Where we Stand: New Year's Eve

Here are the updated rankings, RPI and bracketology so far for this week. The AP & Coaches polls will be out this afternoon. I will update this list throughout the day as information becomes available.


AP/ESPN: #18
Basketball Predictions: #8 seed
Ken Pom: #11 RPI
Real Time RPI: #11
RPI Forecast: #8 (#2 Seed)
Sargain: #10 RPI
Warren: #7 RPI
Mike DeSimone: #20
CBS: #21
College Hoops Net: #19
Bracket Express: #3 Seed
Ratings.com RPI: #11
Real Time Power: #21

History... 12-0

What a fantastic start to this season. Now we can sit back and watch all the accolades fall around us. Second to football in publicity, basketball will bring the national spotlight on Oxford. And, the light has started to shine. Every basketball game I watched talked about the Rebels and how well we are doing this season. Once commentator even suggested that we would be the last undefeated team this year.
Bask it up Rebels, it's about time!

Updated RPI's and rankings up next.

Ole Miss v. Southern

Tonight could be historical for Ole Miss. A win would equal the best start in school history. Ole Miss has never been 12-0 before.
Southern wants to do everything in its power to keep the Rebels from reaching this milestone. They will be ready to play. Anchored by 7 foot center Gjio Baain, the Golden Eagles will not be a push over.
There has been a lot of talk that this might may be a let down game for the Rebels after the defeat of Clemson. I don't see that happening for a couple of reasons. First, this will be a chance for the team to place themselves in Ole Miss history. Second and foremost, Andy Kennedy. Kennedy understands how important this game is and I imagine he will have them ready to play.
There are still plenty of tickets left. To order tickets visit Ticketmaster.

Where we stand.

With basketball's impressing start, it's time to start keeping up with RPI's, Braketology and Rankings. The Hotty Toddy Blog will keep you up-to-date on the latest.

AP: #22
ESPN: #24
CBS: #24
Bracketology 101: #5 seed
Ken Pom RPI: #11
Real Time RPI: #11
Sagarin: #14
Bracket Project: #8 Seed
Warren Nolan RPI: #10
Rivals: Andy Kennedy: #25 coach
Massey Ratings (combined): #15
Bracket Express: #4 Seed
Basketball Predictions: #9 Seed
Bryce's Brackets: #3 Seed
Beating the Experts: #7 Seed
Bracketography: #9 Seed
Breaking Down the Bracket: #8 Seed
The Hoops Report: #23
RPI Forecast: #3 Seed

On the right you will see a newly added link section for College Basketball. This should keep all Rebel Basketball junkies happy for a bit. If you have any other links you like, please let me know and I'll add them.

From 143 to 21

At the start of the season, I posted that College Hoops Nets had us ranked as the #143rd best College team. Yes, they said we would come in dead last in the SEC. Now after the 11-0 start and our defeat of #15 Clemson, they have us at #21. Talk about eating crow! Not only did they rank us at #21 but they named Curtis the Player of the Week.

CBS, the only other poll out right now, has us at #24

How to Keep Andy Kennedy

I live in the Cincinnati area. The media in this area love Andy Kennedy. They were really upset with how UC treated him and many still follow him. I watch a couple of localTV sports shows occasionally to see if they mention Andy Kennedy. The other night, one of the shows was talking about Kennedy. One reporter on the show had been to Oxford to visit him. He said that Andy seemed happier than he had ever seen him. "Andy was in his element". He then called the Tad Pad "ratty".
I was a bit embarrassed by this comment. I didn't think the Tad Pad warranted being called "ratty". I thought there were a few leaks recently but that overall it was still in good shape. Forward to today when CBS Sports runs a front page article on Ole Miss basketball entitled "Rebel Hell". If you haven't had the chance to read this article, please do. The following quotes from the article really opened my eyes to just how far we have let our basketball facilities fall:

"And then the next thing you know you're walking into practice and watching
your staff arrange three garbage cans to catch the drip, drip, drip while
towels
soak up everything that was missed. And then you can't help but
scratch your
head and wonder how you're the reigning SEC Coach of the Year
and yet in
jeopardy of losing a practice because of a hole in the roof. "

"Despite a strong commitment to football -- Ole Miss just fired
national
punchline Ed Orgeron and hired Houston Nutt at roughly $2 million
per year --
the school's lack of general interest in basketball is out of
whack with most of
its SEC peers. For instance, Kentucky has a $30 million
practice facility and
Florida just added $1.8 million in renovations to its
already state-of-the-art
practice facility. Each program opened workouts
this season in their luxurious
digs while Ole Miss held its first workout at
... Oxford High School."

