Three Takeaways: Ole Miss Stifles UNCW with Size, Defense
The Seahawks ran into a tough matchup down south.
If you went in a lab and create an opponent that would give UNCW fits at this point, it would look a lot like Ole Miss.
And the Rebels wasted no time on Saturday evening showing how, using long, pesky defenders on the perimeter and experienced, tough big men around the bucket to dominate the Seahawks in a 78-58 victory.
Graduate transfer Romello White muscled his way to 20 points and six rebounds to lead Ole Miss, while forward Luis Rodriguez finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in addition to a strong defensive effort on Jaylen Sims, who was held to 13 points of 4/11 shooting from the field.
It wasn’t all bad, though, as UNCW (3-3) fought back in the second half and left Oxford with something to build on. Here’s what we learned:
Seeking Shykeim
The Seahawks have been able to piece things together with Sims and Mike Okauru as primary ballhandlers, but the absence of Shykeim Phillips was glaring on Saturday as Ole Miss (2-0) completely disrupted UNCW’s offense throughout the first half.
The Rebels picked up Okauru in the backcourt, and routinely, brought enough pressure to force him to turn his back to the basket near halfcourt. When Sims brought it up, Rodriguez used his 6-6, 210-pound frame and long arms to hound him, while there was always help nearby to physically knock him off his path.
Screens didn’t offer a ton of relief, as the Ole Miss was sharp in making the right reads and precise in its execution on when to soft hedge, when to blitz the ballhandler and when to switch.
Ultimately, the tight seal on against penetration forced UNCW to become a one-dimensional, jump-shooting team that had to settle for too many looks late in the shot clock.
In all, UNCW managed just 20 points in the paint, while Sims attempted 8 of his 11 field goal attempts from beyond the arc and Jake Boggs took 3 of his 4 attempts from 3-point range.
Doesn’t mean the shots go in, but Phillips’ presence would certainly change the quality of shots that UNCW gets in a game like that and likely reduces the total turnovers from 19. “
“We’ve got a chance to be an, I think, elite defensive team before the year is out,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said.
Small sample size with just two games, but the Rebels rank 19th in defensive efficiency, third in turnover rate and second in 2-point field goal defense.
That’s pretty elite, and will get the Rebels a bit higher than the ninth-place finish they were predicted for in the SEC preseason poll.
Big Conference Bigs
Even when Coach Takayo Siddle gets this up and running at full-speed, UNCW won’t have a stable of big men, and things are especially thin right now, as Siddle sticks with Boggs and John Bowen as the only two bigs in his rotation.
They had the unenviable task of trying to slow down White, a 6-8, 235-pound junkyard dog who has played in 97 college games and showed why he was considered among the nation’s top graduate transfers this season, helping the Rebels to a 50-20 advantage on points in the paint.
And it wasn’t just White, as the versatile Rodriguez went to work on the glass in helping Ole Miss to a 42-24 rebounding advantage that included 15 offensive boards that led to 15 second-chance points.
“It bothered us; I thought their size on the interior was really effective,” Siddle said. “They had 42 rebounds, we had 24 — I thought that was the difference in the game.”
If there was ever a night to throw a every big man you’ve got on the floor, this was it, and Siddle still played Imajae Dodd just five minutes and didn’t get Ian Steere in the game at all. Clearly, they’re either still recovering from injuries or he doesn’t feel they can contribute right now.
Finishing Strong
Ole Miss took a 38-18 lead into halftime, and eventually stretched it out to a 25-point advantage with 16:41 remaining.
Playing their third game in six days, it would have been easy for the Seahawks to pack it in and start thinking about the trip home.
Instead, UNCW turned up the pressure, ran its offense and found its most sustained success of the day in cutting the lead down to 15 points
“In the first half, I think we were a little tight,” Siddle said. “We had some open looks we didn’t make; our offense wasn’t getting multiple sides. I thought in the second half, we got a couple stops and we were able to run, and I thought we got multiple sides of the floor in the halfcourt.”
After shooting 30.4 percent in the first half, UNCW hit 50 percent from the field in the second half, while committing just eight of its 19 turnovers.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks forced nine Rebels turnovers and did a better job of competing on the boards, with Ole Miss finishing with a 15-14 edge.
“I loved how we fought,” Siddle said. “We’ve got to continue to flush out all of the soft plays, and some of the bad turnovers and the bad body language and I thought we took a step forward with that today, but we’ve got to continue to flush that out of our system.
In Conclusion…
It was a tough game that didn’t reveal any challenges that weren’t already obvious for UNCW, and one that opponents likely won’t be able to replicate this season unless they suddenly land a few experienced SEC players.
Given the way Boggs attacked the basket and shot the ball with confidence vs. SAU, it was surprising to see him attempt just four shots in this one.
The Seahawks are developing consistency in their effort and toughness, which is encouraging after the past two seasons, and Mike Okauru and Ty Gadsden are both finding ways to make plays.
Next Up
UNCW visits Norfolk State at 4 p.m. on Friday.
The Spartans are off to a 3-1 start, with wins over James Madison, Radford and Hampton and a loss to Old Dominion, and will play host to UNCG this afternoon.
NSU, 26-6 in the MEAC over the past two seasons, is the league’s preseason favorite.
Quick Tips
Gadsden has made at least one 3-pointer in every game he’s played this season, and 11 of 23 over his past three games.
Averaging 25 free throw attempts per game coming in, UNCW was held to 13 attempts.
The Seahawks’ 13 assists on 21 field goals (61.9 percent) was the highest assist rate of the season.
15 points was a season-high for Okauru, who has made 7 of 11 3-point attempts over the past three games.