conference play with an 0-3 record, will try to continue to climb in the Western Division standings this week with a pair of road games. Ole Miss is currently tied for third place in the West.
Ole Miss begins the week with a 6 p.m. contest against the Georgia Bulldogs (10-8, 2-5 SEC) on Wednesday.
Georgia, which has wins over Georgia Tech and Kentucky this season, enters the midweek coming off a 71-50 thrashing of Arkansas.
Ole Miss finishes the week with a rematch against in-state rival No. 11 Mississippi State University. The Rebels let a 10-point second-half lead slip away against MSU on Jan. 7.
MSU (18-1, 7-1 SEC) does not have a game scheduled until its Saturday rematch against Ole Miss. The game is set to tip off at 4:30 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum and will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
The Bulldogs improved their current winning streak to five games with a 73-68 victory at Auburn (11-7, 2-5 SEC) on Saturday.
MSU coach Rick Stansbury called the win over the Tigers his team's toughest game of the year.
The University of Southern Mississippi will continue its three-game road stretch on Tuesday against the University of Houston.
The Golden Eagles (10-8, 3-4 Conference USA) ended a nearly three-year-old losing streak on the road to conference opponents with a 64-58 win over Tulane (7-10, 0-6 C-USA) last Saturday.
The Cougars (8-10, 2-5 C-USA) enter Tuesday's 7:30 p.m. contest coming off a 65-53 win over South Florida.
Mississippi Valley State University grabbed sole position of first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference on Saturday with a 50-41 win over Jackson State University in Itta Bena.
The Delta Devils (13-5, 7-1 SWAC) host Grambling State (5-13, 3-5 SWAC) at 7:30 p.m. today. MVSU closes the week hosting Alabama State (6-10, 4-4 SWAC) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Jackson State (8-9, 6-2 SWAC) will try to rebound from its loss to MVSU on the road against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-16, 1-7 SWAC) today. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Tigers close the week with a 7:30 p.m. contest against in-state rival Alcorn State (5-12, 4-4 SWAC) at home.
The Braves will warm up for their contest in Jackson with a road game against Texas-Pan American at 7 p.m. today.