"Then there's the travel setup,
particularly for this week's trip to Puerto
Rico. Whereas most high-major
programs would charter, Kennedy loaded his players
on a bus Monday at 5:30
a.m., rode 80 miles to Memphis International Airport,
then flew commercial
to Atlanta and caught a connection to San Juan. "

"We don't control
the heat in here; it comes from the physical plant or
something," Kennedy
explained during Sunday's practice. "And so the other
morning we practiced
at 10 a.m. and it was freezing in here."

WOW! This article screams: Ole Miss = Lack of commitment. Granted, Kennedy has only been here for just over a year but who let it get to this state to begin with?

What to do? First and foremost, show up and support the team. There is no reason not to sell out every home game. The DeSoto center should be rocking with Ole Miss plays Southern Mississippi. This should carry over to the SEC home games in Oxford.
Next, let Pete Boone know that having facilities such as these in the SEC is unacceptable. I am not necessarily advocating tearing down the Tad Pad but something has to be done.
Finally, ask Andy Kennedy what he wants and do everything in your power to help him get it done.
I honestly believe that Andy Kennedy will be here as long as we make the commitment deserving of an SEC team.

Here is how we stack up against the rest of the SEC west:

Alabama:
Coleman: 15,316 Opened: 1968 Practice facility: No
Arkansas:
Bud Walton: 19,200 Opened: 1993 Practice facility: No
Auburn:
Beard-Eaves: 10,500 Opened: 1969 Practice facility: No
LSU:
Maravich: 13,472 Opened: 1972 Practice facility: No
Miss. St.
Humphrey:10,500 Opened: 1975 Practice facility: No

Up Next: Winthrop

The Rebels will face 5-3 Winthrop this Thursday in Jackson. Winthrop of the Big South has had recent success in the NCAA. Winthrop is next to last in the Big South in scoring averaging 66.8 points a game. Winthrop has had a few eye opening wins so far this year. They defeated Georgia Tech 79-73 at home and East Carolina on the road 72-57. Their three loses are to Baylor, Missouri St & West Virginia.
This is the first game for Ole Miss in Jackson since 1989. Whether the Jackson area will show up and support the Rebels is still up in the air as there are still plenty of tickets available. Tickets are $20 for floor tickets and $15 for others. To order tickets visit : Ticket Master

Basketball heating up

Ole Miss is off to a hot start this year in basketball. Billed by most pundits as a rebuilding year for the Rebels, AK's army is showing it is anything but that. Ole Miss and Vandy are the only two undefeated SEC teams left. Ole Miss is at the top or near the top in most statistical areas.
The Rebels will face off against some of its most competitive non-conference foes over the next couple of weeks. The biggest of these is 15 ranked Clemson. If the Rebs can pull off the upset against the Tigers we will be well on our way to returning to the NCAA tourney.

Hotty Toddy!

Basketball: Fast Fun & 6-0

I've been able to catch most of the replays on .tv. I would love to make home games but I can't justify an 8 hour drive for a 2 hour basketball game. Justify or not, I will make it for a couple of games.
While the message boards have suddenly gone Nutts, a lot of folks fail to realize just how talented this team is. New Mexico was our first real test and we led by double digits most of the game. December heats up and it will be hard to maintain or undefeated status. Our toughest game will come against Clemson in San Juan on Dec. 22nd. We also face DePaul, La Salle, Wintrhop, Southern Miss and UCF in December.
Today the Rebels received votes in the AP top 25 and Warren was named SEC Freshman of the week. Warren returns home this Sat when the Rebels travel to Orlando to face UCF.