Ole Miss, No. 18 Mississippi State rematch Thursday: News & Notes

Rebels look to avoid Starkville woes

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team will travel to Starkville on Thursday for a rematch against No. 18 Mississippi State. In the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 18, Ole Miss upset then-15th ranked Mississippi State 75-68 in Oxford.

The Rebels are 24-90 all-time playing in Starkville, with their last win coming in Janaury 2009, a 67-63 win over their in-state rivals. That was also the Rebels’ first road win in the series since 1998 and only their fourth since 1981.

This past season, Mississippi State defended their home court at the Hump with a 71-58 win to sweep the season series. The Ole Miss team looks to sweep the season series for the first time since 1998.

Ole Miss enters the game tied for fifth in the Southeastern Conference standings with a 4-4 league record, while the Bulldogs enter tied for third in the league at 5-3.

Thursday’s game from the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville will tip-off at 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2.

Rebels filling up stat sheets

After Saturday’s heartbreaking double-overtime loss at Alabama, Ole Miss is at the exact midway point of conference play. With eight conference games left before the SEC Tournament begins in New Orleans on March 8, the Rebels sit at 14-8 overall with a 4-4 league record.

Ole Miss will look to improve on their 1-2 record this year against ranked opponents. Along with an upset win against Mississippi State, Ole Miss lost 96-66 to 19th-ranked Marquette in November and lost 64-60 to 13th-ranked Florida less than two weeks ago in Oxford.

Since league play began in January, Ole Miss leads all SEC teams in rebounding (42.1 rpg) and rebounding margin (+8.4 rpg). The Rebels are currently third in the league and 29th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 39.5 percent shooting for the season. The Rebels are also 11-3 when it holds opponent below 40 percent shooting for the game.

Junior forward Reginald Buckner leads all active SEC players with 210 career blocks which is also good for a school record. As a team, Ole Miss ranks 17th in the nation with 5.5 block per game, led by Buckner’s 2.6 blocks per game.

Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations contributed to this report.