It may not have been pretty, but in the Southeastern Conference, a win is a win, at least according to Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin.
The No. 19 Rebels (6-2, 2-2 SEC) trailed at halftime on Saturday against the scuffling Oklahoma Sooners, but they were able to rally the troops in the second half and earn a 26-14 win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
There are obviously plenty of things that Ole Miss needs to work on partway through its conference schedule, but Kiffin stated on Monday that he was not going to be overly critical of a win over an SEC opponent.
“I thought [QB Jaxson Dart] played really well,” Kiffin said in a press conference. “Was really accurate with the ball, especially with probably the best receiver in the country [Tre Harris] not playing. I thought we pass protected well against a defense that has a great rusher.
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“We settled down on defense with the new play caller early. They ran a lot of tricky stuff and took a lot of different shots that way. Settled down and played great, great defense in the second half.”
Once Ole Miss adjusted to Oklahoma’s new play caller in Joe Jon Finley, Kiffin thinks his team dominated the remainder of the game. That’s not far from the truth as the Rebels outscored the Sooners 16-0 after halftime.
The offense still needs some work, but Kiffin doesn’t want outside opinions influencing the mood of his locker room. He wants his players to know that improvements are needed while still enjoying capturing a win over an SEC team.
“After rewatching it too, that’s a good win,” Kiffin said. “I told our guys today, ‘Don’t let people outside of this room steal your joy about winning in the SEC, especially by two scores and dominating the second half.’ That’s kind of the world we live in around here now.
“I want our guys to make sure they understand when you win in this conference and you win by two scores, there are things to work on, but also enjoy it, or you end up winning and being miserable.”
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With its second SEC win in hand, the Rebels will hit the road this week to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Playing in Fayetteville has not been historically kind to Ole Miss (the Rebels have only won twice there all-time), but it needs a win this weekend if it hopes to rejoin the College Football Playoff conversation next week when the Georgia Bulldogs come to town.
Kickoff on Saturday between Ole Miss and Arkansas is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPN.
The energy was off the charts in the Frost Bank Center even before opening tip for what many hoop fans are hoping is the next great NBA rivalry. Both the Spurs and Thunder the traded blows on the offensive and defensive end in an exhilarating display of basketball that included 12 lead changes and 11 ties. Oklahoma City took a slim 60-58 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second half played out in much the same fashion with extremely high-level basketball and neither team able to pull away, though San Antonio were the ones who took a 5 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. That chink in the Thunder armor though was enough to blow the game wide open to begin the final frame for the Spurs. They spent the vast majority of the 4th quarter just making life hell for the Thunder, who waved the white flag and pulled their starters with 3 minutes left in the game.
Led by huge performances from Stephon Castle, Harrison Barnes and a particularly special performance by Keldon Johnson off the bench, the win marks their second straight win over the defending champions and their 7th win in a row, the longest for the club since 2019. Tonight’s win sets the table for Thursday’s Christmas Day match-up in Oklahoma City pretty nicely, sending a message to anyone still doubting whether or not the Silver and Black are for real.
The rematch on Christmas Day starts at 1:30 CT on ABC and ESPN.
Christmas is nearly here, but are you done with Christmas shopping? You still have a few days left, and we know that so many people face the annual challenge of what to buy someone who has everything, or is hard to buy for.
News 9 spoke to Von Maur representative Mathew Burniga to learn how to wrap up your Christmas shopping.
NORMAN, Okla. — Derrion Reed scored 22 points, Xzayvier Brown finished with 18, and Oklahoma set the program’s single-game record for field-goal percentage on Monday night as the Sooners beat Stetson 107-54 on Monday night.
Oklahoma shot 67.8% (40 of 59) from the field and had its highest-scoring game since a 107-86 win over Arkansan-Pine Bluff on Nov. 30, 2023. The previous record was 66.1% (39 of 59) against Baylor on Feb. 26, 2005.
The Sooners made 12 of 24 from 3-point range, outrebounded Stetson 39-24, and outscored the Hatters 54-18 in the paint.
Mohamed Wague had 15 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma and Tae Davis added 12 points and six assists. Kuol Atak and Nijel Pack each scored 11 points.
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Ethan Copeland, the only Stetson (4-9) player who scored in double figures, had 14 points.
Oklahoma (9-3) used runs of 15-3 and 10-2, the latter of which culminated with a Jadon Jones three-point play that gave the Sooners a 26-11 lead a little more than eight minutes into the game.
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