Men's Hoops Ready to Battle No. 10 Auburn at The Pavilion Wednesday

			OLE MISS (11-2, 1-0 SEC) vs. #10/11 AUBURN (11-2, 0-0 SEC) Wednesday, Jan. 9 • 6 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Replica Jersey Giveaway (First 1,000 Fans)
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GAME 14
Matchup: #10/11 Auburn (11-2, 0-0 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (11-2, 1-0 SEC)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: ESPN2
   Karl Ravech, play-by-play
   Seth Greenberg, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss IMG Sports Network (XM-382)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: WatchESPN.com
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com
Series: Auburn leads 77-58
Last Meeting: No. 11 Auburn won 79-70
   Jan. 30, 2018 (Oxford, Miss.)

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Ole Miss begins SEC play 1-0 after earning an 81-71 road win at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
- The Rebels' week consists of two games against ranked opponents.
- Ole Miss has won 10 of the last 12 matchups versus Auburn.
- Auburn is the third top 10 team to play in the history of The Pavilion, the first since No. 5 Baylor (Jan. 28, 2017).
- The Rebels have won eight straight games for the first time since winning nine straight in 2012-13, when Ole Miss captured the SEC Tournament title.
- 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.
- Breein Tyree is the only player to rank in the SEC's top five in scoring (2nd-18.4 ppg), field goal percentage (3rd-53.7), three-point field goal percentage (4th-42.6) and free throw percentage (4th-83.9).
- Tyree is the reigning SEC Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 31 points in the win over Vanderbilt, the most points scored by an SEC player to open up conference play and the most by a Rebel this season.
- A Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection by the coaches, Terence Davis ranks eighth in the conference in shooting (49.7 percent) as well as ninth in scoring (15.2 ppg) and assists (3.7 per game).
- Making 134 three-pointers over his career, Terence Davis is two away from cracking the Ole Miss top 10 in career threes made; Davis ranks 27th in Ole Miss history with 1,208 career points and has 18 career 20-point games.
- 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 480 career wins, Kermit Davis ranks 136th all-time and 31st among active Division I head coaches.
- Kermit Davis is the third coach in school history to win 11 of his first 13 games at Ole Miss.
- Ole Miss went undefeated in the month of December for just the third time since 1950.
- The Rebels hold an all-time record of 1,304-1,304 (109th season).

SEC LEADERS
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in free throw shooting (76.6 percent), while ranking second in field goal percentage (50.5), three-point percentage (38.3), rebounding margin (+7.0) and rebounding defense (28.8).
- Breein Tyree is the only SEC player to rank top five in the conference in scoring (2nd-18.4 ppg), field goal percentage (3rd-53.7 percent), three-point field goal percentage (4th-42.6 percent) and free throw percentage (4th-83.9 percent).
- Tyree also ranks sixth in playing time (31.8 minutes per game).
- Devontae Shuler ranks second in playing time (32.6 minutes per game), fifth in steals (1.7 per game) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (2.0).
- Terence Davis ranks eighth in field goal shooting (49.7 percent), while ranking ninth in scoring (15.2 ppg) and assists (3.7 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 (50.5 percent), free throw percentage (76.6) and rebounding margin (+7.0). The Rebels are 10th in the nation in field goal percentage, 16th from the charity stripe and 27th in rebounding margin. Ole Miss is one of four teams to rank top 30 nationally in both shooting categories, joining Hofstra, Liberty and South Dakota State.

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 to determine at-large berths, Ole Miss is ranked 35th. Andy Katz of NCAA.com has Ole Miss projected to be a No. 9 seed come March. 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 is the first team out if the season ended today. The Rebels will look to be on the right side of the bubble marching through conference play.

SCOUTING AUBURN
Auburn enters Wednesday's matchup with an 11-2 record heading into SEC play. The Tigers have had significant time off, last playing Dec. 29 with a 95-49 home victory over North Florida. Eight of Auburn's 11 victories have come at home, and the Tigers are 1-1 in true road games. Auburn is led by strong guard play in Bryce Brown (15.3 ppg) and Jared Harper (14.9 ppg). Harper is the conference leader in assists (6.8 per game), free throw percentage (86.7 percent) and playing time (33.2 minutes per game). As a team, the Tigers lead the SEC in offensive rebounding (15.4 per game) and threes made (10.5 per game). On the defensive side of the court, Auburn averages 10.4 steals and 6.2 blocks to go along with a +7.4 turnover margin to top the conference. Bruce Pearl is in his fifth season guiding the Auburn program. He is in his 24th season as a head coach with stops at Southern Indiana (1992-2001), Milwaukee (2001-05) and Tennessee (2005-11) before arriving at Auburn in 2014.

