No. 16 Ole Miss drops third-straight SEC game, falling 83-75 at No. 22 Missouri

OXFORD, Miss. – On another Saturday packed with SEC battles, No. 16 Ole Miss dropped its third straight SEC game, falling to the No. 22 Missouri Tigers, 83-75, on the road in a game decided once again by free throws and rebounds.

First half 

Ole Miss won the opening tipoff, and Jaylen ‘Juju’ Murray drained a three to get the scoring started. After a fastbreak slam by Malik Dia and a triple from Sean Pedulla, the Rebels found themselves up 8-0 two minutes into play.

Defense leads to a @malikkdia dunk #HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/ig5R2VN8jB

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@3OleMissMBB) January 25, 2025

However, Tamar Bates scored 10 of the next 12 points for the Tigers as a 12-0 run put Missouri in the lead over five minutes into the half. Dia would finally put an end to the drought with a jumper, and Jaemyn Brakefield would follow it up, tying the game with a bucket in the paint off the steal.

Coming out of the first media timeout, Brakefield went right back at the Missouri defense with intent, getting another shot to fall inside to give the Rebels a 14-12 lead. The back and forth between the ranked SEC squads would continue as one of the SEC’s top sharpshooters Caleb Grill got going for the Tigers.

With the game tied at 18 after Mikeal Brown-Jones drained a pair of free throws, Missouri went on a 9-1 run for the next three-and-a-half minutes as time began to wind down in the first half.

It was Brakefield again breaking the run with a bucket for Ole Miss, and with the help of Dia, the senior put the Rebels within arm’s reach down just 26-30 with under four minutes left in the half.

True freshman John Bol then checked into the game for the Rebels, immediately making an impact on defense, denying Aidan Shaw at the rim seconds after checking in. Grill and Pedulla continued to trade three-pointers as well, and the Tiger defense began to cause problems for Ole Miss. Missouri caused nine first-half turnovers from the Rebels, stealing it away eight times as well.

Murray hit a shot to quiet the crowd a bit in Columbia before the half, but the Tigers took a 38-31 lead into the halftime locker room. At the break, Brakefield led the way for Ole Miss with nine points. Dia added seven more for the Rebels, leading the way with five boards for Ole Miss.

Missouri was the first SEC matchup this season for Ole Miss in which the Rebels were not the better three-point shooting team with respect to percentage. Going into the half, the Tigers had hit six shots from behind the arc to the Rebels’ three. Pedulla drained two of those triples for Ole Miss.

Second half 

In the first half, Missouri notched seven offensive rebounds, compared to just one for Ole Miss. Right away to begin the second half, the Tigers came down with another one on the first possession. However, it was Dia who brought the aggression early as he earned a quick trip to the free throw line to get the scoring started in the final half of play.

Murrell cut the Missouri lead to five, however, it was Bates, again, beginning another half off with a hot start for the Tigers. Down 35-44, Davon Barnes got active on the glass for Ole Miss. The transfer guard then ran the floor, driving and getting a bucket to fall while drawing a foul.

Coast to Coast@kingdavon0 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/dSwg1uG0zB

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 26, 2025

Again, the Rebels would cut the Missouri lead to five after Pedulla hit a bucket to make it 40-45 just over five minutes into the half. However, it was Grill hitting his fourth triple of the night to answer immediately and get the Columbia crowd back on its feet.

The experience of Pedulla then began to show, as he found Brown-Jones in the paint for a bucket to keep Ole Miss in the game. Murray then hit his second three of the night, just the fourth for Ole Miss, as again the lead was cut to five.

Following another bucket from Brown-Jones inside, Pedulla continued to be the veteran, calling the iso and getting a fade-way jumper to fall from the elbow to make it 51-54 midway through the second half.

Although Pedulla would hit his next shot, once again, to stay hot, it was Grill again for Missouri making his fifth triple of the night. After a couple of made free throws from the Tigers, the Rebels would turn it over again, leading to a quick bucket by Trent Pierce to put the Tigers up eight.

Brakefield was then fouled hard, and after reviewing the play, it was determined a flagrant 1 foul on Grill, proving to be an opportunity for Ole Miss. After making one of the two free ones, it was Missouri again forcing the thirteenth turnover of the game by Ole Miss on the inbound.

Just over two minutes later the Tigers would take their largest lead of the game, a 12-point lead with just five-and-a-half minutes left to play. Dia would finally end the run, cutting the lead to 10 but the Tigers answered in a hurry to increase the lead back to 12 as time began to be against the Rebels.

Trips to the charity stripe then became common as both teams entered the bonus. Free throws drained by Pedulla and Brakefield made it 63-70 with just under four minutes to go, as the Rebels looked to cut more into the lead. It was Bates again, though, hitting the eleventh triple of the night for the Tigers — and once again the Rebels faced a double-digit deficit.

Although Murrell would hit another triple for Ole Miss to try and keep the Rebels alive, Missouri continued to have an answer and eventually pulled away. The loss makes it three straight defeats for Ole Miss after starting 4-0 in SEC play.

Dia led the Rebels with 17 points, eight boards and a pair of steals. Pedulla added 15 more for Ole Miss, recording six assists on the night as well. The Rebels were without Dre Davis tonight.

Up next

Ole Miss will head back to Oxford to play in the SJB Pavilion on Wednesday, Jan. 29, when Chris Beard‘s former team, the Texas Longhorns, come to town. Tipoff is set for 8 pm CT on the SEC Network.