Men's Hoops Welcomes Nicholls to The Pavilion Tuesday

			OLE MISS (1-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. NICHOLLS (2-3, 0-0 Southland) Tuesday, Nov. 20 • 6 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Ole Miss Family Night ($5 Lower Level Tickets)
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GAME 3
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: SEC Network
   Dave Neal, play-by-play
   Barry Booker, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss IMG Sports Network (XM-384, Internet-971)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Series: Ole Miss leads 8-0
Last Meeting: Jan. 3, 2009
   Ole Miss won 53-41 (Oxford, Miss.)

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- The Rebels are set to play three games in a span of five days, all part of the Emerald Coast Classic.
- After facing Nicholls in an Emerald Coast Classic campus game, Ole Miss heads to Destin, Florida for the final two games of the tournament.
- The Rebels beat Western Michigan to begin the season, another Emerald Coast Classic campus game.
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (43.6), ranking 21st nationally.
- The Rebels are coming off an 83-76 setback to Butler, the first road game of the season.
- Terence Davis scored 30 points at Butler, the fourth 30-point game of his career.
- A Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection by the coaches, Terence Davis leads the SEC in scoring (23.5 ppg) and 3-point field goal percentage (63.6 percent); both rank top 25 nationally.
- In the home opener, the first game under head coach Kermit Davis, Ole Miss set Pavilion records in steals (15) and field goal percentage (54.1); the 15 steals were the most by the Rebels in a single game since 2012.
- Sophomore guard Devontae Shuler leads the Rebels in minutes (33.0 per game), rebounding (4.5 per game) and steals (2.5 per game).
- Breein Tyree has scored double figures in eight straight games dating back to last season.
- Terence Davis ranks 36th in Ole Miss history with 1,058 career points.
- On National Signing Day last week, Ole Miss landed a top 25 class with the addition of four future Rebels; it's the first full recruiting class for Kermit Davis and his staff.
- Kermit Davis, a native of Leakesville, Mississippi, comes to Oxford after spending the last 16 seasons at Middle Tennessee and becoming the winningest coach in school history as well as Sun Belt Conference history.
- With 404 career Division I wins, Kermit Davis ranks 124th all-time and 45th among active head coaches.
- The Rebels return three double-digit scorers (Terence Davis-13.8 ppg, Breein Tyree-10.8 ppg, Bruce Stevens-10.8 ppg) for the first time since 2012-13, a season that resulted in an SEC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth.

SEC LEADERS
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in 3-point shooting (43.8 percent).
- Terence Davis leads the SEC in scoring (23.5 ppg) and 3-point shooting (63.6 percent).
- Davis ranks second in 3-pointers made per game (3.5).
- Davis ranks third in field goal percentage (60.7 percent).
- Devontae Shuler ranks fourth in steals per game (2.5) and minutes per game (33.0).
- Shuler ranks fifth in 3-point shooting (50.0 percent)
- Davis ranks seventh in minutes per game (32.5).
- Breein Tyree ranks seventh in scoring (15.5 ppg).

SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Nicholls enters Tuesday night's game with a 2-3 record following an 81-54 loss to Baylor in an Emerald Coast Classic campus game in Waco, Texas (Nov. 16). The Colonels will play their fifth straight road game in five different states after picking up a season-opening win over Mississippi College at home. Nicholls has two starters back from its 2017-18 team that went 21-11 overall and shared the Southland Conference title with a 15-3 mark. Grad transfer Jeremiah Jefferson paces the Colonels with a Southland Conference-best 19.8 ppg, while Gavin Peppers adds 14.6 ppg. On the other side of the court, senior Daniel Regis leads the nation with 15 blocks on the season. Nicholls is coached by Austin Claunch, who is in his third season on staff but serving his first as the team's head coach.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Nicholls 8-0, which began in 1988. All eight games were decided by double digits with the Rebels winning by an average of 20.9 points. Seven of those eight games took place in Oxford. Ole Miss won the latest matchup between the two programs, a 53-41 victory nearly a decade ago at Tad Smith Coliseum (Jan. 3, 2009).

REBELS VS. THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
Ole Miss is 56-3 all-time against the current members of the Southland Conference. Along with going 8-0 against Nicholls throughout history, the Rebels have also faced Abilene Christian (1-0), Central Arkansas (3-0), Houston Baptist (2-0), Lamar (2-1), McNeese (8-1), New Orleans (4-1), Northwestern State (3-0), Sam Houston State (6-0), Southeastern Louisiana (17-0) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2-0). Tuesday's game is the Rebels' first of two games against Southland Conference opponents this season. Next month, Ole Miss faces Southeastern Louisiana in a neutral site game in Jackson, Mississippi (Dec. 12).

EMERALD COAST CLASSIC WEEK
All three of the Rebels' games this week are part of the Emerald Coast Classic. Ole Miss is 1-0 in the tournament, earning a 90-64 victory over Western Michigan in the season opener that also served as an Emerald Coast Classic campus game. Tuesday's matchup with Nicholls is the second ECC campus game before the Rebels head to Destin, Florida for the main bracket. While at the beach, Ole Miss will face Baylor (Nov. 23) in the final game of the day. Closing out the tournament, the Rebels will play either Cincinnati or George Mason (Nov. 24) based on the previous day's results. Ole Miss is competing in the Emerald Coast Classic for the second time. The Rebels won the inaugural tournament in 2014, defeating Creighton 75-68 before beating Cincinnati in the championship game 66-54.

