OXFORD – Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has long said her goal is for her team to play its best basketball in March. And, despite another close loss against a premier opponent, she and the Rebels will continue to stay the course.
Ole Miss (13-6, 4-3 SEC) came up just short against then-No. 7 Texas on Sunday in a 61-58 loss at SJB Pavilion. The Rebels led the Longhorns by eight with just over six minutes to play but failed to score a point over the final four minutes of action. Texas’ Madison Booker hit a go-ahead jumper with 26 seconds to play, and Ole Miss was unable to get a shot off on their final possession, as Booker stole the inbounds pass.
There are a few key plays McPhee-McCuin wanted to show her team in film study – five or so, specifically – that she felt were pivotal. But other than that, she knows the Rebels have to move forward. Because in the SEC, things aren’t getting easier.
The Rebels play at Georgia (9-12, 1-6) Thursday and then play at No. 23 Vanderbilt on Sunday. Thursday’s game tips at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Ole Miss is ranked No. 11 in the latest NET rankings.
“We just have to keep chopping wood, and we can’t be wary. Because good coaches don’t lose their teams in January,” McPhee-McCuin said. “Good coaches have their team singing ‘Kumbaya’ in March. … We have to forget about it, and we have to move. We can’t let Texas beat us twice.”
Sunday wasn’t the Rebels’ first tight loss with a ranked opponent this season. Ole Miss has faced four teams that were ranked in the AP top 20 at the time of their meeting – and three in the top seven – and is 0-4 in those matchups, with the losses coming by a combined 24 points. The Rebels lost their season opener in Paris against No. 3 USC by two after trailing by as many as 15 in the third quarter and taking a fourth-quarter lead; trailed No. 2 UConn by 21 in the third before cutting the deficit to three and eventually losing by 13; lost by six to No. 18 Alabama; and led Texas by eight in the fourth quarter.
The Rebels also nearly overcame a 22-point second-half deficit against now-No. 17 N.C. State in December, cutting the lead to two with two minutes to play.
The latest effort against the Longhorns, while not the result she wanted, was a step in the right direction, according to McPhee-McCuin. Because rather than having to rally to make the game close late, the Rebels were in control until they weren’t.
The goal now? Putting it together for all four quarters.
“We’re knocking at the door. I think, more for us than anything, it hurts their pride. It hurts out pride,” McPhee-McCuin said. “ … We lost the game, but we also had them beat as well. … And you can say, ‘All right Yo, at some point you have to get over the hump.’ But we didn’t lose that game the same way we lost to USC. USC we were down a lot of points. UConn, down a lot of points. NC State, down a lot of points. Now we have the lead. And so you have to just continue to build and figure out what’s next.”
There are positives to be taken, even in heartbreaking defeats, McPhee-McCuin noted. Texas entered Sunday’s game averaging better than 87 points per game – ranking inside the top 10 nationally – and was held to just 61 by Ole Miss. It’s further proof of concept the Rebels can win games on their terms. It’s just a matter of finishing the job.
“We just have to put it all together. And the thing that is frustrating is you just don’t know when that’s going to be,” McPhee-McCuin said. “So, what do you do as a leader? You coach, you teach. You don’t get angry, you teach, you encourage, you talk about the positive things. … We held them to what we held them to, and we had to foul at the end. So, it’s coming. It’s just not there yet. But I’m optimistic.”
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