OXFORD, Miss. -- Andy Kennedy had hoped his announcement Monday that he will step down as Ole Miss' coach effective at the end of the season would take pressure off his players going into Tuesday night's game against the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
It didn't.
Instead, the Razorbacks won 75-64 and the Rebels looked uptight rather than relaxed as their losing streak extended to six games.
Kennedy's pain and frustration with the game -- and the season -- was evident in his candid comments after the Rebels shot a season-low 29 percent (18 of 62) from the field.
"I thought honestly it would take some pressure off of them so that the narrative wouldn't be about what was happening with the coach and what's the future of the program," Kennedy said. "It would just be about basketball and fun, and let's go play and compete.
"You only have so many games in your life, and we've got four seniors and now they've only got six left. Five in the regular season and one in the (SEC) Tournament, and then it changes.
"I have tried to encourage them to play with life, play the game that you love. Play the way that has enabled you to be on an SEC team. I have not done a good enough job of either getting that point across or conveying the importance of, 'Hey, man, don't go through this with regret. Don't lay down. Play, play, play.' "
Ole Miss shot 17.2 percent (5 of 29) from the field in the first half and at one point missed 12 in row.
"Tonight, literally, I've never seen anything like it," Kennedy said. "I mean, we've got all-league players -- preseason all-league, granted -- missing layups, free throws."
Kennedy apologized for the performance, called it unacceptable and said he hasn't been able to reach his players this season with the Rebels falling to 11-15.
"If you say, 'Hey, man, my coach is gone and the season's been a disappointment, I don't even want to represent Ole Miss anymore,' maybe you say that," Kennedy said. "These are 18- to 22-year-old kids.
"But you can't play with pride for your name? Your family's name? I'm at a little bit of a loss. I've never been more disappointed in this profession. Never -- in myself."
Kennedy has a 245-155 record in 12 seasons at Ole Miss, including 12-9 against Arkansas. His teams never have finished with a losing record. He's had 10 seasons of 20 or more victories, including a 21-13 record when he was Cincinnati's interim coach before taking the Ole Miss job.
He expected the winning to continue this season.
"I thought, we've got a veteran group," he said. "We've got good kids. That's one thing that obviously never gets brought up, but we don't have [off-the-court] issues. We haven't had issues in 12 years.
"Tomorrow if I said, 'We're going to practice at 6 a.m.,' they would all be here. No one would be late. We just don't play. Not to the standard that it takes to play real games.
"Maybe everything that has transpired in the last 24 hours, it's just got them where they can't function. I don't know. But I certainly was not anticipating that tonight."
Sports on 02/15/2018