Undefeated on the young season, Ole Miss men’s basketball is set to face its toughest opponent yet.
Breein Tyree, Devontae Shuler and company travel to Memphis on Saturday to take on No. 16 Memphis. It is the first time these teams will match up since December 2016 when the Rebels came away with an 85-77 victory.
The Rebels will have their hands full on Saturday as they look for a key win on the road against a ranked opponent early in the season. Ole Miss has a relatively weak schedule this season, and an early season win over the short-handed Tigers could be a point of separation come March.
The Tigers are without their star center and projected No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft James Wiseman, who dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA last week.
He was ruled “likely ineligible” by the NCAA because head coach Penny Hardaway allegedly gave Wiseman’s mother $11,500 in moving expenses back in 2017. Hardaway was not yet the coach of Memphis but donated to the school in 2008 as an alumnus and is therefore considered a booster by the NCAA.
Wiseman applied for reinstatement, but the NCAA ruled Wednesday that he must sit out 11 more games and donate $11,500 to a charity of his choice. This was a massive blow to a team with championship aspirations and to fans who now must wait to see the 18-year-old who has been compared to NBA superstar Joel Embiid.
“I feel bad for him honestly. I wish I was playing against him,” Tyree said. “A guy like that is someone you probably only get to play once in a lifetime.”
Memphis still has plenty of talent without Wiseman on the floor. The Tigers had the No. 1 recruiting class in the country this year with Wiseman and fellow five-star prospect Precious Achiuwa.
Achiuwa averages over 12 points and six rebounds per game this year on efficient shooting. The Tigers have an impressive trio of freshmen in the backcourt as well with Lester Quinones, Boogie Ellis and Damion Baugh.
“Obviously you’re going to miss a guy like (Wiseman). Don’t get me wrong,” Davis said. “But they’re still really talented, and they’re still undefeated when he hasn’t played. They’ve still got great length.”
The Rebels struggled to defend against versatile big men last season, causing head coach Kermit Davis to recruit junior transfer Khadim Sy to fill the void in the middle.
They may have trouble defending down low against Achiuwa and D.J. Jeffries, but the absence of Wiseman means the Tigers will have to rely more heavily on their guards and backup big man Lance Thomas, who has played less than 10 minutes per game this season. Thomas started and played 11 minutes in Memphis’s first game without Wiseman against Alcorn State last Saturday.
Without Wiseman available, Quinones leads the team in scoring, and Baugh leads in assists. Ellis is also one of the premier threats from beyond the arc for the Tigers after being released from his letter of intent at Duke.
Ole Miss will be boosted by the return of Blake Hinson, who is expected to make his season debut on Saturday after missing the first four games of the season due to a blood abnormality.
Hinson has not participated in full-contact practice since August, but Davis said he has been working out on his own and should be in game shape.
The Rebels may be able to roll out their small-ball lineup that features Hinson and K.J. Buffen at the four and the five against a depleted Tigers squad. It is also safe to expect a healthy dose of Davis’ signature 1-3-1 zone to try and rattle Memphis’ young guards.
With Hinson returning, Davis will likely use a lot less of Antavion Collum and Carlos Curry but could take a “strength in numbers” approach to try and slow down Memphis’s talented young frontcourt.
“I do think that him coming back when him and K.J. (Buffen) are playing, K.J. can slide even more to the three and play more there and even play K.J. at the five and Blake at the four. It gives us different options,” Davis said.
The Rebels will also rely heavily on their veteran guard tandem of Tyree and Shuler, who will need to carry the load on offense if Ole Miss expects to come out with a victory.
The Tigers may not be at full strength, but a win for the Rebels Saturday could benefit a team trying to make the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in nearly two decades.