SERIES HISTORY
Auburn leads the all-time series 77-58, but the Rebels have won 10 and the last 12 over the Tigers and 13 of the last 17. Prior to last season's sweep, the Rebels had a 10-game winning streak in the series. It was the longest in school history against an SEC foe, bettering a pair of eight-game streaks against LSU and Mississippi State. During the winning streak, five of the Rebels' victories occurred in Oxford, four in Auburn and one at the SEC Tournament (2012). Ole Miss holds a 42-24 advantage in Oxford, including a 2-1 mark at The Pavilion.

LAST TIME WE MET
Ole Miss hung around amidst a slew of foul trouble and some struggles on the offensive end, but the No. 11 Auburn Tigers imposed their will down the stretch, particularly on the glass, as the Rebels fell 79-70 at The Pavilion (Jan. 30, 2018). The first half was a sluggish one on either side as both teams struggled to get into a rhythm. This could partly be attributed to the 25 total fouls called in the first half that saw seven different Rebels pick up two fouls, including forwards Bruce Stevens, Marcanvis Hymon and Dominik Olejniczak. Ole Miss fought through it. The majority of Deandre Burnett's 12 first half points came in the final minutes of the opening half, preventing Auburn from pushing to a sizable lead. The Rebels went into the halftime locker room trailing 38-36 and were still very much in the ballgame. Burnett finished with 16 to lead all Ole Miss scorers. Terence Davis, Markel Crawford and Devontae Shuler each had 11 points on the night. The two teams battled back and forth in the early stages of the second half. Ole Miss trimmed the lead to one point a number of times, but Auburn seemed to have an answer each time. The Tigers didn't shoot the basketball particularly well on the night at 26 of 67 for 38 percent, but imposed their will on the Rebels on the glass in the second half. Auburn grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, 12 coming in the final 20 minutes and parlayed those to a total of 17 second chance points and 32 points in the paint total.

INDIVIDUAL REBELS VERSUS AUBURN
Terence Davis and Breein Tyree have had some of the biggest games of their careers against the Auburn Tigers. As a sophomore, Davis scored a team-high 26 points as the Rebels rallied from 23 points down in the second half to beat the Tigers 90-84 at The Pavilion (Feb. 11, 2017). At Auburn last year, Tyree tallied 24 points which was a career high at the time (Jan. 9, 2018). He knocked down four three-pointers, a personal best that he's achieved four times throughout his Ole Miss career.

BACK AT .500
With an 11-2 start to the season, Ole Miss is back to a .500 all-time record (1,304-1,304). At the beginning of last season, the Rebels went over .500 for the first time since 1959 before ending the season nine games under .500 through 108 seasons of basketball (1,293-1,302).

TYREE NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading the Rebels to an 81-71 win at Vanderbilt to begin conference play, Ole Miss junior guard Breein Tyree was named SEC Player of the Week. Scoring the most points by any SEC player over the weekend, Tyree earned the accolade from the conference office for the first time in his career. With a career-high 31 points, Tyree put the team on his back and led the Rebels to their eighth straight victory. Tyree's output was the most points scored by a Rebel and a Vanderbilt opponent this season. No other player scored more than 23 points in an SEC opener. Making a career-high 11 shots, Tyree went 11 of 16 from the floor for a 68.6 percent clip. He got off to a hot start, draining his first six shots from the field and scoring 17 of his team's 35 first half points. The Somerset, New Jersey, native produced his first career 30-point game and has scored at least 20 points in seven of the last 10 games. He was a perfect 6 of 6 from the line, making four free throws during the final six minutes to help keep Ole Miss ahead late in the game. Tyree is the first Rebel to be named SEC Player of the Week since teammate Terence Davis earned the honor as a sophomore (Jan. 23, 2017).

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 ppg 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. Tyree got off to a fast start to SEC play on Saturday with his career-high 31 points.

FAST START FOR KERMIT DAVIS
With the victory at Vanderbilt on Saturday, head coach Kermit Davis became the third coach in Ole Miss history to win 11 of his first 13 games guiding the Rebels. The Mississippi native joined the likes of former Ole Miss coaches 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, got off an 11-2 start upon arrival in 2007.

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.

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 18.4 ppg to rank second in the SEC. He also ranks third in the conference in field goal percentage (53.7 percent), as well as fourth in free throw percentage (83.9 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (42.6 percent). The Somerset, New Jersey, native is the only player that ranks in the SEC's top five of all four categories. Tyree has scored at least 20 points in seven of the last 10 games. In the semifinals of the Emerald Coast Classic (Nov. 23), he put up a 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). 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. In Nashville, he tallied a team-high 24 points versus Middle Tennessee (Dec. 21) before exploding for a career-high 31 points against Vanderbilt (Jan. 5).

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 480 career wins (414 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.

