Ole Miss Starts SEC Play with Trip to Face Vanderbilt

			OLE MISS (10-2, 0-0 SEC) at VANDERBILT (9-3, 0-0 SEC) Saturday, Jan. 5 • 7:30 PM • Nashville, Tenn. Memorial Gymnasium (14,316)
Watch • Listen • Live Stats • Buy Tickets Ole Miss Game Notes • Vanderbilt Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

GAME 13
Matchup: Ole Miss (10-2, 0-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (9-3, 0-0 SEC)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019
Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Arena: Memorial Gymnasium (14,316)
Television: SEC Network
   Dave Neal, play-by-play
   Jon Sundvold, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss IMG Sports Network (XM-381)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Series: Vanderbilt leads 76-45
Last Meeting: Vanderbilt won 82-69
   March 3, 2018 (Oxford, Miss.)

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Ole Miss has won six of the last eight matchups against Vanderbilt.
- The Rebels and Commodores begin SEC action after ending conference play against one another a season ago.
- Bruce Stevens (17.0 ppg), Terence Davis (16.0 ppg) and Breein Tyree (11.0 ppg) average double figures in their careers facing Vanderbilt.
- Ole Miss went undefeated in the month of December for just the third time since 1950.
- The Rebels have won seven straight games for the first time since closing out the 2015 calendar year with seven consecutive wins; a victory Saturday would mark the longest winning streak since nine straight in 2012-13.
- Ole Miss has shot over 50 percent in eight games this year, the most since 2012-13 (9).
- The Rebels are the only team in the country to rank top 30 in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and rebounding margin.
- Ole Miss is coming off a 30-point win over FGCU, the largest margin of victory since Dec. 22, 2016 (34-point win over South Alabama); the Rebels also made a season-high 12 three-pointers.
- Breein Tyree is the only SEC player to rank top 10 in scoring (4th-17.3 ppg), field goal percentage (5th-51.9), three-point field goal percentage (8th-41.3) and free throw percentage (7th-82.1).
- Devontae Shuler ranks top 10 in the SEC in minutes per game (5th-32.8), steals per game (6th-1.7) and assist/turnover ratio (7th-1.7).
- A Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection by the coaches, Terence Davis ranks 28th in Ole Miss history with 1,197 career points; Davis has 18 career 20-point games.
- Breein Tyree (12.3 ppg) and Bruce Stevens (11.8 ppg) increased their scoring in SEC play last season.
- 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 479 career wins, Kermit Davis ranks 137th all-time and 31st among active Division I head coaches.
- Kermit Davis is the fourth coach in school history to win 10 of his first 12 games at Ole Miss.

SEC LEADERS
- Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC in field goal percentage (50.7 percent), free throw shooting (75.7 percent), three-point field goal percentage (38.6 percent) and rebounding defense (28.3).
- Breein Tyree is the only SEC player to rank top 10 in the conference in scoring (4th-17.3 ppg), field goal percentage (5th-51.9 percent), three-point field goal percentage (8th-41.3 percent) and free throw percentage (7th-82.1 percent).
- Devontae Shuler ranks fifth in playing time (32.2 minutes per game), sixth in steals (1.7 per game) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.7).
- Terence Davis ranks eighth in scoring (15.5 ppg) and field goal shooting (49.7 percent), while ranking ninth in assists (3.9 per game).

RARE COMPANY
Ole Miss is the only team in the country to rank top 30 nationally in all three of these statistical categories: field goal percentage (50.7 percent), free throw percentage (75.7 percent) and rebounding margin (+7.5). The Rebels are 12th in the nation in field goal percentage, 24th in rebounding margin and 28th from the charity stripe. Ole Miss is one of six teams to rank top 30 nationally in both shooting categories, joining Gonzaga, Hofstra, Liberty, Lipscomb and South Dakota State.

