No. 22 Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Heads to Arkansas for First SEC Road Test
OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) Following a win over Georgia at home to begin conference play, the No. 22 Ole Miss men’s basketball team is set to hit the road and face Arkansas in their first SEC road matchup tonight at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
Team Facts
No. 23/22 Ole Miss Rebels (Record: 12-2, 1-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (32-14) • 269-112 career record (13th Season)
Arkansas Razorbacks (Record: 11-3, 0-1 SEC)
Head Coach: John Calipari • 1st Season at Arkansas (11-3) • 824-264 career record (33rd Season)
How to Watch
Television/Online: ESPN2
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network – Play-by-Play: David Kellum; Color: Marc Dukes
Series History vs. Arkansas
The Rebels and Razorbacks have met 86 times before on the court, with the Hogs owning the all-time series lead 52-34. When playing in Fayetteville, Arkansas leads 23-11 and has won the last five games in their home arena. While trailing 8-2 over the past 10 matchups, Ole Miss came out on top of last year’s game under then first-year coach Chris Beard.
Last Meeting: January 24, 2024 (W, 77-51, Oxford, Miss.)
• The Ole Miss defense held the Razorbacks to just eight made field goals and 26 points in the first half, before closing the game out with a 26-point win.
• The Rebels out-rebounded Arkansas 43-28, led by Ole Miss’ Allen Flanigan with 11 boards.
• Jaylen Murray (Ole Miss): 21 points, one rebound, three assists, two steals.
• Matthew Murrell (Ole Miss): 18 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks.
• Khalif Battle (Arkansas): 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block, one steal.
Scouting the Razorbacks
Arkansas holds a record of 11-3 overall and 0-1 in conference, including an 8-0 record at home in Bud Walton Arena. During non-conference action, the Razorbacks picked up notable wins over Miami and No. 14 Michigan, before most recently beginning their SEC slate with a road loss at No. 1 Tennessee. The Hogs currently own a NET ranking of No. 41, and are receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches top 25 polls.
The team is led offensively by Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero, who averages a team-best 16.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest while shooting over 60% from the floor. The team’s leader in assists, Boogie Fland averages 15.6 points per outing to go with his 5.9 helpers per contest, a clip that ranks second in the SEC and 25th nationally.
As a team, the Razorbacks rank among the best nationally in a handful of statistical categories. Led by Zvonimir Ivisic (2.1 BPG) and Trevon Brazile (1.8 BPG), Arkansas is fifth in the nation in blocks per game at 6.0. Those defensive stops have led to points in transition, as they rank No. 17 in the NCAA in fastbreak points with an average of 16.3. The team also ranks among one of the better shooting teams in all of college basketball, with an effective field goal percentage of 57.3 to rank No. 19, and an overall field goal percentage of 50.7 to rank No. 9.
The active leader in career wins, 10th in active career win-percentage, and 21st all-time in NCAA coaching victories, John Calipari is in his first season at the helm of Arkansas. The 33-year veteran began his coaching career by turning Massachusetts into a national powerhouse, including five straight NCAA Tournament berths, highlighted by an Elite Eight appearance in 1995 and a Final Four appearance in his final year in 1996. He then took over the job at Memphis in 2000 after a brief stint in the NBA, earning 30 or more wins in his final four seasons. He then moved on to Kentucky in 2009 where he reached the Final Four or better in four seasons, including an NCAA National Championship in 2012. Following 15 seasons in Lexington where he accumulated over 400 wins, Calipari took the job at Arkansas last April.
Let’s Play Defense
A staple of success for head coach Chris Beard has always been his team’s defensive play, and it’s been evident on this year’s Ole Miss roster to start the season. With a turnover margin of +7.0, the Rebels own the third-best average in all of college basketball, forcing 16.3 per game (No. 15 in the NCAA) while committing just 9.3 to rank eighth in the NCAA.
They have held opponents to 60 points or less in five games this season, allowing an average of just 64.4 per contest, the 32nd-fewest in the NCAA. Their field goal percentage defense of 40.2 ranks 51st in the country this season, and Ole Miss holds a record of 14-1 in two years under Beard when holding the opposition to under 40 percent from the field. Their scoring margin of +15.2 this season is the 30th-best figure in the country.
Ole Miss ranks among the top teams in the nation in steals per game at 10.2, the 12th-best clip in college basketball, and blocks per game at 5.4 to rank 23rd.
Rebels in the Rankings
In the latest top-25 polls released this past Monday, Ole Miss ranks No. 23 in the AP Poll and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Recently at No. 15 in the Coaches Poll on December 9, it was the highest ranking in a national poll since the Rebels were No. 14 in the AP Poll on January 4, 2010, and the highest position in the Coaches Poll since they sat in 15th on January 21 in 2008.
Ole Miss has dominated the turnover battle this year, ranking third in the nation with a turnover margin of +7.0 while ranking eighth in turnovers per game at 9.3. The Rebels are forcing an average of 16.3 turnovers per contest which ranks 15th in the NCAA. Ole Miss’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.72 also ranks among the nation’s best at 12th, led by Jaylen Murray with a season ratio of 3.11. They’ve been a force on the defensive end with an average of 10.2 steals per game (No. 12 in NCAA), paced by Sean Pedulla, who ranks No. 20 in steals per game nationally.
Battle Tested
The future schedule for Ole Miss is one of the most difficult in the nation. As of January 6, they own the second-toughest remaining strength of schedule in the nation, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. Their remaining opponent’s win percentage of 86.6 is the third-highest in all of college basketball, and their cumulative strength-of-schedule win percentage of 74.1 is the sixth-highest in the nation.
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.