Men's Hoops Set to Host 5-1 San Diego Wednesday

			OLE MISS (3-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. SAN DIEGO (5-1, 0-0 WCC) Wednesday, Nov. 28 • 6:30 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Books and Bears Night (Free Admission with donation of children's book or teddy bear)
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GAME 6
Matchup: San Diego (5-1) vs. Ole Miss (3-2)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: SEC Network+
   Seth Austin, play-by-play
   Sean Tuohy, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss IMG Sports Network (XM-385)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Series: First Meeting

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- The Rebels are playing their fourth game in a span of eight days. The matchup against San Diego will be the first of back-to-back home games this week.
- Including the game versus San Diego, the Rebels' first six opponents all hail from different states; it's also the third time this season that Ole Miss is facing an opponent for the first time in school history.
- Ole Miss is 4-0 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference.
- The Rebels are coming off a runner-up finish at the Emerald Coast Classic, defeating Baylor before falling to Cincinnati.
- Ole Miss made 94.1 percent of its free throws (16 of 17) in the title game, the best shooting percentage at the line since the 2016-17 season (22 of 23 versus Baylor).
- The Rebels rank second in the SEC and 25th nationally in free throw percentage (77.4 percent).
- Breein Tyree (21.0 ppg) and Devontae Shuler (14.0 ppg) were named to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament team for their performances over the weekend.
- Tyree scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Rebels to a win over Baylor, their first game against a Power 5 conference opponent under head coach Kermit Davis.
- Tyree has scored double figures in 11 straight games.
- Shuler tallied a career-high 24 points in the championship game versus Cincinnati, the first time he scored more than 20 points as a Rebel.
- Shuler leads the SEC in playing time at 34.2 minutes per game, while ranking second in the conference in steals (2.2 per game). The sophomore guard also paces the Rebels in rebounds and assists.
- A Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection by the coaches, Terence Davis ranks 34th in Ole Miss history with 1,079 career points, passing Coolidge Ball in the win over Baylor.
- 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.

SEC LEADERS
- Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC in free throw shooting (77.4 percent) and rebounding defense (29.8 per game).
- Devontae Shuler leads the SEC in playing time (34.2 minutes per game).
- Shuler ranks second in steals per game (2.2).
- Breein Tyree ranks fifth in scoring (16.6 ppg).
- Tyree ranks seventh in free throw shooting (77.4 percent) and playing time (32.4 minutes per game).
- Terence Davis ranks seventh in 3-point shooting (40.0 percent).
- Davis ranks 10th in blocks per game (1.8).

TALE OF THE TAPE ON THE TOREROS
San Diego enters Wednesday's matchup with a 5-1 record following a victorious three-game homestand. After defeating Colorado last Tuesday, the Toreros cruised to a 76-58 victory over Jackson State. USD's lone loss was a 66-63 setback at Washington. Allowing only 59.7 ppg, San Diego ranks 20th nationally in scoring defense. Isaiah Pineiro leads the Toreros with 22.0 ppg, and fellow senior Olin Carter III adds 16.8 ppg. Another senior, Tyler Williams, ranks 19th in the country with an impressive 4.60 assist/turnover ratio. Sam Scholl is in his first season as head coach of his alma mater, but has been on the staff for nine seasons.

ALL-TIME VS. THE WCC
Ole Miss is 4-0 all-time against members of the West Coast Conference, but Wednesday's contest will be the first home game against a WCC team. While the Rebels and Toreros will meet for the first time, Ole Miss has faced BYU (1-0), Loyola-Marymount (1-0), Pacific (1-0) and San Francisco (1-0). The Rebels defeated Pacific in Lafayette, Louisiana during the 1981-82 season. During the 2012-13 campaign, Ole Miss earned a road win at Loyola-Marymount before heading to Hawaii to take down San Francisco. The last time the Rebels faced a WCC team was a First Four game in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss rallied for a 94-90 victory over the Cougars to stay alive in March Madness.

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 32nd among active Division I head coaches with 406 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.

CONVERTING AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
As a team, Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC and 25th nationally in free throw percentage (77.4). Nine of the 10 Rebels that have attempted free throws this season are shooting over 70 percent from the stripe. The Rebels knocked down their free throws at the Emerald Coast Classic, making 45 of 53 (84.9 percent) during the two-game weekend. In the championship game against Cincinnati, Ole Miss converted 16 of 17 at the line for a 94.1 percent clip. It was the Rebels' best free throw percentage in a game since going 22 of 23 (95.7 percent) versus Baylor during the 2016-17 campaign (Jan. 28, 2017).

