Men's Hoops Battles Undefeated Western Michigan Friday

			OLE MISS (2-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN (3-0, 0-0 MAC) Friday, November 15 • 6 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Watch • Listen • Live Stats • Buy Tickets • OleMissGameday.com • Game Preview Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF) • Western Michigan Game Notes (PDF) • SEC Game Notes (PDF)

GAME 3
Date: Friday, Nov. 15, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: SEC Network+
   Richard Cross, play-by-play
   John Stroud, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Sports Network (Sirius/XM Internet - 976)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Sean Tuohy, analyst
Live Video: ESPN.com/ESPN app
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com/TuneIn app
Series: Ole Miss leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Ole Miss won 90-64
   Nov. 10, 2018
   Oxford, Miss.

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Ole Miss and Western Michigan never met during the first 108 seasons of Rebel Basketball, but now the two teams are facing off for the second consecutive season.
- Friday's matchup is a campus game part of the NIT Tip-Off.
- The Rebels' 90-64 victory over the Broncos last season was the team's first game under Kermit Davis.
- Breein Tyree (14) and Devontae Shuler (13) combined for 27 points in last year's win over Western Michigan.
- The Rebels rank fifth in the country in scoring defense, allowing only 49.0 points per game.
- Ole Miss leads the SEC with 13.0 steals per game, ranking ninth nationally.
- The Rebels have forced 20.0 turnovers per game, leading to 22.5 points per game off turnovers.
- Ole Miss is coming off a 68-55 victory over Norfolk State in which the trio of KJ Buffen, Devontae Shuler and Breein Tyree outscored the Spartans by themselves, combining for 56 points.
- KJ Buffen had a career game against NSU with personal bests in points (23) and rebounds (9).
- On the first day of the early signing period Wednesday, Ole Miss signed top-50 prospect Matthew Murrell, the highest ranked recruit in program history.
- Ole Miss has dominated the paint over the first two games of the season, outscoring the opposition 34.0-17.0 per game in the area.
- The media predicted the Rebels to finish eighth in the SEC; Ole Miss as finished higher than the preseason projection in seven of the last eight seasons.
- Breein Tyree is the SEC's leading active scorer with 1,214 career points, which also ranks 28th in Ole Miss history.
- Kermit Davis is in his 25th season as a collegiate head coach, including 22nd in NCAA Division I.
- Ole Miss is one of only 27 teams to have one senior or less; the Rebels also have the fifth-most freshmen on a roster in the country, one of eight programs to have at least seven freshmen.
- Ole Miss has more than 5,100 season ticket holders, a new program record.
- Breein Tyree is one of 20 guards named to the Jerry West Award Watch List (shooting guard of the year).

SEC LEADERS
- Ole Miss leads the SEC in steals per game (13.0).
- KJ Buffen ranks second in defensive rebounding, pulling down 7.5 defensive boards per game.
- KJ Buffen, Devontae Shuler and Breein Tyree rank fourth in the SEC averaging 3.0 steals per game.
- KJ Buffen also ranks fourth in field goal percentage (73.7) and rebounding (9.0 per game).
- Breein Tyree ranks fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.3)

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos entered Friday's contest undefeated at 3-0, averaging 93.7 ppg as the 14th-highest scoring team in the country. WMU is facing a Mississippi team for the second time this week after defeating Mississippi Valley State 91-81 Tuesday night (Nov. 12). Prior to that, the Broncos collected a thrilling 115-110 triple overtime victory at Milwaukee. Western Michigan has gotten to the free throw line more than any team in the nation (123), while making the most free throws (93) as well. Preseason First Team All-MAC honoree Michael Flowers leads the Broncos in scoring at 25.3 ppg, ranking 17th nationwide. The junior guard has been on fire from beyond the arc, making 13 of his 17 attempts for a 76.5 percent clip (third nationally). Brandon Johnson is averaging a double-double for the Broncos, recording 16.0 ppg and 10.7 rpg. Western Michigan was picked to finish fifth in the Mid-American Conference's West Division, and Steve Hawkins is in his 17th season as head coach of the Broncos.

FACING #MACTION
Ole Miss is 3-3 all-time against current members of the Mid-American Conference. While the Rebels are 1-0 versus Western Michigan, they have played three other MAC teams throughout their 110-year history: Ball State (0-1), Bowling Green (1-2) and Toledo (1-0). Prior to the first meeting with Western Michigan last season, the last time Ole Miss faced a MAC school the Rebels were upset by Bowling Green 82-78 in overtime, tipping off the 2001-02 season in Fairbanks, Alaska.

