Cancun Governor’s Cup Final Round: A look at Saint Louis-Ole Miss

Cancun Governor’s Cup, Poliforum Benito Juarez, Cancun, Mexico
Saint Louis Billikens vs Ole Miss Rebels
Friday, December 24, 2010, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Ole Miss -5 1/2
Current Line: Ole Miss -5
Opening Total: 133
Current Total: 133 1/2
Money Line: Ole Miss -210 / Saint Louis +175

Ole Miss takes on Saint Louis in the Cancun Governor's Cup. The Rebels are a 5 point favorite.

Saint Louis is 5-6 on the season. The Billikens take on the 8-3 Mississippi Rebels. Both lost in the semifinals of this tournament in Cancun. Saint Louis lost to Southern Miss yesterday 74-67 after beating Northeastern 71-49 in the first round. Ole Miss beat Texas St 83-72 in the opening round and lost to Colorado St 68-61 in the semis. Saint Louis has losses on the season to Austin Peay, Georgia, Portland, Duke, and Missouri St. Saint Louis doesn’t have a quality win on the season. Mississippi has losses vs Dayton and Miami-(FL). They have quality wins over Penn St and Southern Miss. Saint Louis is 1-9 ATS in non conference road games over the last 2 seasons. The Billikens are also 3-11 ATS against teams with winning records in the last 2 seasons. Ole Miss is 4-13 ATS in all neutral site games since 1997.

Saint Louis has struggled so far this season, but their two best players were kicked off the team for a sexual assault during the summer. Willie Reed and Kwamain Mitchell haven’t played this season and the Billikens have been short handed all season. There are no seniors on the squad and only 3 juniors. In the game against Southern Miss, Guard Mike McCall scored 19 points to lead the scoring for Saint Louis. He made 5 out of 7 three pointers. Forward Brian Conklin added 15 points, and Cody Ellis added 15 as well off the bench. Twenty-one turnovers doomed the Billikens against Southern Miss. Saint Louis is outscoring their opponents 64-63 on the year. Kyle Cassity leads the scoring with 10 points a game. St. Louis shoots 46.6% from the field and 39.2% from 3 point range. They shoot 65.5% from teh free throw line. SLU averages 28 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of -3. Dwayne Evans leads the team in rebounding with 5.2 a game. The Billikens average 12.9 assists and 13.7 turnovers a game. McCall leads the team in assists with 3.5 a game. They average 7.1 steals and 3.3 blocks a game. Jordair Jett leads the team is steals.

Ole Miss lost to Colorado St in the semifinals of this tournament 68-61. The game was close throughout but Ole Miss struggled from the field shooting only 36.8%, and they were only 4 for 25 from 3 point range. Guard Zach Graham came off the bench and had a double double. He had 16 points and 13 rebounds. For the season the Rebels are outscoring opponents 78-70 on the season. Point guard Chris Warren leads the team in scoring (18.6 ppg) and assists (4.6 apg). Graham averages 13.2 points a game. The Rebels shoot 46.1% from the field and 32% from 3 point range. They make 72.3% of their free throws. Ole Miss averages 37.5 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +2.9. Reginald Buckner leads the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and blocks (3.4 bpg). Ole Miss averages 14.7 assists a game and 12.6 turnovers. They average 5 steals and 5.5 blocks a game. Trevor Gaskins leads the team in steals with 1.5 a game and also scores 11.1 points a game.

Saint Louis will struggle on the boards as Ole Miss is very good at rebounding despite not having a player over 6’9″ on the roster. Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus has said his young team would be better served by getting extra practices rather than playing in a tournament in Cancun, Mexico on Christmas Eve. Ole Miss Should roll over the overmatched Billikens.