TJ’s Takeaways: Ole Miss Defeats Louisville in ACC-SEC Challenge, 86-63

Editor’s Note: In our ongoing series, “TJ’s Takeaways,” we give readers an in-depth look at the latest Ole Miss men’s basketball game, as our TJ Oxley gives you his thoughts, analysis, and insight. This series is here to help identify things that really stand out from the games, things you may not be able to find from a box score. And if you’re also looking for a recap of the game, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Check it out HERE.

Ole Miss (7-1) defeated Louisville in a dominant fashion Tuesday night on the road in front of the Cardinal fanbase. The contest was part of a yearly ACC-SEC Challenge that puts one member of each league in a game against each other. There was a total of 10 games in the contest Tuesday night, in which the SEC won nine securing a victory for the conference on the challenge’s first day. When it was all said and done, the SEC won the challenge, 14-2.

Tuesday night’s matchup was the third straight quad one game for Ole Miss after playing BYU and Purdue last week as part of the Rady Childrens’ Invitational in San Diego. In that stretch, Ole Miss went 2-1 securing valuable early-season resume victories.

The Rebels took control early against Louisville and never let up, keeping ahold of the lead for 38:17 seconds of the contest. Dre Davis finished with 18 points while Sean Pedulla added 16 in the blowout win. Ole Miss jumped out to a double-digit lead within the game’s first ten minutes to help quiet the Louisville crowd.

In the second half, Ole Mis found perimeter success knocking down 5-of-9 threes to help extend the lead to over 20 points. Malik Dia led the Rebels in rebounding with six, but Ole Miss did lose the rebounding battle 31-38. Sean Pedulla led in assists with seven. Ole Miss finished the contest shooting 57% from the field (34-60) and 40% from three (8-20). The Rebels went on seven runs of 5+  consecutive points en route to the victory.

Louisville (5-3) was led by Chucky Hepburn, who finished with a game-high 19 points. The Cardinals have dealt with some early season injury issues as Kaesean Pryor (ACL) is out for season and Koren Johnson (shoulder) announced a redshirt hours before the tip-off.

Ole Miss Displayed an Important Quality in the First Half

In years past there had been a trend in Ole Miss basketball. When Ole Miss did have a lead to end the first half, how often could the Rebels maintain that lead into halftime? In basketball, announcers always discuss the middle ten minutes which include the last five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half. It’s a crucial period in the game for momentum and to either keep or cut into a lead.

In tonight’s action, it feels like we saw something new in year two of the Chris Beard era. The Ole Miss defense stifled Louisville all night, holding the Cardinals to 33% from the field. The Rebels capitalized early and jumped out to a double-digit lead ten minutes into the contest. In the final minutes of the half, Louisville made an effort to cut into it. However, the Rebels had an answer for every single Louisville score. In those five minutes, the Ole Miss lead started at 8 points and never got below six, as the Rebels entered the half with a nine-point lead.

During the final 5:04, five Ole Miss Rebels scored to counter the Cardinals’ final first-half push. It’s a testament of a good team to be able to score and continue to when things are tough. The Louisville fanbase created a loud atmosphere, but Ole Miss wasn’t phased. They created paint touches and found trips to the free throw line to quiet the crowd. With the Rebels’ new roster, the veteran presence of the group showed poise and a scoring balance that should bring excitement. Basketball is a game of runs and Tuesday night, Ole Miss was the only team running.

Dre Davis’ Return Game at Louisville

Ole Miss guard/wing Dre Davis spent the first two seasons of his career as a Cardinal. In his freshman and sophomore seasons at Louisville, Davis started 40 games. Tuesday night was sort of a homecoming for the one-time Cardinal. In that return game, Davis had his best outing as a member of the Ole Miss Rebels.