AROUND THE COUNTRY
The Rebels' first six opponents all hail from different states: Western Michigan (Kalamazoo, Michigan), Butler (Indianapolis, Indiana), Nicholls (Thibodaux, Louisiana), Baylor (Waco Texas), Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio) and San Diego (San Diego, California).

TYREE AND SHULER EARN ALL-TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES
Producing career-high games at the beach this past weekend, Ole Miss guards Breein Tyree and Devontae Shuler earned spots on the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team. Tyree led the Rebels in scoring over the two games, averaging 21.0 ppg. His big night against Baylor, tallying a career-high 28 points, helped the Rebels beat the Bears to advance to the championship game. He followed that up with a 14-point night versus Cincinnati, scoring 12 of the team's 24 second half points. Despite not having a big scoring night, Shuler played a career-high 38 minutes and picked up a pair of steals versus Baylor before breaking out in the championship game. The sophomore eclipsed the 20-point barrier for the first time in his career, scoring 24 points and pulling down a team-high six rebounds.

MINUTE MONSTER
Averaging 34.2 minutes per game, sophomore guard Devontae Shuler leads the SEC in playing time. He has played at least 30 minutes in four the Rebels' five games, including a career-high 38 minutes in the win over Baylor. As a freshman a season ago, Shuler averaged 18.8 minutes per game and only played 30 minutes once (33 minutes versus South Dakota State).

STEADY TYREE
Junior guard Breein Tyree has become one the veteran leaders on the floor. His consistency has allowed him to become the team's leading scorer early on in the season, averaging 16.6 ppg to rank fifth in the SEC. Over the last 11 games dating back to last season, Tyree has reached double figures in every contest. He had the best game of his career on Friday, putting up a personal-best 28 points to lead Ole Miss to a victory over Baylor.

REBELS DROP ECC CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH
In a rematch of the 2014 Emerald Coast Classic championship game, Cincinnati exacted revenge on Ole Miss in this year's title game. The winners of the inaugural tournament, the Rebels fell to the Bearcats 71-57 Saturday evening. Devontae Shuler scored a career-high 24 points in the loss, going 9 of 14 from the floor and pulling down a team-high six rebounds. Fellow guard Breein Tyree added 14 points, including 12 in the second half, to complete an impressive weekend at the beach. Both Shuler and Tyree were named to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team.

OLE MISS BEATS BAYLOR BEHIND TYREE'S BIG NIGHT
A last-minute jersey issue forced Breein Tyree to switch from number 21 to number 4. The junior guard may want to keep wearing 21 as he scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Ole Miss men's basketball team to a 78-70 win over Baylor in the Emerald Coast Classic. Tyree scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half, including the final nine to put the game away for the Rebels. The Somerset, New Jersey, native finished 6 of 11 from the floor while knocking down 13 of 17 from the free throw line. Bruce Stevens recorded season highs in points (17), rebounds (8) and minutes (33). Blake Hinson and KJ Buffen added nine points apiece to tally career highs. As a team, the Rebels forced 18 Baylor turnovers and limited the Bears to just 2 of 18 (11.1 percent) shooting from beyond the arc. Ole Miss held a 23-9 advantage in points off turnovers, while also converting 13 second chance points to Baylor's four.

STAT-STUFFING SHULER
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 five games as a starting guard, he has stuffed box scores by leading the Rebels in minutes (34.2 per game), rebounding (5.2 per game), assists (2.8 per game) and steals (2.2 per game). Shuler is the SEC leader in playing time, while ranking second in steals per game. In the Emerald Coast Classic versus Cincinnati, he tallied a career-high 24 points to best his previous high of 19 last season against South Dakota State. On the road at Butler, Shuler tallied team highs in rebounds (8), assists (5) and steals (3). The eight-rebound performance was a career high for the Irmo, South Carolina, native. He followed that up with nine points, seven rebounds, a career-high six assists and three steals in last week's win versus Nicholls.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Terence Davis has 1,079 points to rank 34th 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. Last week, he passed Jason Harrison (1,066) by recording a team-high 14 points versus Nicholls and then leapfrogged Coolidge Ball (1,072) in Friday's win over Baylor. Next on his chase up the chart are Terrance Henry (1,095) and Fred Cox (1,102). John Stroud is the Rebels' all-time scoring leader with 2,328 points.

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
For the first time this season, the Rebels will follow a home game with another matchup at The Pavilion. Kicking off the month of December, the Rebels welcome ULM to Oxford for a Saturday afternoon tilt with a 1 p.m. tipoff (Dec. 1). The game will air on SEC Network+and can be heard on the airwaves of the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.

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Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

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