Insight and analysis on Ole Miss and MSU sports from Daily Journal beat reporters

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Double Coverage

Double Coverage

#77: Bulldogs seek revenge against UConn in Final Four – 03/30/17

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Mississippi State’s women lost by 60 points to UConn in last year’s NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs get a chance for revenge when the teams meet Friday in the Final Four in Dallas.

On this episode, Logan previews the matchup (3:01), noting that while the Huskies are still very good, they might be a little more vulnerable than in the past. He also looks at how a shuffling of the lineup has paid big dividends for MSU during this postseason run.

On the baseball diamond, Ole Miss will host Mississippi State in a three-game series starting today. Parrish discusses the struggles of the Ole Miss offense, which has been offset to a degree by a strong pitching staff (10:55).

MSU, on the other hand, has been explosive with the bats but struggled on the mound, partly due to a slew of injuries.

The guys also slip in a little spring football talk, although MSU is keeping things pretty well under wraps (20:31). Parrish looks at an Ole Miss offense that is trying to make strides this spring under new coordinator Phil Longo (21:17). Plus, a quick mention of former Rebel tight end Evan Engram’s rising draft stock (24:59).

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#76: Mississippi State heads to NCAA Women’s Basketball Sweet 16 – 03/23/17

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It’s another busy episode with Parrish and Logan talking basketball, baseball and football.

First, they discuss the Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA basketball tournament (2:08). Logan talks about the fan interest generated by MSU head coach Vic Schaefer and whether it can be sustained. He also talks about Schefer’s shuffle of his starting lineup for the NCAA Tournament and Friday’s Sweet 16 matchup against Washington.

Parrish (8:49) talks about the Ole Miss men’s basketball team’s run through the NIT that ended with Tuesday’s home loss to Georgia Tech. That was the Rebels’ sixth home loss of the year, and Parrish looks at why the team struggled so much in Oxford.

The Ole Miss baseball team (14:26) plays Kentucky this weekend. The Rebels continue to struggle offensively, but lead the SEC in pitching with a 2.68 earned run average.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State (17:23) enters this weekend series against Tennessee on a four-game losing streak. The Bulldogs pitching staff has been hit particularly hard by injuries.

Spring football is in full swing at both schools. Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said the Rebels (20:25) are not playing slow as they install new systems but will be faster at the end of the spring. Parrish also talks about Alabama’s hiring of former Ole Miss assistant Dan Werner to be an offensive analyst.

Meanwhile, Logan says he doesn’t know much about how Mississippi State’s (23:21) spring football drills are going, since coach Dan Mullen has closed most of it to the public and to media.

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#75: SEC baseball action opens; updates on women’s hoops, spring football – 03/17/17

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This weekend marks the start of SEC play for baseball. Ole Miss will host Vanderbilt, while Mississippi State travels to Arkansas. On this episode, Parrish looks at the up-and-down Rebels, who have been getting some very strong pitching of late (13:03), and he takes a peek at the visiting Commodores (18:52).

MSU has won five in a row (15:25), but they haven’t all been pretty due to a very shaky bullpen.

In women’s hoops, MSU is hosting the first two rounds in the NCAA tournament this weekend (2:30), and there are high expectations for a group that has experienced seniors and a big scorer in Victoria Vivians.

The Ole Miss women, meanwhile, made strides this year but saw their season end Thursday night in the first round of the WNIT (8:58).

Spring football is on break this week, but the Bulldogs and Rebels get back to it in a few days. MSU coaches are closely watching some key position battles, namely center and safety (21:08), while Ole Miss is trying to find its identity on defense (24:27).

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#74: We’ve got it all: basketball, baseball and football – 03/10/17

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The busy season has arrived, and that means Parrish and Logan are talking basketball, baseball and football on today’s show.

We start with a wrap-up of the Mississippi State men’s basketball season (2:08) and their 1-1 run through the SEC Tournament. Logan looks ahead to next season and notes that the youngest team in the country was able to obtain a .500 record while gaining a lot of experience. The Bulldogs will need a better physical presence next year, and they will lean on a highly touted recruiting class.

