Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy is nearing the end of his fifth season, and the criticism of his tenure is mounting.
Not that Kennedy hasn't had some success.
He's reached 100 wins faster than any coach in school history, averaging more than 20 per season. He's won a share of two SEC Western Division titles and made two trips to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
But one negative seemingly outweighs all of that: Zero trips to the NCAA tournament.
''That's the way college basketball coaches are judged at the end of the day,'' Kennedy said.
Now as Kennedy's fifth season winds down, the NCAA tournament is a longshot once again. Ole Miss (18-11, 6-8 SEC) has had some good wins, but not enough to be seriously considered for an NCAA at-large bid.
Two regular-season games remain - including Wednesday's road contest at Auburn (9-19, 2-12). Mississippi's best shot - and likely only shot of earning an NCAA berth - is a miracle run in the SEC tournament in Atlanta beginning March 10.
That realization has irritated Ole Miss fans, who haven't seen their team in the NCAA tournament since 2002. It's the longest drought of any SEC school and grumblings about Kennedy's job security have been rampant.
''Fans are passionate,'' Kennedy said. ''You want that passion when things are going good and you can't turn it off when things aren't going as well as you hoped. It comes with the territory.''
Only two SEC coaches since the mid-1980s have earned a sixth year despite not reaching the NCAA tournament - Auburn's Jeff Lebo and Ole Miss' Ed Murphy. Both were fired after missing the NCAA tournament in their sixth year.
But Kennedy's situation is complicated, and not just because he's had a reasonable level of success despite no NCAA tournament berths and a 37-41 SEC record. Kennedy, 42, is guaranteed the full $3.9 million remaining on his contract, according to Ole Miss athletic director Pete Boone, which would make a change very costly.
Boone said he and Kennedy would meet after the season to ''discuss the future'' of the program, which is customary.
Though adamant that the program is heading the right direction, Kennedy doesn't try to deflect criticism.
''I'm a big boy. I understand the realities,'' he said.
Kennedy said he's tried not to focus on the negativity, and instead on how to improve a team that's been very good at times. The Rebels upset Kentucky on Feb. 1 and knocked off Alabama, the SEC's Western Division leader, on Saturday.
Senior Chris Warren is second in the SEC with 19 points per game, and closing on 2,000 points for his career. The team's only other senior, Zach Graham, is averaging 14.7 points and sophomore Reggie Buckner is one of the SEC's top shot blockers with more than three per game.
''We've beaten two of the best teams in the league,'' Graham said. ''So why can't we win all of them?''
The answer is consistency - or more specifically, a lack of it - especially on the defensive end. The Rebels rank close to the bottom in most defensive categories, and haven't been able to make up for the deficiencies on offense because of inconsistent shooting.
''I think this team knows what they're supposed to do,'' Kennedy said. ''Now it's just a matter of doing that over a course of 40 minutes. There are plays in the course of every game that determine the difference between winning and losing and we have to make more plays to win in this league. Our inconsistency in that area is what drives a coach crazy.''
