The University of Mississippi Athletics
1998-99 Men's Basketball Schedule
6/21/1999 | Men's Basketball
August 6, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. - A renewed rivalry with Memphis and a Christmas holiday tournament in Puerto Rico will highlight the 1998-99 Ole Miss men's basketball schedule.
The Rebels, which will play the 1998-99 campaign under first-year head coach Rod Barnes, will renew their rivalry with Memphis at The Pyramid on Dec. 12. The last time the two schools played was in the 1984-85 season, a 57-52 overtime victory for the Tigers. Following the Dec. 12 meeting with Memphis, Ole Miss will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to participate in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic Dec. 21-23. Other teams playing in the tournament are N.C. State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, UAB, St. Joseph's, Middle Tennessee and American University-Puerto Rico.
The Rebels will also meet Louisville and Temple for a second straight year. Ole Miss will travel to Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 18 to play the Owls, while the Cardinals will make their first-ever trip to Oxford on Dec. 5.
"We have put together what we think is a really competitive schedule," said Barnes. "We have some tough games against some very quality opponents. We host Louisville, and our game against Temple in Philadelphia will be a tough early-season contest for us. The Ole Miss-Memphis basketball rivalry will also be rekindled this year.
"I think we have a schedule which will provide our fans with a mix of up-and-coming squads and teams with national recognition. We feel that this is a very challenging schedule, and our non-conference games should help prepare us for the SEC portion of the schedule."
Ole Miss will tip off its Southeastern Conference slate on Jan. 2 when it travels to Nashville to meet Vanderbilt. The Rebels will also travel to SEC Eastern Division foes South Carolina (Jan. 27) and Florida (Feb. 6). Ole Miss' conference home opener will be on Jan. 6 versus Alabama. Defending NCAA champion Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee are the three SEC Eastern Division teams that will travel to Oxford in 1998-99. SEC Western Division squads Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU and Mississippi State will also make their annual trips to the Ole Miss campus.
The Rebels will open the season on Nov. 13 versus Alabama State at Tad Smith Coliseum. Ole Miss, which brings a 20-game homecourt win streak into the 1998-99 campaign, will play 16 contests at Tad Smith Coliseum this season.
Seven television dates dot the Rebels' schedule, including national television contests versus Kentucky (Jan. 16) on ABC, Arkansas (Jan. 30) on CBS and Auburn (Feb. 9) on ESPN. Ole Miss will also make three appearances on Jefferson-Pilot and one appearance on FOX Sports South.
Last season, Ole Miss finished with a 22-7 overall record and a 12-4 SEC mark. The Rebels won their second straight SEC Western Division title and advanced to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament in 1998.
1998-99 OLE MISS MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
November 3- Spirit Express (Exhibition) 9- Exhibition Game 13- Alabama State 16- Belmont 18- at Temple 23- Alabama A&M 28- Austin PeayDecember 2- Northeast Louisiana 5- Louisville 7- West Alabama 12- at Memphis 21-23- Puerto Rico Holiday Classic 29- Prairie View A&MJanuary 2- at Vanderbilt 6- Alabama 9- at Arkansas 13- Auburn 16- Kentucky (ABC-TV) 20- Mississippi State 23- Georgia (JP-TV) 27- at South Carolina 30- Arkansas (CBS-TV)February 3- at LSU (JP-TV) 6- at Florida 9- at Auburn (ESPN-TV) 17- Tennessee (JP-TV) 20- at Mississippi State (FXSS-TV) 24- at Alabama 27- LSUMarch 4-7- SEC Tournament (Atlanta, Ga.)
