No. 23 Rebels are piling up the points

OXFORD, Miss. — Mississippi’s Nick Williams knows what it’s like to just miss the NCAA Tournament.

That’s why the fifthyear senior isn’t too giddy about the Rebels’ current seven-game winning streak, including a 4-0 start in Southeastern Conference play and a national ranking for the first time since 2010.

“We don’t want to just be 4-0,” Williams said after Saturday’s win over Arkansas. “We want to keep it going.”

The cautious approach is probably warranted.

The Rebels have been in the NCAA Tournament hunt many times over the past several years, only to falter down the stretch during late January and February. The program has won at least 20 games in five of the past six seasons, but has no NCAA Tournament appearances during that span, settling for the National Invitation Tournament in all five of those seasons.

Ole Miss hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2002 — the longest drought in the SEC.

But there’s little doubt seventh-year coach Andy Kennedy has his most tal- ented team — and certainly his most dynamic on the offensive end. No. 23 Ole Miss (15-2) is averaging more than 82 points per game this season, which ranks 3rd nationally out of 345 Division I teams and easily leads the SEC.

It’s an experienced, diverse group that includes Marshall Henderson, a sharpshooting guard who’s averaging a leaguebest 18.9 points per game. But when Henderson’s touch goes cold, there are plenty of other options. Murphy Holloway is the only player averaging a double-double in the SEC, with 15.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

Reginald Buckner and Williams are also averaging more than 10 points per game. Buckner — a 6foot-9 forward who combines with Holloway to form a ferocious duo in the paint — is second in the SEC with nearly three blocked shots per game.

“That’s the great thing about our team, we’ve got so many different people who do some many different things,” Williams said. “When two or three people aren’t doing what we need to win, we’ve got other guys who can step up. We’re a deep team.”

And because of that, the Rebels are rolling.