Ole Miss Two Game Losing Streak is a No Panic Situation for Rebels

So the Ole Miss Rebels have lost two games in a row and the world wants to write them off for some reason. Maybe it’s the same way folks want to write off Marshall “Womp Womp Monster” Henderson because of his past, or maybe they want to bury them because the program isn’t filled with history, but more than likely it’s because people are addicted to streaks.

The Rebels were the 16th ranked team in the country going into their game with the Florida Gators, and even still after the loss against the Kentucky Wildcats, the buzz was pretty high for the game. A program with little recent national relevancy, the most polarizing player in college hoops, and a 7 pm Friday night game against the fourth ranked team in the country, a lot of eyeballs were on the television set. Oddly enough, it was two different games which have received the game criticisms after, both games had similar results as Ole Miss lost and looked over matched in both games.

Yet, even though both of the teams Ole Miss lost to are considered good, people are more than ready to proclaim the death of Rebels’ hoops 2013. It is the whole “It’s Ole Miss, so they can’t be that good” type of thinking people tend to do. Which is okay, I guess, if you haven’t watched them play this year.

Henderson, which everyone and their mother(yes, their mother) has chronicled this season, is a volume-shooter. As in, the guy shoots a lot and if he is off the team’s success is highly unlikely. Now Henderson played really well against Florida, 25 points while shooting over 50 percent from the floor, but he had absolutely no help from his teammates. Another thing worth noting, the loss was against Florida, not the Club St. Pool Cleaners, but the fourth ranked team in the country.

This isn’t panic time, this isn’t overreact and call Ole Miss horrible, nor is it the overrated chant time. No sir, Ole Miss is a fine team, led by a great player, who got a lot of national buzz to only lose a couple of games in a row, it happens.

Every loss, or every string of losses in this matter, does not need to be dissected to the point of nausea. Ole Miss lost to two teams who are likely better than them, it doesn’t mean they aren’t any good. Nobody said they were a top 10 team in the nation, but the fact hasn’t changed, that because of Henderson, Ole Miss is still a dangerous team come March.

Joe covers the Catholic Seven for Rant Sports. For the love of Sam Cassell, follow Joe on the Twitter Machine @JosephNardone