SCOUTING VANDERBILT
The Commodores enter Saturday's SEC opener with an 9-3 record, including back-to-back victories to close the 2018 calendar year. Four of the past five games occurred on Vanderbilt's home floor, and those four games resulted in victories. One of those wins was over No. 18 Arizona State. As a team, Vanderbilt has been successful at getting to the foul line, leading the SEC in free throw attempts (328) and free throws made (238). The Commodores also rank 25th nationally with 5.1 blocks per game. Before going down with an injury, freshman Darius Garland led Vanderbilt in scoring (16.2 ppg). Four other Commodores average double figures, including freshman Simisola Shittu (14.2 ppg). Bryce Drew is in his third season as Vanderbilt's head coach.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's matchup will be the 122nd meeting between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt on the hardwood. The Commodores hold a 76-45 lead in the series, which began in 1925, but Ole Miss has won six of the last eight meetings. Vanderbilt has a 47-8 advantage in games played in Nashville. However, the Rebels have won the last three matchups in Memorial Gymnasium, including a pair of double-digit victories (89-79 in 2013, 63-52 in 2014, 85-78 in 2016).

LAST TIME WE MET
Ole Miss traded blows with Vanderbilt for the better part of 30 minutes in a closely-contested game, but the Commodores pulled away in the final eight minutes for an 82-69 defeat of the Rebels to close the regular season (March 3, 2018). Bruce Stevens led the Rebels with 17 points, and Terence Davis poured in 15 of his own. Vanderbilt's Jeff Roberson led all scorers with 19 points. A back-and-forth, offensive-focused first half saw the Commodores take a 45-44 lead in the locker room. Fifteen of Stevens' 17 points came on 6 of 7 shooting in the first 20 minutes. The Rebels' largest lead of the night came when it led 29-22 with just under seven minutes to go in the first half. Vanderbilt settled in, and a 16-4 run helped give it a lead going into the locker room. The difference in the second half was undoubtedly Vanderbilt's ability to make perimeter jump shots. The Commodores went 5 of 8 from deep in the second half and shot 51.7 percent from the field as it pulled away from the Rebels over the course of the final eight minutes of the game.

REBELS FACING COMMODORES
Three Rebels average double figures against Vanderbilt. Bruce Stevens scored 17 points in last season's contest, his only game against the Commodores. Appearing in two games apiece versus Vanderbilt, Terence Davis and Breein Tyree average 16.0 ppg and 11.0 ppg, respectively.

RETURN TO THE MUSIC CITY
Ole Miss is making its second trip to Nashville in as many weeks. On Dec. 21, the Rebels took down Middle Tennessee 74-56 in Bridgestone Arena. With the SEC Tournament returning to Nashville in March, the matchup versus Vanderbilt won't be the last time Ole Miss is in the Music City this season.

STEPPING UP IN SEC PLAY
Bruce Stevens and Breein Tyree played their best during the conference slate last season. After averaging 9.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg to begin his Ole Miss career, Stevens improved in SEC play by bumping his averages to 11.8 ppg and 5.4 rpg. Meanwhile, Tyree improved his scoring for the second straight year in conference action, going from 8.3 ppg in non-conference to 12.3 in SEC play. As a freshman, Tyree emerged to rank fourth on the team in scoring at 9.3 ppg in SEC contests, up from his 2.1 ppg before the start of conference play.

FAST START FOR KERMIT DAVIS
With the victory over FGCU on Saturday, head coach Kermit Davis became the fourth coach in Ole Miss history to win 10 of his first 12 games guiding the Rebels. The Mississippi native joined the likes of former Ole Miss coaches B.Y. Walton (1912), Homer Hazel (1926-30) and Andy Kennedy (2007-18). Hazel won 20 of his first 22 games, extending into his second season as head coach after going 16-2 during the 1925-26 campaign. Kennedy, the winningest coach in program history, went got off an 11-2 start upon arrival in 2007. More than a century ago in 1912, Walton posted a 10-2 record.

UNDERRATED REBELS
Coming off a season in which they finished 12-20 (5-13 SEC) and last in the conference, the Rebels were predicted to finish 14th in the SEC this year by the media. However, Ole Miss is used to being underrated before the season begins. The Rebels have finished above their preseason projection six of the last seven seasons since the league moved away from a divisional format, the outlier being the 2017-18 campaign.

MAKING THE MARCH TOWARDS MARCH MADNESS
In the first year under head coach Kermit Davis, the Rebels are making their presence known in early conversations regarding the NCAA Tournament. In the new NET, a metric the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee looks at in determining at-large berths, Ole Miss is ranked 42nd. CBS Sports Bracketologist Jerry Palm has the Rebels as a No. 10 seed in his current NCAA Tournament projections. According to ESPN Bracketlogoist Joe Lunardi, Ole Miss would be the last at-large team to make the tournament if the season ended today. The Rebels will look to remain on the right side of the bubble marching through conference play.

