Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee Ready for Battle at Bridgestone

			OLE MISS (8-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE (3-8, 0-0 Conference USA) Friday, Dec. 21 • 7 PM • Nashville, Tenn. Bridgestone Arena (19,935)
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GAME 11
Matchup: Ole Miss (8-2) vs. Middle Tennessee (3-8)
Date: Friday, Dec. 21, 2018
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Bridgestone Arena (19,395)
Television: Facebook (CBS Sports Network)
   Ben Holden, play-by-play
   Tim Doyle, analyst
   Gary Parrish, sideline
Radio: Ole Miss IMG Sports Network (XM-384)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: Facebook.com
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Series: Middle Tennessee leads 6-3
Last Meeting: Dec. 9, 2017
   MT won 77-58 (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- The Rebels and Blue Raiders square off for the third straight year and the six time in the last eight seasons.
- Kermit Davis, a native of Leakesville, Mississippi, is in his first year at Ole Miss after spending the past 16 seasons at Middle Tennessee and becoming the winningest coach in school history as well as Sun Belt Conference history.
- With 477 career wins, Kermit Davis ranks 139th all-time and 32nd among active Division I head coaches.
- Assistant coaches Win Case and Ronnie Hamilton joined Kermit Davis on the move from Middle Tennessee to Ole Miss.
- Ole Miss is coming off a 90-70 win over Chattanooga that featured a 28-0 run in the second half, the second-longest run by any college basketball team this season.
- The Rebels have won five straight games for the first time since closing out the 2015 calendar year with seven consecutive wins.
- Ole Miss has shot over 50 percent in six games this year, surpassing its total from all of last season (5).
- The Rebels are one of two teams to rank top 15 nationally in both field goal percentage (50.6) and free throw percentage (77.3), ranking seventh and 12th in the country, respectively.
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in field goal percentage and free throw shooting.
- Ten of the 11 Rebels that have attempted a free throw this season are shooting better than 70 percent from the stripe; Breein Tyree leads the team and ranks fifth the SEC in free throw shooting (81.8 percent).
- Tyree (17.0 ppg) also paces the team in scoring and ranks fourth in the SEC; he has scored at least 20 points in five of the past seven games.
- Devontae Shuler ranks top 10 in the SEC in minutes per game (third-33.1), steals per game (sixth-1.7) and in assist/turnover ratio (ninth-1.7).
- A Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection by the coaches, Terence Davis ranks 29th in Ole Miss history with 1,169 career points, passing Ken Turner in the win over Chattanooga.
- Ole Miss is making its first of three trips to the Music City.

SEC LEADERS
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in field goal percentage (50.6) and free throw shooting (77.3 percent).
- The Rebels rank second in 3-point shooting (37.7 percent) and in rebounding defense, allowing only 28.1 boards per game.
- Devontae Shuler ranks third in playing time (33.1 minutes per game), sixth in steals (1.7 per game) and ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7).
- Breein Tyree ranks fourth in scoring (17.0 ppg) and fifth in free throw shooting (84.0 percent).
- Terence Davis ranks seventh in field goal shooting (50.0 percent), ninth in assists (4.1 per game) and 10th in scoring (15.8 ppg).

YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT, KID
As the SEC's leader in field goal percentage (50.6) and free throw percentage (77.3), Ole Miss is one of two teams to rank top 15 nationally in both categories. The Rebels are the nation's seventh-best shooting team, while ranking 12th in free throw percentage. South Dakota State is the only team in the top 15 of both statistical categories.

SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
Middle Tennessee enters Friday night's matchup with a 3-8 record, riding a seven-game losing skid by playing one of the nation's toughest schedules. The Blue Raiders are coming off an 84-62 setback at Toledo (Dec. 15). MT has two common opponents with Ole Miss, dropping games to Butler (84-53) and Vanderbilt (79-51). Tupelo, Mississippi, native Antonio Green leads Middle Tennessee in scoring at 18.0 ppg, the only Blue Raider in double figures. Green also knocks down free throws at a 90.3 percent clip to rank 25th nationally. Reggie Scurry (9.1 ppg) and Karl Gamble (8.8 ppg) follow Green in scoring, while serving as the team's top two rebounders at 6.1 and 7.1 per game, respectively. Nick McDevitt is in his first season at Middle Tennessee after spending the past five seasons as UNC Asheville.

SERIES HISTORY
Ole Miss is just 3-6 all time against Middle Tennessee. The Rebels won the first two games of the series, one in 1960 and one in 1963, before the Blue Raiders took six of the next seven meetings. Four of those Middle Tennessee victories were led by Kermit Davis over his current club. This season marks the sixth time in the past eight seasons that the two programs have met on the hardwood. Middle Tennessee holds a 2-1 advantage in neutral site contests. The last neutral site battle occurred Dec. 21, 2011 in Southaven, Mississippi, a 68-58 win by MT.

