Kermit Davis Era Begins as Rebels Lift Lid on 2018-19 Season Saturday

			OLE MISS (0-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN (1-0, 0-0 MAC) Saturday, Nov. 10 • 3 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Military Appreciation Day
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GAME 1
Date: Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss
Television: SEC Network+
   Seth Austin, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss IMG Sports Network
   Eli Savoie, play-by-play
   John Stroud, analyst
Series: First Meeting

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Ole Miss opens the 109th season of basketball, including the 12th straight at home.
- The Rebels won their exhibition 101-52 over Fayetteville State, eclipsing the century mark for the first time in the history of The Pavilion (48 games).
- Ole Miss will begin its third full season inside The Pavilion at Ole Miss and play the first regular season game under new head coach Kermit Davis.
- The Rebels are 15-6 all-time in their first game under a new head coach.
- 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 403 career Division I wins, Kermit Davis ranks 124th all-time and 34th among active head coaches.
- Terence Davis, who led the Rebels with 20 points in the exhibition, was named Preseason Second Team All-SEC.
- The Rebels took a preseason tour to Canada in August, going 3-1 over a five-day stretch that included stops in Montreal and Ottawa.
- 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.
- Terence Davis ranks 39th in Ole Miss history with 1,011 career points.
- Dominik Olejniczak spent a portion of the summer competing for Poland during FIBA World Cup qualifying.
- All three Rebel seniors hail from the state of Mississippi: D.C. Davis, Terence Davis and Bruce Stevens.
- Bruce Stevens and Breein Tyree produced double-digit scoring efforts in each of the final six games last season; Stevens recorded double-doubles in two of the final three games and had a double-double in last week's exhibition.
- Two Rebels have made number changes heading into this season - sophomores Devontae Shuler (#0 to #2) and Antonio Morgano (#10 to #30).
- Eight newcomers join this year's squad (six freshmen, two junior college transfers); all saw action in Canada.

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 34th among active Division I head coaches with 403 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.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The 2018-19 season has already started for the Broncos. Behind 32 points and 22 rebounds from senior Seth Dugan, Western Michigan protected its home floor with an 89-76 victory over Detroit Mercy. Another senior, Josh Davis, recorded a double-double as well with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The frontcourt duo joins senior guard Bryce Moore as the three returning starters from last year's team that went 17-15 (9-9 MAC). Moore, named to the All-MAC Defensive Team a season ago, is out until December. Western Michigan was picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference's West Division, and Steve Hawkins is in his 16th season as head coach of the Broncos.

FACING #MACTION
Ole Miss is 2-2 all-time against current members of the Mid-American Conference. While the Rebels have never faced Western Michigan, they have played three other MAC teams throughout their 108-year history: Ball State (0-1), Bowling Green (1-2) and Toledo (1-0). Saturday's contest marks the first matchup against a MAC school since Ole Miss was upset by Bowling Green 82-78 in overtime, tipping off the 2001-02 season in Fairbanks, Alaska.

HEAD COACHING DEBUTS
New head coaches hold a 15-6 record in their debut pacing the Ole Miss sideline. The last five Ole Miss head coaches have emerged victorious in their debuts. Additionally, Tony Madlock won his debut last season as interim head coach, an 90-87 road victory over NCAA Tournament participant Missouri.

A LATE START
With the season opener on Saturday, Ole Miss is one of the last teams in college basketball to start its season four days later. The 2018-19 season officially began on Tuesday, Nov. 6, and the Rebels are the last SEC squad to tip off the campaign. In fact, eight SEC teams will have two games under their belt before the Rebels take the floor for the first time this season.

REBELS RUMBLE PAST BRONCOS IN EXHIBITION
Playing in The Pavilion for the first time under Kermit Davis, Ole Miss got off to a fast start and never looked back. The Rebels dominated on both ends of the floor to roll to a 101-52 victory over Fayetteville State in exhibition play (Nov. 2). Ole Miss shot 58.6 percent (41 of 70) from the field and kept the Broncos in check at just a 26.7 percent (16 of 60) clip. The Rebels had 29 assists on the 41 made field goals and also controlled the paint 56-18. Senior guard Terence Davis stuffed the box score with 20 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and four assists without making a turnover. Coming off the bench, Bruce Stevens recorded a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Other Rebels reaching double figures were Dominik Olejniczak (15 points) and Devontae Shuler (11 points). Freshmen Blake Hinson and KJ Buffen appeared in the starting lineup, playing on Craddock Court for the first time. Hinson scored seven points and pulled down eight boards, while Buffen was a perfect 3 of 3 from the floor and dished out a team-high nine assists.

REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
The 101-52 exhibition win over Fayetteville State was a historic one for Ole Miss Basketball. For the first time ever in The Pavilion (48 games), serving as the home of the Rebels for the third full season, Ole Miss broke the century mark in points. The last time the Rebels scored at least 100 points in a game was a 103-87 exhibition victory over Clayton State at Tad Smith Coliseum during the arena transition season (2015-16). Ole Miss last eclipsed the 100-point plateau in the regular season five years ago, a 115-105 setback to Oregon (Dec. 8, 2013).

TERENCE DAVIS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SEC
Ole Miss senior guard Terence Davis was named Preseason Second Team All-SEC when the conference office unveiled the coaches' selections on the opening day of the 2018-19 college basketball season. Davis finds himself on the Preseason All-SEC list for the second consecutive year. Entering his final season as a Rebel, Davis ranks 39th in Ole Miss history with 1,011 career points. The Southaven, Mississippi, native has played in 88 games since arriving on campus, making 51 appearances in the starting lineup. In 13 of those games, Davis eclipsed the 20-point plateau, including a career-high 33 points versus LSU as a sophomore. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore (2015-16) by averaging 14.5 points per game, a significant increase from his 1.8 output as a freshman and the largest scoring increase by any player in the SEC. Last year, Davis led Ole Miss in scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). He ranked 20th in the conference in scoring and cracked the SEC top 10 in defensive rebounding by pulling down 4.7 defensive boards per game. Also on the defensive side of the floor, Davis paced the Rebels with 28 blocks and ranked third in steals (29).

SCORING RETURNS
Ole Miss returns three of its top four scorers from a season ago in Terence Davis (13.8 ppg), Bruce Stevens (10.8 ppg) and Breein Tyree (10.8 ppg). The last time the Rebels had three returners that averaged double figures the season prior was the when Murphy Holloway (11.2 ppg), Jarvis Summers (10.4 ppg) and Nick Williams (10.1 ppg) returned for the 2012-13 campaign. That season resulted in a 27-9 record, the SEC Tournament title and advancement to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. If history repeats itself, Ole Miss will have one of the nation's biggest turnarounds and be dancing come March.

MEETING THE STAFF
Building his staff, Kermit Davis brought two coaches with him from Middle Tennessee in assistants Win Case and Ronnie Hamilton, while also adding assistant coach Levi Watkins.

- Case spent the last 10 seasons on Davis' staff at Middle Tennessee, helping the Blue Raiders capture seven conference title and make three NCAA Tournament appearances. Middle Tennessee won 232 games during Case's decade in Murfreesboro, including six seasons with at least 24 victories. Before joining up with Davis, he made head coaching stops at Redlands College and Eastern Oklahoma State College. Case was head coach at Oklahoma City University for 13 years, posting a 343-127 record and winning the NAIA National Championship in 1994 and again in 1996.

- Hamilton was at Middle Tennessee for four seasons, assisting the program in one of the best runs in school history. He helped produce a stretch in which the Blue Raiders earned three straight Conference USA championships. Before arriving at Middle Tennessee, Hamilton was familiar with Conference USA due to stints at Houston and Tulane. The Oxford, North Carolina, native was a four-year letterman for the Duke football team as a defensive back before deciding to put on his coaching shoes and switch sports.

- Before coming to Ole Miss, Watkins was an assistant coach at Arizona State for three seasons. Last season, the Sun Devils were ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP poll (highest in school history) and were the last undefeated team in Division I men's basketball. Prior to Arizona State, Watkins spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Buffalo, where the Bulls went 42-20 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. As a player at NC State from 2002-05, he helped lead the Wolfpack to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

OLE CANADA
The new era of Ole Miss Basketball began outside of the United States, as the Rebels traveled to Canada for their foreign tour. The NCAA allows basketball teams to take an international trip every four years. Although the preseason games do not count towards the 2018-19 NCAA campaign, the week provided an early opportunity for a team mixed with veterans and newcomers to take the floor against some quality opposition. Ole Miss hit the hardwood against four Canadian teams, Aug. 5-9, competing in games for the first time under head coach Kermit Davis. With two games apiece in Montreal and Ottawa, the Rebels went 3-1 north of the border. Senior guard Terence Davis led Ole Miss throughout the trip, pacing the team in scoring (21.0 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg), assists (2.5 apg) and steals (2.3 spg).

