Rebels have won 7 of last 8 vs. Bulldogs
STARKVILLE - Flashes of Breein Tyree's potential have shone through at certain points this season.
Ole Miss' freshman point guard put it all on display in the second half and overtime against rival Mississippi State Tuesday night.
Tyree, who battled through seven turnovers, scored 20 of his career-high 24 points after halftime and guided the Rebels to an 87-82 overtime victory against the Bulldogs.
Ole Miss (17-11, 8-7 SEC) blew a sixpoint lead with 32 seconds remaining in regulation, but Tyree put it back in the driver's seat with eight consecutive points to open the extra period.
Here are three takeaways from Ole Miss' win.
Seven of eight
Talk of the NCAA Tournament moves to the front and center around this time. Andy Kennedy said it's basically everywhere.
But he shifted focus when asked about it after the win.
"It's amazing to me how (tournament talk) overrides everything," Kennedy said. "This is Mississippi State-Ole Miss. That used to be something, not let's talk about what's next. This game's something. This is the in-state game. I would rather focus on this and then I would rather focus on Missouri on Saturday."
And the Rebels have had the upper hand in the rivalry recently. Ole Miss has won seven of the past eight meetings and Kennedy improved to 3-1 against Ben Howland since Howland took over at MSU last season.
The Rebels swept Mississippi State for the second time in the past three regular seasons as well.The latest victory extended the Bulldogs' five-game losing streak and kept it entrenched in the bottom of the SEC standings.
Tyree stepping up was nice, but Ole Miss needs Sebastian Saiz at his peak right now.
After struggling the past few games, Saiz bounced back with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. He went through some foul trouble in the first half and was visibly upset on the bench after his second personal foul.
Like Tyree, Saiz did the majority of his damage after halftime. He went 4 for 5 from the field in the second half and overtime, scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and made all nine of his free throws.
He helped offset the struggles of guards Terence Davis and Deandre Burnett, who went 5 for 29 from the field.
"You expect Sebastian Saiz to have a good game," Howland said. "He's a really good player. He'll get an all-league selection this year for sure."
Saiz recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds in the first game against MSU.
Depth issues
A medical condition related to his seizure keeping guard Rasheed Brooks out of the game has put the spotlight on Ole Miss' depth again.
The Rebels played eight men last night but it was essentially a seven-man rotation. Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey played just two minutes.
Tyree did well, but Kennedy said he was forced to play him because the depth is dwindling.
"What's crazy is based on personnel, we've got eight scholarship bodies ... under a normal set of circumstances, I don't know if I would have had him in the game because he was turning it over like crazy," Kennedy said. "But based on the sheer lack of numbers, he has to play."
Kennedy said more tests would be run on Brooks before he rejoins the team.