Meanwhile, the Ole Miss men’s basketball team (8:33) defeated Missouri in its SEC Tournament opener and continues with a late game on Friday against Arkansas. Parrish looks at Ole Miss’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament (13:37) and notes that the Arkansas game is a key opportunity to improve the team’s RPI.

The MSU baseball team (15:25) hosts a round-robin tournament this weekend. The Bulldogs need better play from their bullpen, as 23 of the 68 runs they have allowed this season have come in the ninth inning. They will be tested this weekend by a South Alabama squad that can score a lot of runs.

The Ole Miss baseball team (18:38) has hit a bad stretch after starting the season 7-0. After starting strongly, the team’s highly touted freshman class has not had as much success lately. The Rebels have pitched well, but have really struggled on offense, scoring five runs in their last 47 innings. This week, they’ll try to get back on track against Furman.

Spring football has also started (24:46). Parrish (24:50) is watching how well the Rebel receivers are catching the ball from quarterback Shea Patterson. Meanwhile, Logan (26:15) is interested in how MSU’s 13 newcomers will perform, especially quarterback Keytaon Thompson.

And it is a big week for the Mississippi State women’s basketball team (28:25), which will find out its NCAA Tournament matchup on Monday.

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#73: Spring football marks start of busy season – 03/02/17

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‘Tis the busy season for Parrish and Logan, as spring football has started this week for both Ole Miss and Mississippi State. That’s in addition to the current basketball and baseball seasons, meaning there is more than enough to talk about.

In Oxford, spring ball began earlier this week with the cloud of NCAA allegations hanging over the program. The latest twist involves a tape of MSU’s Leo Lewis (2:23), and the guys discuss what, if any, implications it might have for MSU.

On the field, the Rebels seem solid at quarterback but are installing new systems on both sides of the ball with new coordinators in place (6:57). The run game, which was a weak spot last year, looks promising due to a couple of players returning to action after missing last season.

In Starkville, the Bulldogs have an entrenched starter at QB but are otherwise thin at the position, and they’re breaking in yet another new defensive scheme (10:37). Also, some positions are in flux despite having experienced players returning.

On the basketball court, the Ole Miss men are coming off a loss to defensive-minded Alabama and now must face another tough defensive squad in South Carolina (15:40). MSU’s men, meanwhile, continue to slide (18:58).

State’s women have had a very strong season, although they’ve lost two straight (16:41), and that could put their hopes of an NCAA tournament No. 1 seed in jeopardy (19:42).

And finally, Parrish and Logan glance at the baseball diamond. The Rebels are off to a fast start but will face some stiff competition in Texas this weekend (20:39). The Bulldogs have been hitting the ball well but are dealing with major bullpen issues (22:41).

Editor’s note: This episode is dedicated to Chipper, Parrish’s faithful dog, who from time to time would make an unprompted appearance on this podcast. Rest in peace, little buddy.

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#72: NCAA alleges major violations by Ole Miss football – 02/23/17

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The big news this week came down Wednesday, when Ole Miss announced another Notice of Allegations from the NCAA detailing several major violations by the football program.

On this episode, Parrish and Logan have a long discussion about the new information (2:37), which includes alleged cash payments by boosters to prospective student-athletes. The school, which announced the violations in a lengthy YouTube video, has vowed to fight most of the allegations. It has already self-imposed a one-year bowl ban for the 2017 season.

The guys also spend a few minutes talking basketball. The MSU women have a chance to win the SEC (18:55), while the Ole Miss men have likely played themselves off the NCAA tournament bubble (21:32), although they did complete a season sweep of the Bulldogs with an overtime win Tuesday.

There’s some baseball chatter as well (23:43), with the Rebs off to a 4-0 start and MSU trying to recover from blowing a big lead in the ninth inning against Morehead State.

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#71: Rebels’ NCAA hopes thin; baseball season set to begin – 02/16/17

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It might be a long shot, but Ole Miss could conceivably play its way back into the NCAA tournament conversation. On this episode, Parrish says that to do that, the Rebels need to win out (2:20). They’ve played well of late, with a pair of big comeback wins, and two things that have impressed Parrish are the play of Terence Davis and the team’s free throw shooting (5:46).