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 31st among active Division I head coaches with 479 career wins (413 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.

REBELS WIN SEVENTH STRAIGHT, SOAR OVER EAGLES
Ole Miss finished off a perfect month of December with an 87-57 victory over Florida Gulf Coast in front of 7,551 fans in The Pavilion (Dec. 29). The wire-to-wire win was the Rebels' seventh consecutive victory, their longest since the end of the 2015 calendar year. Five Rebels scored in double figures led by Terence Davis, who tallied 10 points in each half for his 18th career 20-point game. Breein Tyree added 14 points to go along with a season-high six assists and a career-best four steals. Blake Hinson, Devontae Shuler and Bruce Stevens tallied 11 points apiece. Ole Miss shot 51.7 percent (31 of 60) from the field, boasting a field goal percentage above 50 percent for the seventh straight game. The Rebels also knocked down a season-high 12 3-pointers (12 of 25) in their largest margin of victory (30) since the 2016-17 campaign (92-58 win over South Alabama on Dec. 22, 2016).

DYNAMIC DUO
Senior Terence Davis and junior Breein Tyree have become a dynamic duo in the Ole Miss backcourt, averaging 41.3 percent of the Rebels' scoring this year. Tyree leads the way at 17.3 ppg to rank fourth in the SEC, while Davis' 15.5 ppg rank eighth. The pair have combined for 11 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). Both Rebels also crack the SEC's top 10 in field goal percentage. Tyree leads Ole Miss and is fifth in the conference at 51.9 percent, while Davis is eighth at 49.7 percent.

WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN
The Rebels have won seven consecutive games for the first time since the start of the 2015-16 season. During this stretch, Ole Miss has shot over 50 percent in each game to bring the season total to eight, surpassing last season's total. The Rebels eclipsed 50 percent from the field in five games throughout the entire 2017-18 season. The last time Ole Miss recorded at least eight games shooting better than 50 percent from the field, the team cut down the nets at the SEC Tournament (nine games in 2012-13). Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC in field goal percentage (50.7), a mark that is 12th nationally.

A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
The Rebels went 6-0 in the month of December, going undefeated in the final month of the calendar for just the third time since 1950. Ole Miss went 5-0 during December 2015, while posting a 7-0 December record during the 2007-08 NIT Final Four campaign. Prior to 1950, four games or less were played during the final month of the calendar year each season.

MINUTE MONSTER
Averaging 32.2 minutes per game, sophomore guard Devontae Shuler leads the Rebels in playing time and ranks fifth in the SEC. He has played at least 30 minutes in nine of the Rebels' 12 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 ranks second in the SEC and 28th nationally in free throw percentage (75.7). Nine 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 (Nov. 24), 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 (Nov. 28). 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 82.1 percent free throw shooter (46 of 56), ranking seventh in the SEC.

TYREE ON A TEAR
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 17.3 ppg to rank fourth in the SEC. He also ranks fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (51.9 percent), seventh in free throw percentage (82.1 percent) and eighth in three-point field goal percentage (41.3 percent). Tyree has scored at least 20 points in seven of the last nine 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. In a win over Chattanooga (Dec. 16), Tyree sparked a 28-0 run and scored 17 of his game-high 20 points in the second half. Two weeks ago in Nashville, he tallied career highs in field goals made (10) and threes (4) en route to a team-high 24 points versus Middle Tennessee (Dec. 21).

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 12 games as a starting guard, he has stuffed box scores by leading the Rebels in minutes (32.2 per game) and steals (1.7 per game), while ranking second in assists (3.3 per game). Shuler ranks in the SEC's top 10 in three categories, sitting at fifth 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
Through 100 career games, senior Terence Davis has 1,197 points to rank 28th 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. In his final year on campus, Davis is averaging 15.5 ppg to rank eighth in the SEC in both scoring and field goal percentage (49.7). The Southaven, Mississippi, native also paces the team in assists (3.9 per game), cracking the conference's top 10 and coming in at ninth. Next on his chase up the Ole Miss scoring chart are Rod Barnes (1,201) and Walter Actwood (1,216). 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
After beginning SEC play on the road, the Rebels host No. 12 Auburn for their first conference home game (Jan. 9). The Wednesday night contest is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and can be heard on the airwaves of the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.

RebelsCalendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

The University of Mississippi Athletics