FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas is hoping for a fond farewell in Tad Smith Coliseum.
When the No. 24 Razorbacks play Ole Miss at 8 tonight, it will mark the final game for Arkansas in the Rebels' 49-year-old arena.
Tonight’s game
NO. 24 ARKANSAS MEN VS. OLE MISS
WHEN 8 p.m. Central
WHERE Tad Smith Coliseum, Oxford, Miss.
RECORDS Arkansas 19-5, 8-3 SEC. Ole Miss 17-7, 8-3.
RADIO Razorback Sports Network
TELEVISION SEC Network
Ole Miss is building an $85 million arena scheduled to open in December. The Pavilion at Ole Miss -- the athletic department is working to secure naming rights -- will seat 9,500 and include club seats, floor seats and a food court along with a plush locker room and meeting areas.
The power and roof also should be nice upgrades.
Tad Smith Coliseum -- known as the "Tad Pad" by Ole Miss fans -- has suffered several power outages over the years, including a 22-minute delay during the Rebels' 76-64 victory over Arkansas two years ago.
"I remember it like it was yesterday," Razorbacks Coach Mike Anderson said. "It was a game that was going back and forth and I thought we had some momentum."
The delay was so long both teams went to their locker rooms.
"They got some rest and it seemed like we got out of sync," Anderson said.
In 2011, an Ole Miss-Tennessee women's game was rained out when the Tad Smith Coliseum court was flooded because of a leaky roof.
The Rebels have a 484-207 all-time record in Tad Smith Coliseum, which opened in February of 1966. It was called Rebel Coliseum and in 1972 was renamed in honor of C.M. "Tad" Smith, a former Ole Miss baseball and football coach who played both sports for the Rebels.
Since the 1995-96 season, Ole Miss is 251-60 in Tad Smith Coliseum, including 8-4 this season.
Rebels Coach Andy Kennedy couldn't help but chuckle this week when asked his feelings about moving into a new arena.
"Is that a serious question?" Kennedy said. "Tad Smith Coliseum has been around a long time and we've certainly had a lot of great memories and our share of wins, but it's not amenities-rich.
"I can't wait to get into the new venue. It's going to be a state-of-the-art facility."
Keith Carter, a Perryville native who was an All-SEC guard for the Rebels in the 1990s, helped lead the fund-raising efforts for the new arena as Ole Miss' senior associate athletic director for development.
While Carter said he has some bittersweet feelings because he played in Tad Smith Coliseum, he added there is no doubt Ole Miss needs a new arena.
"I think people understand if we want to be serious about basketball and take it to the next level, then it was time for a new facility," Carter said. "This is long overdue.
"You look around our campus and we've got state-of-the-art facilities in football and baseball. We'd kind of put basketball on the back burner, and now with our new building and the things Andy is doing, we feel like the future is extremely bright for basketball."
The Rebels (17-7, 8-3) are making a run for their second NCAA Tournament bid in the last three season. They extended their winning streak to six games with a 62-61 victory at Florida on Thursday night when Stefan Moody hit a three-point with a 2.7 seconds left.
Moody led the Rebels with 18 points when they beat Arkansas 96-82 on Jan. 16 at Walton Arena. Ole Miss shot 56.4 percent, including 74.1 percent (20 of 27) in the first half.
"We weren't ourselves," Arkansas guard Michael Qualls said. "We weren't playing Razorback basketball. People were scoring a lot of points. We started trending that down. I feel like everybody's locked in on defense."
Arkansas has held its past six opponents to a combined 36.6 percent shooting from the field and average of 60.7 points.
"We really zeroed in on fixing our defense, and our guys have done a good job up to this point," Anderson said. "We can still get better at it. I think we've got to get better."
Anderson said the Rebels had a "dunk-a-thon" at Arkansas.
"To do that here in Bud Walton Arena, that didn't sit well with our guys," Anderson said. "So hopefully we'll be ready to play."
The Razorbacks (19-5, 8-3) don't figure to miss playing at Tad Smith Coliseum, where they are 6-18 overall and 1-7 in their past eight visits. Arkansas last won at Ole Miss on Jan. 31, 2010, when it beat the No. 18 Rebels 80-73.
Don't expect the Razorbacks to get sentimental about their final game at the Tad Pad.
"I really don't care," Qualls said, "but I guess we're going to make some memories there Saturday."
Sports on 02/14/2015