Preview: No. 25 Ole Miss back in the SJB Pavilion to Host Troy Tuesday

OXFORD, Miss. — The No. 25 Ole Miss men’s basketball team will return to the Pavilion Tuesday night to take on the Troy Trojans, who are 5-5 on the season.

Series history vs. Troy

A series that began 65 years ago in 1958, Ole Miss remains undefeated against Troy in 10 total matchups. Following a pair of wins in the fall of 1958 and 1959, the two programs faced off again in November of 1981, with the Rebels winning by 20. Ole Miss would win the next six games by 10 or more points, including the first game hosted by the Trojans in 2014, before their contest in 2015.

Closing out their home non-conference schedule against Troy on December 22, 2015, Ole Miss hosted the Trojans for the final game in the Tad Pad before moving to their new home in the SJB Pavilion (having since hosted one game in the Tad Pad this past season). Trailing by one at the half, Ole Miss battled back to force overtime and win by three for the program’s 490th win in their long-time home arena.

Last Meeting: December 22, 2015 (Rebels won, 83-80, in overtime in Oxford): 

• The Rebels trailed by one at the midway break, but rallied back behind 19 second-half points from Stefan Moody to force OT, eventually winning by three.
• Playing the 700th game in the Tad Smith Coliseum, it appeared to be the final basketball game played in the Tad Pad before the team moved across the street to their new home arena. Ole Miss has since played a “Throwback Game in the Tad Pad” earlier this season, defeating Sam Houston.
• Moody finished with 23 points, and was joined by Tomasz Gield with 23 as well. Sebastian Saiz came off the bench to score 11.

Scouting the Trojans

Like Ole Miss, Troy also played Sam Houston State earlier in the season. The Trojans lost by two points, while the Rebs only won by three against the Bearkats.

Despite a few tough losses, Troy matched up against Oregon State, a 7-3 Pac-12 opponent, and lost by just one point, proving their competitiveness. Most recently, the Trojans defeated Southern New Orleans 110-63 for their fifth win of the season. Similarly to California, there are three players for Troy who average double digits in points while collecting the most assists, and they are all guards.

The trio is led by Christyon Eugene, a 6’3 senior from Texas who is averaging 16 points per game. Eugene brings versatility to the court by shooting over 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from three. The Rebs must take away open looks from Eugene and force the ball out of his hands.

Two others average double-digits per contest in Aamer Muhammad and Tayton Conerway, who are each at 10.8 per outing. The team’s leading rebounder through 10 games for the Trojans this year has been freshman Thomas Dowd, averaging 5.6 boards, who had his most impressive game of his collegiate career at Oregon State this year where he scored 22 points on five makes from deep.

By the numbers

Troy has begun the 2023-24 campaign ranking among the best in numerous statistical categories, sitting in the top-100 in 15 major measurements and 11 in the top-50: Bench points per game (No. 6), Offensive rebounds per game (No. 7), Rebounds per game (No. 14), Steals per game (No. 15), Rebound margin (No. 19), Scoring offense (No. 20), Scoring margin (No. 24), Fastbreak points (No. 25), Turnovers forced per game (No. 29), Three pointers per game (No. 34), Three point attempts per game (No. 41), Assists per game (No. 52), Free throw attempts per game (No. 54), Free throws made per game (No. 63), and Three point percentage (No. 95).

For Ole Miss, it’s worth noting that in all of Troy’s losses, the Trojans allowed at least 75 points to be scored. If the Rebs can shoot over 50 percent from three-point range, as they did against Cal, they will have no problem picking up their 11th win.

The last of the unbeatens

Ole Miss is one of just four teams in the country who remain unbeaten, and are the only one in the SEC, at 10-0. This marks just the fourth time in program history the Rebels have gone undefeated through their first 10 games of the season, with the last coming in 2007-08. Their 10-0 run is also the sixth-longest overall win streak in program history.

2007-08: Began 13-0
2000-01: Began 11-0
1936-37: Began 11-0

This is the third different program head coach Chris Beard has taken to a 10-0 start to begin a season during his nine years as a Division-I coach, having done so in 2015-16 with Little Rock and 2018-19 at Texas Tech.

Game info:

Make sure you show your support Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in the Pavilion. The game is streaming on SEC Network+. Hotty Toddy!