Game 1 (Montreal): Ole Miss 102, McGill 61 - Ole Miss held the Redmen to a 28.6 percent (18 of 63) clip from the floor, while shooting 58 percent (40 of 69) on the other side of the court. Davis scored a team-high 20 points, including the Rebels' first nine of the game.

Game 2 (Montreal): Ole Miss 84, Concordia 77 - Thanks, in large part, to the 1-3-1 zone, the Ole Miss defense forced 23 Concordia turnovers throughout the night to combat 15 three-pointers made by the Stingers. Breein Tyree led all scorers with 23 points, including 16 in the second half.

Game 3 (Ottawa): Carleton 81, Ole Miss 63 - Ole Miss faced its toughest test of the 2018 Canada Tour, a Carleton team that has won 13 of the past 16 Canadian national championships. Davis led the way with a game-high 23 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

Game 4 (Ottawa): Ole Miss 85, Ottawa 74 - Ole Miss rallied from 27 points down, outscoring the Gee-Gees 71-36 over the final three quarters. Davis could not be stopped throughout the night as he posted an impressive double-double (23 points, 16 rebounds).

MISSISSIPPI MADE
Along with head coach Kermit Davis (Leakesville), all three Ole Miss seniors hail from the state of Mississippi: D.C. Davis (Purvis), Terence Davis (Southaven) and Bruce Stevens (Louin).

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Terence Davis enters his senior campaign with 1,011 points to rank 39th 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. John Stroud is the Rebels' all-time scoring leader with 2,328 points.

OLEJNICZAK COMPETES FOR HIS COUNTRY
After spending a week working out back in his native country of Poland this summer, junior center Dominik Olejniczak earned a spot on the country's national team to complete the first round of FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers. Olejniczak joined Rebel Basketball alums Tomasz Gielo and Sebastian Saiz in representing their countries in qualifying games across Europe.

NEW REBS
Six freshmen and two junior college transfers make up the 2018-19 newcomers: KJ Buffen, Carlos Curry, Brian Halums, Blake Hinson, John McBride, Franco Miller Jr., Zach Naylor and Luis Rodriguez. All six freshmen joined the team following the hire of new head coach Kermit Davis. All eight newcomers saw action during the Rebels' preseason trip to Canada. Hinson, a four-star wing from Deltona, Florida, led all newcomers in scoring at 9.0 ppg.

GRADUATED REBELS
Ole Miss must replace two starters, including four-year letterman Marcanvis Hymon. The forward ended his Ole Miss career ranked 10th in school history with 97 blocks. The Rebels also lost graduate transfer Markel Crawford, who led the team in minutes and steals. Deandre Burnett, one of the top two scorers in each of the last two seasons, also graduated. Burnett led Ole Miss in assists a season ago.

DAVIS FOLLOWS KENNEDY
When Kermit Davis arrived in Oxford as the Rebels' new head coach, he emphasized the importance of building off the foundation left by longtime Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy. With 403 wins at the Division I level, Davis recognizes his friend's impact at Ole Miss as the winningest coach in school history. In his 12 seasons guiding Ole Miss Hoops (2007-18), Kennedy held a 245-156 record with 11 postseason wins, eight postseason berths, nine 20-win seasons, two NCAA Tournament appearances, two NIT Final Fours, two SEC West titles and an SEC Tournament Championship. Averaging more than 20 wins per season and a two-time SEC Coach of the Year, Kennedy ranks 18th in conference history with 245 victories.

QUALITY WINS
Last season, Ole Miss earned six victories over RPI top 100 teams, including three over opponents ranked in the top 50 (Alabama-41, Florida-43, Missouri-49). Moreover, five of the six top 100 victories were actually in the top 75. Comparing to the 2016-17 run to the NIT Quarterfinals, Ole Miss had only three top 100 wins. The Rebels went through the gauntlet last season, ranking 23rd nationally in strength of schedule.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
The Rebels rebounded well in SEC play, pulling down 37.7 boards per game to rank fourth in the league. To go along with overall rebounding in conference matchups, Ole Miss crashed the offensive glass better than any other SEC team. The Rebels hauled in 12.8 offensive rebounds per SEC game to top the conference.