OLE MISS EARNS ROAD WIN IN SEC OPENER BEHIND TYREE'S BIG NIGHT
Breein Tyree scored a career-high 31 points, and the Ole Mis men's basketball team took its winning streak into SEC play with an 81-71 win over Vanderbilt in the conference opener at Memorial Gymnasium (Jan. 5). The Rebels won their eighth straight game, marking their longest winning streak in six seasons. Four Rebels scored in double figures led by Tyree. Terence Davis, who scored all of his points in the second half, shot 50 percent from the field with a pair of three-pointers. Devontae Schuler had 11 of his own, going 7 of 8 from the charity stripe with seven rebounds and six assists. Blake Hinson scored in double figures (11) for the fourth time this season. The Rebels cashed in at the free throw line, going 19 of 22 (86.4 percent) for the game, including 14 of 15 (93.3 percent) in the second half which allowed Ole Miss to keep the lead down the stretch.

DYNAMIC DUO
Senior Terence Davis and junior Breein Tyree have become a dynamic duo in the Ole Miss backcourt, averaging 42.2 percent of the Rebels' scoring this year. Tyree leads the way at 18.4 ppg to rank second in the SEC, while Davis' 15.2 ppg rank ninth. The pair have combined for 12 20-point games so far this season, including three games in which they both reached the 20-point plateau. They also have one 30-point game to each of their credit this season, both occurring away from home. Tyree scored a career-high 31 in the victory at Vanderbilt (Jan. 5), and Davis tallied his season high of 30 at Butler (Nov. 16). Both Rebels also crack the SEC's top 10 in field goal percentage. Tyree leads Ole Miss and is third in the conference at 53.7 percent, while Davis is eighth at 49.7 percent.

WWWWWWWW
The Rebels have won eight consecutive games for the first time since the 2012-13 season when the team cut down the nets at the SEC Tournament. During this stretch, Ole Miss has shot over 50 percent in seven of those games 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 also occurred during the 2012-13 campaign (nine times). Ole Miss ranks second in the SEC in field goal percentage (50.5), a mark that is 10th nationally.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Through 100 career games, senior Terence Davis has 1,208 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 15.2 ppg to rank ninth in the SEC and shooting at a 49.7 percent clip (eighth in the SEC). The Southaven, Mississippi, native also paces the team in assists (3.7 per game), cracking the conference's top 10 and coming in at ninth. With 11 points at Vanderbilt, Davis passed former Rebel player and head coach Rod Barnes (1,201). Next on his chase up the Ole Miss scoring chart are Walter Actwood (1,216) and Dwayne Curtis (1,232). 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. Davis also ranks 10th all-time in three-pointers attempted, and making two more from long range, he'll crack the Ole Miss top 10 in three-pointers made in a career.

MINUTE MONSTER
Averaging 32.6 minutes per game, sophomore guard Devontae Shuler leads the Rebels in playing time and ranks second in the SEC. He has played at least 30 minutes in 10 of the Rebels' 13 games, including a career-high 38 minutes in the win over Baylor (Nov. 23). He began the SEC portion of the schedule by logging 37 minutes at Vanderbilt. 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 16th nationally in free throw percentage (76.6). Eight of the 11 Rebels that have attempted free throws this season are shooting over 75 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. In Saturday's win at Vanderbilt, Ole Miss went 14 of 15 in the second half to remain in front down the stretch. Breein Tyree leads the Rebels as a 83.9 percent free throw shooter (52 of 62), ranking fourth in the SEC among qualifiers.

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 13 games as a starting guard, he has stuffed box scores by leading the Rebels in minutes (32.6 per game) and steals (1.7 per game), while ranking second in assists (3.5 per game). Shuler ranks in the SEC's top 10 in three categories, sitting at second in playing time, fifth in steals and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (2.0). 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).

LIGHTING UP THE PAVILION
The offense has put up some record shooting percentages early in the first year under Kermit Davis. Through the first five home games of the Davis era, Ole Miss boasted the top three shooting performances in The Pavilion. Going 32 of 52 (61.5 percent) in a victory versus Chattanooga (Dec. 16), Ole Miss tallied its best shooting percentage since going 28 of 45 (62.2 percent) in a 78-51 win at LSU nearly eight years ago (Jan. 22, 2011). The Pavilion record broke the previous best mark of 61.1 percent (33 of 54) in a win over San Diego last month (Nov. 28). In this year's season opener versus Western Michigan (Nov. 10), the Rebels shot 54.1 percent (33 of 61) to match the previous top Pavilion percentage (Feb. 14, 2017 vs. LSU). No opposing team has shot better than 53 percent in The Pavilion.

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
After hosting a top 10 team at home, the Rebels continue the SEC gauntlet by facing another ranked team. Ole Miss heads to Starkville to battle No. 14 Mississippi State for a Saturday afternoon matchup. The rivalry will tip off at 12 p.m. CT on CBS and can be heard on the airwaves of the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network.

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Players Mentioned

Deandre Burnett

Markel Crawford

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Marcanvis Hymon

Dominik Olejniczak

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

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