Mikeal Brown-Jones injury update: What is the Ole Miss forward's status for Mississippi State?
After missing the first four Southeastern Conference games Mikeal Brown-Jones looks closer to his return to the lineup for No. 21 Ole Miss
The forward has been absent since suffering an injury early in the SEC opener against Georgia on January 4. In Friday’s initial availability report ahead of Saturday’s game at No. 15 Mississippi State Brown-Jones saw his status upgraded to ‘Probable.’
Brown-Jones has been in concussion protocol because of his injury and Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard has been cautious about giving a timeline for the UNC Greensboro transfer’s return through the first four SEC games.
Being down a player has allowed for Malik Dia to earn more minutes and become a standout star for the Rebels (15-2, 4-0 SEC), including his effort in the win over No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday. Dia leads the team with 17.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in conference play.
“Obviously Dia, the basket opened up for him tonight,” Beard said after the win in Tuscaloosa. “He really rebounded the ball. Lots of good things from our angle.”
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Mississippi State is also dealing with a pair of injured players ahead of Saturday’s showdown in Starkville.
Guard’s Riley Kugel and Kanye Clary were both listed on Friday’s report. The former is dealing with an ankle injury suffered against Kentucky and is listed as ‘Probable’ and the latter is bothered by a lower-leg injury that caused him to miss the last 11 games.
Kugel is averaging 9.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
“We’ve talked about just winning the next game on the schedule,” Ole Miss assistant Al Pinkins said on RebTalk Thursday night. “We really don’t mention road games. Home or road, we talk about the next opponent and our game plan and our process. I think that helps the kids. We know we’re going to Mississippi State or Alabama, but the process we go through, our scouting report and details, stay the same. Makes it simple.”
Ole Miss and Mississippi State (14-3, 2-2) tip off at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday and the game will air on ESPN2.