LAST TIME WE MET
Nick King scored 25 points and Brandon Walters added a career-high 20 as Middle Tennessee protected is home court with a 77-58 victory over Ole Miss a season ago (Dec. 9, 2017). With the win, Middle Tennessee improved to 7-0 against Power Five Conference opponents from the SEC and Big Ten since 2015. The Rebels held a 34-33 halftime lead before the Blue Raiders exploded down the stretch, outscoring Ole Miss 17-2 over the final 4:44 of the contest. Marcanvis Hymon led Ole Miss with 12 points, while Bruce Stevens and Terence Davis added 10 points each.

REBELS VS. CONFERENCE USA
Ole Miss is 40-22 all-time against the current members of the Conference USA, including 3-6 mark versus Middle Tennessee. Throughout history, the Rebels have also faced Charlotte (2-1), Florida Atlantic (1-0), Florida International (1-0), Louisiana Tech (8-5), Marshall (2-1), North Texas (2-0), Rice (2-2), Southern Miss (18-6) and Western Kentucky (1-1).

OLE MISS-MIDDLE TENNESSEE CONNECTIONS
Ole Miss coaches Kermit Davis, Win Case and Ronnie Hamilton will see a familiar team on the opposite bench Friday night. As a staff, the trio was together at Middle Tennessee for four seasons and coached the Blue Raiders to the biggest wins in program history. They helped produce a stretch in which the Blue Raiders earned three straight Conference USA championships, recorded two NCAA Tournament upsets over No. 2 seed Michigan State (2016) and No. 5 seed Minnesota (2017) and won a school-record 31 games (2016). Meanwhile, Davis and Case were in Murfreesboro for a decade together, leading MT to seven conference titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. As the head coach at Middle Tennessee for 16 seasons, Davis won 332 games to become the winningest coach in school history.

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 477 career wins (411 in Division I), 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.

TENNESSEE REBELS
Freshman John McBride is the only Rebel from the state of Tennessee (Memphis).

REBELS IN THE RANKINGS
In the first year under head coach Kermit Davis, the Rebels are making their presence known in various ratings through the first quarter of the season. In the RPI, Ole Miss is ranked 38th. The Rebels came in at No. 43 in the first KPI rankings, a metric the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee looks at in determining at-large berths. In the new NET, Ole Miss is 47th. CBS Sports Bracketologist Jerry Palm has the Rebels as a No. 7 in his current NCAA Tournament projections.

DYNAMIC DUO
Senior Terence Davis and junior Breein Tyree have become a dynamic duo in the Ole Miss backcourt, averaging 41.4 percent of the Rebels' scoring this year. Tyree leads the way at 17.0 ppg to rank fourth in the SEC, while Davis' 15.8 ppg rank 10th. The pair have combined for nine 20-point games so far this season, including three games in which they both reached the 20-point plateau. Davis produced a single game season high of 30 points at Butler (Nov. 16), and Tyree has the second-highest output with his career-best 28 points versus Baylor (Nov. 23).

WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN
Did you know that the Rebels have won five consecutive games for the first time since the start of the 2016-17 season? During this stretch, Ole Miss has shot over 50 percent in each game to bring the season total to six, surpassing last season's total. The Rebels eclipsed 50 percent from the field in five games throughout the entire 2017-18 season. Ole Miss leads the SEC in field goal percentage (50.6), a mark that ranks seventh nationally.

REBELS USE 28-0 RUN TO DOWN MOCS
An incredible 28-0 run early in the second half flipped the game in favor of Ole Miss, as the Rebels rallied for a 90-70 victory over Chattanooga Sunday night at The Pavilion. Trailing by six with less than 17 minutes to go, the Rebels held the Mocs scoreless for nearly seven minutes en route to scoring 28 straight points and earning their fifth consecutive victory. Ole Miss also shot over 50 percent for the fifth game in-a-row, setting a new Pavilion record with a 61.5 percent (32 of 52) clip. Terence Davis and Breein Tyree scored 40 of the team's 90 points with 20 apiece. Davis also added team highs in assists (7) and rebounds (5), while Tyree sparked the big run with 18 of his 20 points coming in the second half. The junior guard was limited to eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, but he brought a spark coming out of the locker room. Bruce Stevens recorded 15 points off the bench on 6 of 7 shooting. Junior center Dominik Olejniczak scored seven points, while proving to be a big threat on the defensive end of the floor with team highs in steals (3) and blocks (2).