Mississippi State, on the other hand, has had trouble closing out games and needs more consistency from certain players (8:27).

On perhaps a brighter note for fans of both schools, baseball season begins Friday. Ole Miss has big expectations despite the fact that it will be leaning on several freshmen (12:05). Reigning SEC champ MSU is breaking in a new coach and is led by center fielder Jake Mangum, who might see the mound some this year (16:51).

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#70: Changes continue on Ole Miss, MSU football staffs – 02/09/17

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Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze thought he finally had his staff of assistants all set, having made five offseason hires. Then defensive line coach Tray Scott left on Wednesday for the same job at Georgia.

On this episode, Parrish examines that surprising departure (2:51) and what Freeze must do now to replace Scott. Mississippi State, meanwhile, just finalized its staff with the recent hirings of quarterbacks coach Brett Elliott and tight ends coach D.J. Looney, both of whom have previous MSU ties (10:05).

Logan got to meet and visit with a couple of other new assistants earlier this week, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and safeties coach Ron English (14:37). Grantham laid out his plan for helping improve a defense that struggled quite a bit last season.

On the hardwood, Parrish looks at the SEC standings, which are crowded behind the top few teams (17:25), and he notes that the Rebels and Bulldogs could both end up playing in the sparsely attended first round of the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss is coming off a loss to Tennessee (20:10) in which it committed too many turnovers and didn’t earn enough trips to the free throw line.

MSU came from behind to beat Tennessee last weekend but couldn’t pull the trick against Auburn on Tuesday (22:00).

Oh yeah, and a quick reminder that baseball season starts soon (25:02).

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#69: Rebels, Bulldogs address needs on National Signing Day – 02/02/17

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It was a relatively quiet National Signing Day on Wednesday for Ole Miss and Mississippi State, but Parrish and Logan find plenty to analyze on this episode.

The Rebels had the challenge of recruiting with the cloud of an ongoing NCAA investigation hanging over the program (2:25). No such cloud in Starkville, where Dan Mullen’s biggest signee was ex-Rebel commit Willie Gay (5:12). Speaking of big signees, MSU inked some very large offensive linemen.

There was a little bit of drama in regards to the schools going head-to-head on recruits (9:17) – witness Gay, along with Ole Miss signees D.D. Bowie and Taekion Reed, the latter of whom was once an MSU commit.

The Ole Miss class, while limited by self-imposed scholarship reductions, still addressed some needs (10:44), especially at linebacker, and Hugh Freeze likes the two offensive linemen he brought in. He also signed two quarterbacks, including a juco transfer, which could make things a bit interesting in the spring (19:45).

MSU’s class was unusually heavy on junior college players (16:17), including some with previous Division I experience.

On the hardwood, the guys recap the Rebels’ blowout win over the Bulldogs and look at what’s ahead for each squad (22:44).

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#68: Little drama expected on National Signing Day – 01/27/17

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National Signing Day – the biggest day of the year in college football recruiting – is next Wednesday. That’s a day that can be full of drama, but there probably won’t be much of that for Ole Miss or Mississippi State this year.

On this episode, Logan recalls his days covering recruiting for Rivals (1:55). As for this year’s classes, Ole Miss is looking to address issues at linebacker (4:02), while MSU is trying to shore up the quarterback and kicker positions (8:55). The guys also look at a couple of prospects – Starkville’s Willie Gay and Morton’s D.D. Bowie – who fans will be keeping an eye on come Wednesday (14:50).

On the hardwood, Parrish looks back at the Rebels’ loss to Texas A&M and this weekend’s matchup against No. 5 Baylor, and the RPI ramifications of those games (16:57). The Bulldogs are seeking consistency after losing badly to Tennessee and then beat Missouri, and they’ve got a tough Alabama team up next (21:34).

And let’s not forget, baseball season is on the horizon, with preseason practices now underway. Ole Miss boasts a top freshman class (28:12), while State is breaking in a new head coach (30:24).

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