Sources tell Inside the Rebels that Ole Miss senior guard Allen Flanigan is a “game time decision” for tonight’s matchup in Athens against Georgia.
Flanigan only played nine minutes in last weekend’s matchup with Missouri before going down with a hamstring injury. He ended up finishing the game with four points, two rebounds and two assists in what would be an 84-78 Ole Miss road victory over Missouri, snapping another three-game losing skid.
Ahead of tonight’s matchup, Flanigan’s hamstring was described simply as “sore”.
Through 29 games, Flanigan has averaged 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, blocked 23 shots and dished out 82 assists. He started in his team’s first 27 games before coming off the bench against Alabama and Missouri last week, following his actions in the South Carolina matchup where he threw an elbow to an opposing player’s head area. The reasoning for his benching was labeled as “internal” according to head coach Chris Beard.
The Rebels may have started the month of March off well, but the Rebels can’t slow down any more as there are a few more consecutive wins needed to climb back into the NCAA Tournament picture. While Georgia has certainly had its struggles in conference play, also going 1-7 in the month of February, the Bulldogs have seen plenty of production outside their starting five. Georgia is No. 18 nationally with 28.8 points per game coming off the bench. Because of all that, the Bulldogs have been able to utilize 10 different starting lineups from 10 players, seven different combos as of late. On eight different occasions, Georgia has been involved in a one possession game with under 40 seconds left and have finished with mixed results, going 4-4 in those matchups.
Ole Miss too has had some good luck in those type of situations, with last weekend being another example, just barely hanging onto a 21-point lead. However, the Rebels have won just two road matchups in conference play, which also factors into their struggles to fit into the NCAA Tournament field. According to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, the Rebels are among the last four out of the “next four out” group of teams. In the most up-to-date CBS Sports Bracketology from Jerry Palm, the Rebels are not even on his bubble.
If the season were to end this morning, the Rebels would be a No. 9 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament and would face No. 8 seed LSU, a team Ole Miss lost to earlier in January 89-80. In games played through March 3, Ole Miss is sitting at No. 78 in the NCAA NET, with a 2-7 record against Quad 1 opponents, 3-2 against Quad 2 and perfect record against the rest.
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