RELYING ON THE THREE
Ole Miss relied on the long ball, making 7.8 threes per game (sixth in the SEC). The Rebels are 11-7 when they shot over 30 percent from beyond the arc. When Ole Miss made less than 30 percent from long distance, its record was 1-13.

GREEN LIGHT GUARDS
Ole Miss has proven to develop guards over the past 12 seasons as 12 guards have earned All-SEC accolades to rank third among conference teams during that period. The depth at guard showed in terms of scoring. Ole Miss guards accounted for 70.1 percent of the Rebels' points. Five of the top six scorers on the team were guards led by Terence Davis (13.8 ppg), Deandre Burnett (13.5 ppg), Breein Tyree (10.8 ppg) and Markel Crawford (9.2 ppg). Freshman Devontae Shuler added 6.0 ppg (sixth on team).

FINDING THE RIGHT FIVE
The Rebels sent out 16 different starting lineups throughout the 2017-18 campaign. Ole Miss was one of eight teams nationally that has had at least 16 different starting lineups this season. Ten Rebels started at least one game, and only six teams nationwide had at least 10 different players start at any point of the year.

PROTECTING THE ROCK
Ole Miss took care of the basketball last season. The Rebels coughed up the rock only 365 times, ranking 34th nationally in fewest turnovers surrendered. Averaging only 11.4 turnovers per game, Ole Miss was 43rd in the nation. Against Missouri (Feb. 6), Ole Miss only turned the ball over four times. It was the fewest turnovers in a game by the Rebels since only making four against George Mason in the Charleston Classic (Nov. 19, 2015). Also, the Rebels' 1.3 assist/turnover ratio ranked fourth in the SEC and 50th in the country.

BLOCK PARTY
Averaging 4.1 blocks per game, Ole Miss ranked 66th in the country. Four Rebels recorded at least 20 blocks, led by 28 from Terence Davis. Marcanvis Hymon, who ranks 10th all-time in program history with 97 career rejections, was close behind with 26 blocks. Justas Furmanavicius had 22, while seven-footer Dominik Olejniczak had 20 of his own.

SWIPE RIGHT
The Rebels were active with their hands on the defensive end of the floor, averaging 6.3 steals per game to rank seventh in the SEC. The Rebels recorded 37 steals over the last five games, including 13 in the win at Missouri (Feb. 20). Through 32 games, four Rebels recorded at least 20 steals. Markel Crawford led the way with 38 steals, including 23 in SEC games to rank ninth in the conference. Devontae Shuler followed with 32 steals. Terence Davis and Breein Tyree have 29 and 22 steals, respectively, with Davis earning a career-high four steals at Missouri. Against Utah in Last Vegas (Nov. 20), the Rebels tallied 14 steals throughout the night, a season high for the Red and Blue.

BENCH POINTS
The Ole Miss bench played a prominent role in scoring, averaging 25.0 points per game. In five different games, the bench scored at least 40 points. The season high for bench points occurred against Utah (Nov. 20) in Las Vegas, as the reserves tallied 46 of the team's 74 points. During a win over Bradley (Dec. 22), the Ole Miss bench accounted for 50 percent of the scoring (41 of 82). In the regular season finale versus Vanderbilt, the Rebels' bench scored 36 of the team's 69 points. It was the most points and highest percentage (52.1 percent) by the bench in an SEC game throughout the 2017-18 campaign.

UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY
Last year, Ole Miss finished under .500 for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Going 5-13 in SEC play, the Rebels posted a losing conference record for the first time in seven years (7-9 in 2010-11).

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
Following the season opener, the Rebels head north for their first road game of the season. Ole Miss treks to Indianapolis, Indiana to battle the Butler Bulldogs (Nov. 16), who is received votes in both preseason polls. The Friday night matchup begins at 7 p.m. CT on FS2. As always, the game can be heard on the airwaves of the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.

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Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

Deandre Burnett

Markel Crawford

Carlos Curry

D.C. Davis

Terence Davis

Justas Furmanavicius

Brian Halums

Blake Hinson

Marcanvis Hymon

John McBride

Franco Miller Jr.

Antonio Morgano

Zach Naylor

Dominik Olejniczak

Luis Rodriguez

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

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