Scouting Report: Wisconsin Prepares for High-Powered Ole Miss Offense

Let's start this mini-scouting report with Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson. The junior is dynamic, erratic and potent all at the same time. He averages 20.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and just 1.7 assists per game this season. The bulk of Henderson's game comes from the beyond the arc, where he just shoots 36 percent. That mark may be very pedestrian, but for someone who averages nearly 11 three-point attempts per game -- an astounding 367 attempts for the season, it's not bad.

After Henderson, the next player to keep an eye on is the 6-foot-7, 240-pound senior forward, Murphy Holloway. As the Rebels' main presence on the low block, Holloway averages 14.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Like Henderson, Holloway starts and plays about 31 minutes per contest. Holloway is no doubt the Rebels' best offensive option in the paint.

Supplementary to Holloway in the frontcourt is Reginald Buckner. Not only does the 6-foot-9 forward average 9.5 points and over seven boards per game, but he tacks on an extremely impressive 2.7 blocks per game, as well. Like Holloway, Buckner takes primarily high-percentage shots down low, which is reflected in his 59 percent field goal percentage.

A storyline to track is the status of Ole Miss point guard Jarvis Summers. While Henderson handles the ball quite a bit, he's certainly not a true point guard. Henderson has only 59 assists and has turned the ball over 69 times this season — a terrible assist-to-turnover ratio. In contrast, Summers leads the team with 119 assists and a team-best 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio. But unfortunately for the Rebels, Summers suffered a concussion in Friday's SEC Tournament quarterfinal matchup with Missouri. His status remains uncertain for Friday's game against Wisconsin. Freshman Derrick Millinghaus played well in Summers' place for the remainder of the SEC Tournament, but it's still tough to lose your main distributor right before the NCAA tournament.

In closing, Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal previews Ole Miss with analysis of the some of the players I have not yet mentioned.

LINKS

Ryan Evans is much more comfortable shooting jump-shot free throws, which has led to progress in the rest of his game.

Somehow, someway (and not by anyone in their right mind), Mike Bruesewitz was named as one of Cosmopolitan magazine's 25 hottest guys of March Madness.

Tom Mulhern writes why it looks like division realignment for Big Ten football will play right into the Badgers' hands.

VIDEO: UW men's basketball players and associate head coach Greg Gard talk about matching up with Ole Miss.