It’s January in Mississippi meaning most years Ole Miss fans turn the page from football to basketball and catch up on what its teams have been doing in the non-conference.
Well, its a bit different this year with the phenomenal run Ole Miss football is on and still in the hunt for a national title. It has also been hard sledding this year thus far for Chris Beard and his revamped squad at Ole Miss (8-5) going into SEC play.
The Rebels are on the road to start conference play heading to Norman to face
Oklahoma (10-3) with a 2:30 p.m. CT tipoff on Saturday. As of Friday, Jan. 2, Ole Miss ranked 13th in the SEC in NET rankings at No. 88 nationally while OU sits at 10th in the conference at No. 50 nationally.
Last season, Ole Miss bested the Sooners in Oxford, 87-84, so there may be a bit of motivation for the OU coaching staff on Saturday. Porter Moser is in his fifth season with an 84-62 overall record compared to Beard in his third season at 52-29 overall. Needless to say, these are two experienced coaches with hundreds of wins under their belt, so it should be a chess match if its anything like last year.
Ole Miss has not had that marquee win yet this year even though it topped Memphis early in the year. Close losses to Iowa, Utah and St. John’s are all lost opportunities for some resume building, and now it will take the Rebels pulling it all together in conference play to push for the postseason.
The likelihood that happens seems slim, but the Rebels are coming off a rare Sweet Sixteen trip in the NCAA Tournament last season. It was a high water mark in year two of Beard’s tenure, so a little regression to the mean could have been expected with the loss of Sean Pedulla and rebuilt roster.
ESPN Analytics have the Sooners as 69.9 percent likely to win pregame. The Rebels will have to slow down guard Nijel Pack and Xzayvier Brown who both average over 15 points per game to have a chance. OU protects the ball and ranks in the top 20 in turnovers and assist to turnover ratio.
Oklahoma and Ole Miss will tip off on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on SEC Network.