ONLY TIME WE MET
Converting 24 turnovers into 39 points, a scrappy defense lifted Ole Miss to a 90-64 victory over Western Michigan in the 2018-19 season opener (Nov. 10, 2018). Four Rebels recorded double figures, including a combined 29 from D.C. Davis and Terence Davis, as Ole Miss won its first game under new head coach Kermit Davis. While the Rebels put up 90 points, the story of the game was the team's tenacious defense. Ole Miss registered 15 steals throughout the contest, the most in a game in six seasons. Western Michigan turned the ball over in eight of its first nine possessions, and the Rebels took advantage to jump out to a 20-4 lead that they would never surrender. Terence Davis led all scorers with 17 points, all coming in a first half in which the senior guard was 7 of 9 from the floor. Breein Tyree followed with 14 points, while Devontae Shuler tallied 11 of his 13 points over the final 20 minutes. Off the bench, D.C. Davis provided a spark with 12 points with a perfect shooting display. The Purvis, Mississippi, native went 4 of 4 from the field, 2 of 2 from beyond the arc and also made both of his free throw attempts. Ole Miss boasted a 54.1 field goal percentage (33 of 61), tying its best ever in the history of The Pavilion at the time. The Rebels dominated the paint 38-18, while also holding a 12-0 advantage in fastbreak points.

REBEL-BRONCO CONNECTION
- Ole Miss junior Bryce Williams and Western Michigan freshman Chase Barrs both hail from Tampa, Florida. Williams attended South Sumter High School, while Barrs went to Berkeley Preparatory School.

NIT TIP-OFF MATCHUP
Friday's contest is a campus game for the NIT Tip-Off. The Rebels also host Seattle as part of the event (Nov. 19) before heading to Brooklyn, New York for the main portion of the tournament. Playing at the Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, Ole Miss will battle Penn State (Nov. 27) before facing either Oklahoma State or Syracuse (Nov. 29). The last time the Rebels competed in the NIT Tip-Off, they captured the 2013 title with wins over Georgia Tech and Penn State.

DEFENSE LEADS TO OFFENSE
Ole Miss has started the season as one of the nation's best defensive teams, allowing only 49.0 ppg to rank fifth in the country. Leading the SEC with 13.0 steals per game, the Rebels sit ninth nationally. Forcing 20.0 turnovers per game, second in the conference and 27th in the nation, Ole Miss has flipped opponent miscues into offense. The Rebels have outscored the opposition 45-21 in points off turnovers through two games, averaging to 22.5 per game.

VETERANS PAVE THE WAY IN WIN OVER NORFOLK STATE
The trio of KJ Buffen, Devontae Shuler and Breein Tyree outscored Norfolk State by themselves, combining for 56 points in the Rebels' 68-55 win Tuesday night (Nov. 12) at The Pavilion. On the other side of the floor, the Rebels limited a team averaging 96.5 ppg to a 32.7 percent (17 of 52) clip from the floor thanks in large part to their 1-3-1 zone defense. Buffen tallied a career-high 23 points and matched his best night on the glass with nine rebounds to lead Ole Miss in the win. The Gainesville, Georgia, native could not be stopped in the second half, scoring 15 points over the final 20 points. Tyree added 21 points for his 23rd career 20-point game, while Shuler recorded 12 points to go along with team highs in assists (5) and steals (4). As a squad, the Rebels shot 51.0 percent (26 of 51) and dominated the paint 38-20. Defensively, Ole Miss recorded 12 steals and forced 17 turnovers to lead to 24 points. Just like on the offensive side of the court, the veterans paced the Rebels on defense. Along with Shuler's team-high four steals, Buffen and Tyree collected three each.

BUFFEN BREAKS OUT
KJ Buffen was a primary bench player during his freshman campaign, but the 6-foot-7 forward is to off to superb start to his sophomore season. Starting both games, matching his amount of starts as a freshman, Buffen leads the team in scoring (19.5 ppg), rebounding (9.0 rpg) and steals (3.0 spg). All three marks rank in the SEC's top 10, as he is fourth in rebounds and steals as well as eighth in scoring. Pulling down nine boards in both games matches his highest from a season ago, and he tallied a career-high 23 points in Tuesday's win over Norfolk State. After averaging only 6.0 ppg and 4.4 rpg in his first season as a Rebel, Buffen has emerged as one of the team's best players to begin the 2019-20 season.

MATTHEW MURRELL BECOMES A REBEL
Ole Miss Basketball made a major splash on the first day of the early signing period, inking the highest ranked recruit in program history. Matthew Murrell, a consensus top-50 prospect in the national recruiting rankings, signed his National Letter of Intent Nov. 13 to join the Rebels for the 2020-21 season. Murrell, a four-star prospect, finds himself rated top 50 nationally by the major recruiting rankings. The combo guard is ranked as high as No. 45 by 247Sports. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Murrell played his first three seasons of high school basketball at Whitehaven High School. As a senior, he moved down to Bradenton, Florida to join defending national champions IMG Academy. ESPN ranks Murrell as the No. 2 player in the state.

PACK THE PAVILION
After a new average attendance record (7,816) was broken during the 2018-19 campaign, a 13 percent increase from the previous season, another record was set this season with 5,100 season ticket holders and counting. Last season, the Rebels had the highest increased home attendance in the SEC for conference games (23.75 percent). For SEC games, the 8,791 average attendance is up significantly from the 7,104 average last season. Five sellouts in 2018-19 also broke another Pavilion record. The Pavilion has nine sellouts in its history (opened in January 2016).

CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
In his final year as a Rebel, senior guard Breein Tyree ranks 28th on the all-time scoring list with 1,214 points. That career output leads all active players in the SEC. The Somerset, New Jersey, native scored 21 points in the win over Norfolk State (Nov. 12) to pass Rod Barnes (1,201) on the all-time scoring list. Next on the list is Walter Actwood (1,216) and Dwayne Curtis (1,232). If he matches his scoring output from a season ago, he'll end his career in the top 10. Through 101 games in an Ole Miss uniform, Tyree has knocked down 146 three-pointers to sit 11th in the program's rankings.

YEAR TWO OF THE DAVIS ERA
Kermit Davis is in his second season at the helm of Ole Miss Basketball. A nine-time conference coach of the year, Davis is 38th among active Division I head coaches with 425 career wins over 22 seasons, including stints at MT, Idaho and Texas A&M. In 25 seasons as a college basketball head coach, he has amassed 491 wins. Davis wasted no time making an impact in Oxford. With the Rebels coming off a last-place finish in 2017-18, the media picked Ole Miss to land at the bottom of the SEC standings again in 2018-19. However, the Rebels posted a 20-13 record to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. With a return to March Madness for the sixth time in his career, Davis joined a list of 63 coaches in college basketball history to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament. Davis was named SEC Coach of the Year by his peers and the Associated Press, earning conference coach of the year accolades for the ninth time in his career. He became the sixth Ole Miss coach to earn SEC Coach of the Year honors, while joining Andy Kennedy as the only Rebel coaches to collect the award in their first year in Oxford.

TYREE LEADS THE WAY
After earning First Team All-SEC accolades and leading Ole Miss back to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, Breein Tyree has earned several preseason accolades as a senior. Along with being named Preseason First Team All-SEC, the Rebel is one of 20 guards nationwide to be selected to the Jerry West Award Watch List (shooting guard of the year). Sporting News also tabbed him a Preseason Third Team All-American. The SEC's leading returning scorer heading into the season, Tyree averaged 17.9 ppg as a junior to rank third in the conference. He bumped his scoring average to 19.1 ppg in conference play, increasing his output from non-conference to SEC action for the third consecutive year. Last season, Tyree was the only player in the SEC to rank in the conference's top 10 in scoring (3rd-17.9 ppg), free throw percentage (3rd-83.1), three-pointers made (7th-2.1 per game) and field goal percentage (10th-45.9).

SHULER TABBED PRESEASON SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
While Breein Tyree was tabbed Preseason First Team All-SEC, the conference coaches named Devontae Shuler Preseason Second Team All-SEC. Ole Miss was one of five schools to have multiple selections, joining Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee. Shuler had a breakout sophomore season under first year head coach Kermit Davis. Making the transition to point guard, he averaged 10.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 3.0 apg (second on team). The Irmo, South Carolina, native ranked sixth in the SEC with 1.7 steals per game and eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7). His 56 steals were the most ever by an Ole Miss sophomore, the seventh-most by any Rebel in a single season. Shuler had one of the nation's biggest increases in three-point field goal percentage, going from a 25.9 percent clip as a freshman to a team-best 40.2 percent a season ago. He also knocked down 82.3 percent (51 of 62) of his free throw attempts.

YOUNG SQUAD
With Breein Tyree as the lone senior, Ole Miss is one of 27 teams in the country to have either one or zero seniors on the roster. In contrast, the Rebels have the fifth-most freshmen on a Division I roster. Ole Miss is one of only eight teams nationwide to have at least seven freshmen.

School	Number of Freshmen
Navy	11
Utah	11
Air Force	10
TCU	10
Ole Miss	7
James Madison	7
LMU	7
Nebraska	7

DEFENDING HOME COURT
Winning at home has been a trademark at Ole Miss. Over the past 14 seasons, the Rebels are 156-47 (.768 win pct.) in home games. In four-plus seasons (opened January 2016) playing in the $96.5 million Pavilion at Ole Miss, the Rebels hold a 43-21 (.672) advantage against the opposition. Ole Miss has won 281 of its last 360 games (.781 win pct.) in Oxford dating back to the 1996-97 campaign.

TD TO THE NBA
The Rebels are without Second Team All-SEC guard Terence Davis, who finished his career ranked 12th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,512 points. After going undrafted, Davis turned heads in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and quickly earned a multi-year deal with the reigning champion Toronto Raptors. Davis has become a regular in the Raptors' rotation to start the NBA season. Last week, the Southaven, Mississippi, native matched LeBron James with 13 points in the Raptors' win over the Lakers. On Wednesday (Nov. 13), Davis recorded NBA career highs in points (15), rebounds (6) and minutes (31) to help Toronto take down the Portland Trail Blazers on the road.

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
Ole Miss will end its four-game homestand Tuesday night (Nov. 19) as Seattle travels more than 2,000 miles to face the Rebels in The Pavilion. Tipoff for the NIT Tip-Off campus game is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. The Redhawks are 2-2 on the season ahead of Saturday's game at Syracuse.

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Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

D.C. Davis

Terence Davis

Devontae Shuler

Breein Tyree

Bryce Williams

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