Leading the way, Davis finished with a team high 18-points. Attacking at all three levels, Davis shot 8-11 from the field and 2-3 from three. With impressive numbers, Davis also dealt with some foul trouble and only logged 22 minutes in the contest. He would also add three rebounds and two assists. His quickness and scoring acumen was on full display as a player who can find opportunities within an offense either inside on smaller defenders or on the outside with his shooting.

Before the games in San Diego, I mentioned how it felt like Davis was starting to figure it out a little bit. Earlier in the year, Davis seemed to know what he wanted to do on the court but was still looking for that gel with the other players — and understandably so with an entire roster trying to gel. Today, we saw a really good version of Davis, one that could hopefully be a major confidence boost and the first of a string of quality outings ahead of SEC play.

Think we're getting closer to seeing the best version of Dre Davis. Feels like a potential x-factor as the season goes on.

— T.J. (@TJOxley1) November 28, 2024

A Note on the Defense

Louisville finished the contest 5-30 from three. The Cardinals started the contest 1-13 in the first half. Louisville was 19-57 from the field in Ole Miss’ 23-point win. Nearly 53% of Louisville’s shot attempts came from behind the three point line. Ole Miss’ defense is no-middle and attempts to keep the ball on one side of the court. They also try to keep offenses pressed farther and farther away from the court. After examining the past few box scores, the opponents’ three-point attempt rate doesn’t appear to be a coincidence.

Against BYU, 59% of the Cougars’ field goal attempts were threes. Granted the Cougars play with a lot of pace and space under Kevin Young; however they did shoot <33% from three for the game, which played into Ole Miss’ favor. Against Purdue, the Rebels had 46% of their field goal attempts come from the perimeter.

We can begin to see a trend with this, and Ole Miss wants to control the paint. Tonight, the Rebels had 48 points in the paint compared to 26 for Louisville. They want to force teams out and to take more shots on the perimeter.

Be Ready for A Rise in the Rankings

Ole Miss is really, really good. Rebels are running Louisville off the floor with a 21-point lead at the Yum! Center. Chris Beard has a top 20 team.

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) December 4, 2024

Last week, Ole Miss entered into the toughest stretch of non-conference play in recent memory. The Rebels went 1-1 in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. They started the MTE with a quad 1 win over BYU on the neutral court in overtime. After that, the Rebels dropped a heartbreaker to Purdue that came down to the game’s final possession. The effort and performance actually helped Ole Miss stay put in the AP Poll at 23 despite the early-season loss.

SEC NET rankings.

What stands out?

1 – Tenn
2 – Auburn
6 – Florida
8 – Kentucky
13 – Alabama
27 – Georgia
28 – Miss State
37 – Oklahoma
43 – TAMU
46 – Mizzou
50 – LSU
51 – Arkansas
55 – Ole Miss
56 – Texas
62 – Vandy
135 – South Carolina

— T.J. (@TJOxley1) December 2, 2024

With that Ole Miss was 1-1 in quad one games by NET measures. Before the Louisville win, Ole Miss was 55th in the NET. That ranking wasn’t due to the Rebels’ loss but rather to the early season schedule that was constructed for them. With another Quad 1 win on the books we saw Ole Miss take a significant jump.

With Ole Miss’ statement win over Louisville yesterday, the Rebels have jumped 27 spots in the NET rankings.

54 -> 27

Q1: 1-1
Q2: 1-0
Q3: 1-0
Q4: 4-0

No team in the top-75 had a bigger movement yesterday.

— T.J. (@TJOxley1) December 4, 2024

Just over a week ago, Louisville shocked many by defeating Indiana in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis MTE in the Bahamas. The Cardinals followed that up with a win against West Virginia, before falling to SEC opponent Oklahoma in the tournament’s championship round. As of December 3rd, the Cardinals were ranked 30th in the NET rankings. The away win should remain a Q1 game for the majority of the season and serves as a key piece for the Rebels ahead of conference play.

Next Up: 

Ole Miss plays Lindenwood this Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the SJB Pavilion in Oxford.