The Ole Miss men’s and women’s hoops teams did more than munch on turkey legs last week. Both teams advanced to the championships of their respective holiday tournaments, but both, unfortunately, lost.
Here is a recap of their turkey day losses and this week’s matchups.
The men’s team competed in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. On Thanksgiving, they took down an undefeated BYU in overtime; then, on Black Friday, they lost in the championship to then No. 13 Purdue by two points after a flukey put-back with less than a second remaining.
Despite this loss, the Rebels looked solid throughout the tournament. Guard Jaylen “Juju” Murray averaged 20.5 points over those two games. Ole Miss, in fact, has no shortage of scorers. Against BYU, guard Matthew Murrell and forward Dre Davis both tallied 18 points, and against Purdue, Brakefield picked up the slack scoring 18.
Most recently, Ole Miss defeated ACC opponent Louisville 86-63 in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The star of the Rebels lineup was guard Dre Davis, scoring 18 points and four rebounds. This marked the Rebels’ sixth win on the season heading into the weekend’s competition.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, the men’s team will face the Lindenwood Lions at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. The Lions are only 2-5 this season, with losses from low-profile programs such as Valparaiso, New Orleans and Robert Morris.
This will not be the Lions’ first SEC action, as they lost to Oklahoma by 33 in their season opener, and on Nov. 27, they lost to Missouri by 20. The Rebels should not take anything for granted, but after proving they can hang with top-tier squads like Purdue, this game should be an easy victory.The Lady Rebels will compete twice this weekend. Today, Ole Miss will play at NC State in the ACC/SEC Challenge, and on Sunday, Dec. 8, they return to the Pavilion to face Tennessee State.
Ole Miss’ last action came in an 89-24 victory over Alabama State on Saturday, Nov. 30, with 12 players on the roster scoring. The 65-point margin of victory is the largest in program history.
However, this was overshadowed by a tough loss to UConn in the final of the Baha Mar Women’s Championship last Wednesday. The Huskies beat the Lady Rebels by 13. Husky guard Paige Bueckers, the Women’s Naismith Player of the Year in 2021, notched 29 points.
Despite this loss, Ole Miss is playing solid basketball. Currently ranked No. 18 in the country, their only other loss came in their opener against then No. 3 USC. All of their wins have come by 32 or more points.
Still, NC State could be a trap game. The Wolfpack are 4-3, but two of those losses came against South Carolina and LSU, both Top 10 teams. The other was a three-point loss to a TCU team whose premier players — former Louisville and LSU star Hailey Van Lith and Oregon transfer Sedona Prince — combined for 49 points. NC State was ranked in the AP Top 25 until this week, which will make for a good test for Ole Miss.
Tennessee State will be a different story. The Lady Tigers are 4-4 on the season and have yet to play a Power Four school. Unranked Western Kentucky was their biggest test — the Hilltoppers are undefeated this season — and the Tigers lost by 30. Last Saturday, they edged 0-6 UNC Asheville by five points in overtime. Ole Miss Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s squad should take care of business here.
Men’s and women’s basketball will continue non-conference play until the start of SEC play for both teams in January.
Up next, the Lady Rebels will host South Alabama on Sunday, Dec. 15 in the Pavilion at 2 p.m., and the men’s team will face Southern Miss in a neutral location at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss., on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.
