By Brian Scott Rippee, OleMissSports.com<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Deandre Burnett<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0can\u2019t quite place his finger on it. He\u2019s not sure what exactly is leading to some of the lapses Ole Miss<\/strong> has had in close games this season, but he knows he and the Rebels<\/strong> need to fix it moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t really say,\u201d Burnett said before practice on Monday. \u201cWe have got to come out with energy. I don\u2019t think we have brought our own energy sometimes. We pride ourselves on focus and toughness, but not from the jump. We have to bring it from the beginning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Burnett and the Rebels are in the midst of a three-game losing streak that started with back-to-back overtime losses at home to South Dakota State<\/strong> and followed with a loss at Middle Tennessee<\/strong> to push Ole Miss\u2019 record to 4-4 on the season.<\/span><\/p>\n Ole Miss isn\u2019t getting blown out of games, and have undoubtedly had opportunities to win in each of its four losses. The Rebels led Middle Tennessee at halftime. They held a lead in the final two minutes against South Dakota State and led 37 of 45 minutes against Virginia Tech<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n The team has shown flashes of what it would like to be, but those moments have come with lapses in between.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEvery game is a life in and of itself,\u201d head coach\u00a0Andy Kennedy<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0said. \u201cIt is combination of a number of different things. When you play against quality competition those things bite you. That is what has happened to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It is the first time in Kennedy\u2019s tenure that Ole Miss has lost three nonconference games in a row. And though he couldn\u2019t revert back to previous seasons as experience for adverse stretches like this, the 13th-year head coach knows the sense of urgency from his guys needs to be elevated.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think that in-game adversity seems to bother us,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cWhen you lose two heartbreakers at home, we have never lost back-to-back nonconference at home and never lost three in a row. When you go into a hostile environment against a quality team and you hit a little bit of adversity, we haven\u2019t had the fortitude to push through it. Hopefully that will change quickly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He\u2019s looking towards the veterans on this team to right the ship in that regard, guys like Burnett,\u00a0Marcanvis Hymon<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Markel Crawford<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it is a lack of focus,\u201d Hymon echoed. \u201cEveryone is not engaged for 40 minutes. We come out with the right intentions, but we relax for a couple of minutes and they get us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It has shown at times. Ole Miss has had quality and efficient stretches during the course of every game, it just hasn\u2019t been able to put it together for long enough to put away some of the tougher opponents it has faced in the early part of its schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen we find ourselves with our back against a wall, that is when we have a sense of urgency instead of coming out with that sense of urgency,\u201d Burnett said.<\/span><\/p>\n Kennedy said on Monday this team has learned a lot about itself in the last three games. He believes they have diagnosed some things they need to improve on as SEC play nears. First and foremost is the focus level he expects from his entire team and particularly the upperclassmen.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Markel-Crawford.jpeg?resize=550%2C683\")
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