A NEW ERA OF OLE MISS BASKETBALL
The 2018-19 season is the dawn of a new era for Ole Miss Basketball. A new head coach took the reins of the program when Kermit Davis was hired on March 15, 2018. Davis, the winningest coach in Middle Tennessee history, returns to his home state with years of success. A native of Leakesville, Mississippi, Davis guided the Blue Raiders to league titles in seven of his last nine years in Murfreesboro, between Conference USA and the Sun Belt. Middle Tennessee was one of five programs he led to conference championships in 36 years as an assistant and head coach. An eight-time conference coach of the year, Davis is 45th among active Division I head coaches with 404 career wins, including stints at MT, Idaho and Texas A&M. He ranks 11th nationally in winning percentage over the last three years and 13th over the last seven.

REBELS FALL IN HARD FOUGHT BATTLE WITH BUTLER
In the first road game of the season, Ole Miss dropped a tough one Friday night (Nov. 16) at Hinkle Fieldhouse as the Butler Bulldogs outlasted the Rebels, 83-76. It was a back-and-forth contest from the get go. Terence Davis had a season-high 30 points on 10 of 16 shooting, three points shy of his career high. The senior had 21 of his points in the first half and matched his career high with six threes made in a game. Breein Tyree added 17 points of his own. Butler's Paul Jorgensen stole the night for the hometown team, going off for a career-high 27 points. Kamar Baldwin added 23, including a perfect 12 of 12 from the charity stripe. As a team, the Bulldogs made all 18 of their free throws in the second half.

TD FOR 3-0
Scoring a game-high 30 points Friday night, senior Terence Davis recorded the fourth 30-point game of his career. He also knocked down six 3-pointers for the third time as a Rebel (career best). Davis' 30-point performances are below.

Date	Opponent	Points	FG	3FG	FT	Result
Nov. 16, 2018	at Butler	30	10-16	6-9	4-5	L, 76-83
Jan. 20, 2018	at Arkansas	30	10-15	5-8	5-6	L, 93-97
March 18, 2017	at Syracuse (NIT)	30	11-14	6-7	2-4	W, 85-80
Feb. 14, 2017	LSU	33	13-21	3-7	4-4	W, 96-76

FIRST HALF FIRE
The SEC's leading scorer at 23.5 ppg, Terence Davis has scored 38 of his 47 points this season in the first half. He tallied all of his team-high 17 points in the season-opening win over Western Michigan. Against Butler, Davis scored 21 of his team's first half points.

SHULER'S STELLAR SOPHOMORE START
Sometimes the biggest jumps are from one's freshman to sophomore year. After playing in all 32 games last year, primarily coming off the bench, sophomore Devontae Shuler has gotten off to a fast start this season. Through two games as a starting guard, he leads the Rebels in minutes (33.0 per game), rebounding (4.5 per game) and steals (2.5 per game). He ranks fourth in the SEC in minutes and steals, while shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc for fifth in the conference. Against Butler, Shuler tallied team highs in rebounds (8), assists (5) and steals (3). The eight rebounds and five assists were career highs for the Irmo, South Carolina, native.

RELYING ON THE THREE
Through the first two weeks of the season, Ole Miss leads the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage. The Rebels are the only team shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc, going 21 of 48 for a 43.8 percent clip (21st nationally). Making 10.5 threes per game, Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 39th nationally. Individually, Terence Davis leads the way with an SEC-best 63.6 percent from long range, 16th in the country. The senior guard is second in the conference with 3.5 threes made per game. Last season, Ole Miss relied on the long ball by making 7.8 threes per game (sixth in the SEC). The Rebels went 11-7 when they shot over 30 percent from beyond the arc but 1-13 when making less than 30 percent from long distance.

A LATE START
The Rebels started their season on Nov. 10, four days after the official start of the college basketball season. With only one game last week, Ole Miss is the only team in the SEC to play just two games through the first two weeks of the 2018-19 campaign. With three games in five days this week, the season will speed up quickly for the Rebels.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Terence Davis has 1,058 points to rank 36th in Ole Miss history. He is on pace to crack the top 20, and with a big year, could find himself in the top 10 to end his Rebel career. With 30 points at Butler, Davis passed Todd Abernethy (1,036), Denver Brackeen (1,040) and Ron Coleman (1,046) to move from 39th to 36th. Next on his chase up the chart are Jason Harrison (1,066), Coolidge Ball (1,072) and Terrance Henry (1,095). John Stroud is the Rebels' all-time scoring leader with 2,328 points.

LIGHTING UP THE PAVILION
In the season opener, Ole Miss boasted a 54.1 field goal percentage (33 of 61), tying its best ever in the three-year history of The Pavilion. The Rebels also went 33 of 61 on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14, 2017) in a win over LSU and haven't shot that well in between that game and the 2018-19 season opener. No opposing team has shot better than 53 percent in The Pavilion, and Western Michigan was held to 40.8 percent (20 of 49) from the floor.

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
Later this week, Ole Miss heads to the beach for two Emerald Coast Classic games, beginning with a matchup against Baylor (Nov. 23). Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network. The Rebels will wrap up their trip south by facing either Cincinnati or George Mason on Saturday (Nov. 24) before returning home for a pair of games next week.

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Players Mentioned

Terence Davis

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

The University of Mississippi Athletics