WHAT A RUN!
Trailing 45-39 against Chattanooga (Dec. 16) with 16:52 to go in the game, the Rebels went on a 28-0 run over 6:38 to take a 22-point lead. The 28 consecutive points serve as the second-largest run in college basketball this season. Auburn holds the top spot, leading Mississippi College 68-45 before going on a 35-0 run to make it a 58-point game (Nov. 14). Following Ole Miss, Northwestern is third thanks to a 25-0 second half run in a comeback victory over DePaul (Dec. 8).

OLE MISS IN THE MUSIC CITY
Friday's matchup will be the first of at least a few games in Nashville for the Rebels this season. In two weeks, Ole Miss returns to the Music City to tip off SEC play against Vanderbilt (Jan. 5). Closing out the regular season, the Rebels will join the other 13 conference schools at Bridgestone Arena for the SEC Tournament (March 13-17).

JELLY OF THE MONTH CLUB
The Rebels are 4-0 in the month of December for the first time since 2015 and only the second time in the last seven seasons. Ole Miss closed out the 2015 calendar year with a perfect 5-0 mark during the final month.

MADE PRETTY GOOD TIME
Averaging 33.1 minutes per game, sophomore guard Devontae Shuler leads the Rebels in playing time and ranks third in the SEC. He has played at least 30 minutes in eight the Rebels' 10 games, including a career-high 38 minutes in the win over Baylor (Nov. 23). 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).

CONVERTING AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
As a team, Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks 12th nationally in free throw percentage (77.3). Ten of the 11 Rebels that have attempted free throws this season are shooting over 70 percent from the stripe. In the Emerald Coast Classic 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). The team followed that up by shooting 87.0 percent (20 of 23) from the stripe to help defeat San Diego. After going 0 for 1 in the first half at Illinois State (Dec. 8), the Rebels went a perfect 14 of 14 over the final 20 minutes to finish the game at 93.3 percent. Breein Tyree leads the Rebels as a 81.8 percent free throw shooter (45 of 55), ranking fifth the SEC.

STEADY TYREE
Junior guard Breein Tyree is one the veteran leaders on the floor for Ole Miss. His consistency has allowed him to become the team's leading scorer, averaging 17.0 ppg to rank fourth in the SEC. He also ranks fifth in the conference in free throw percentage (81.8 percent). Tyree has scored at least 20 points in five of the last seven games. He had the best game of his career in the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic (Nov. 23), putting up a personal-best 28 points to lead Ole Miss to a victory over Baylor. He followed that up with a 14-point performance versus Cincinnati (Nov. 24) before tallying a team-high 22 points against San Diego (Nov. 28). Facing ULM (Dec. 1), Tyree led the Rebels once again with 20 points. He scored a game-high 22 points, including 17 in the second half, to help Ole Miss earn a hard-fought road win at Illinois State (Dec. 8). Tyree scored eight of the team's final 10 points to put the game on ice, going a perfect 7 of 7 at the line. He also recorded team highs in rebounds (7) and assists (6), while only committing one turnover. The rebounds and assists were a season high for Tyree. In Sunday's win over Chattanooga, Tyree sparked a 28-0 run and scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half.

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 10 games as a starting guard, he has stuffed box scores by leading the Rebels in minutes (33.1 per game) and steals (1.7 per game), while ranking second in assists (3.2 per game). Shuler ranks in the SEC's top 10 in three categories, sitting at third in playing time, sixth in steals and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.7). In the Emerald Coast Classic versus Cincinnati (Nov. 24), he tallied a career-high 24 points to best his previous high of 19 last season against South Dakota State. In the road win at Illinois State (Dec. 8), he matched his career high with four steals, the third time he's accomplished that feat. In Jackson, Shuler scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Rebels to a win over Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 12).

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Terence Davis has 1,169 points to rank 29th in Ole Miss history. He is on pace to land inside the top 20, and with a big year, could find himself in the top 10 to end his Rebel career. With 15 points in Jackson last week, Davis jumped Jack Marshall (1,137) to crack the top 30. Scoring 20 points for the 17th time in his career in a win over Chattanooga (Dec. 16), he passed Ken Turner (1,159). Next on his chase up the chart are Rahim Lockhart (1,160) and Rod Barnes (1,201). John Stroud, one of this year's analyst for games on the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network (radio), is the Rebels' all-time scoring leader with 2,328 points.

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
Following the holiday break, the Rebels close out the 2018 calendar year by hosting Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 29). The Saturday afternoon non-conference matchup will begin at 1 p.m. CT. from The Pavilion. The game will also be available on the airwaves of the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.

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Players Mentioned

Terence Davis

Marcanvis Hymon

John McBride

Dominik Olejniczak

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

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