Men's Hoops Welcomes Arkansas to The Pavilion for SEC Battle

			OLE MISS (9-5, 0-1 SEC) vs. ARKANSAS (12-2, 1-1 SEC) Saturday, January 11 • 5 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
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GAME 15
Date: Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: SEC Network
   Kevin Fitzgerald, play-by-play
   Dane Bradshaw, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Sports Network (XM - 385, Sirius/XM Internet - 975)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: ESPN.com/ESPN app
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com/TuneIn app
Series: Arkansas leads 48-33
Last Meeting: March 2, 2019
   Arkansas won 74-73
   Fayetteville, Ark.

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Before the start of the game, David Kellum will be honored for his 30th season as the radio "Voice of the Rebels."
- Ole Miss is one of two SEC teams to play four non-conference Quadrant 1 games, joining Georgia.
- The Rebels have limited opponents to shooting under 30 percent from beyond the arc in 10 of their 14 games, including six contests shooting below 25 percent.
- In each of the past five seasons, Ole Miss has won its first home game of the calendar year, including a perfect 4-0 mark in The Pavilion.
- The Rebels and Razorbacks split the season series last year, each winning on their home floor; the two teams have played twice each of the past three seasons.
- Last season in a soldout Pavilion, No. 18 Ole Miss cruised to an 84-67 victory for their first win as a ranked team in six years; the 17-point win was the Rebels' largest margin of victory in an SEC game since a 20-point win over LSU (Feb. 14, 2017).
- Breein Tyree averaged 21.0 ppg over the two contests against Arkansas last year.
- Breein Tyree is the SEC's leading active scorer with 1,427 career points, which also ranks 16th on the Ole Miss all-time scoring list; Tyree also ranks eighth in Ole Miss history with 174 made three-pointers.
- Breein Tyree has increased his scoring output from non-conference to SEC play in each of his first three seasons.
- Veterans Breein Tyree (17.1 ppg), Devontae Shuler (10.9 ppg), Blake Hinson (10.8 ppg) and KJ Buffen (9.6 ppg) have accounted for 65.3 percent of the team's scoring this season.
- The media predicted the Rebels to finish eighth in the SEC; Ole Miss has finished higher than the preseason projection in seven of the last eight seasons.
- Preseason All-SEC selections Breein Tyree (First Team) and Devontae Shuler (Second Team) combined for 38 of the team's 47 points Tuesday night at Texas A&M.
- In his first NBA start Wednesday, Terence Davis posted his first NBA double-double with career highs in points (23) and rebounds (11) to lead the Raptors to an overtime victory over the Hornets.

NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
Ole Miss finished its non-conference slate with a 9-4 record, winning at least nine non-conference regular season games for the 21st time in the past 23 seasons. However, it didn't come easy. The Rebels faced five teams that were ranked in the top 25 at one point this season. Ole Miss joined Georgia as the only two SEC teams to play four Quadrant 1 contests out of conference. Ole Miss' marquee non-conference victory was a remarkable comeback over Penn State in the NIT Tip-Off (Nov. 27). The Rebels erased a 21-point second half deficit, grabbing the lead in the final minute for a 74-72 victory. The Nittany Lions are currently 23rd in the NET and No. 21 in the national polls.

SEC LEADERS
- The Rebels rank second in the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (1.2)
- Ole Miss ranks third in assists (15.6) and three-point field goal percentage defense (28.8).
- Breein Tyree ranks fourth in scoring (17.1 ppg); he is the SEC's active leader in career points (1,427).
- Devontae Shuler ranks fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.9).

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
Arkansas enters Saturday's matchup with a 12-2 record, including 1-1 in SEC play. The Razorbacks beat Texas A&M at home last weekend (Jan. 4) before falling to LSU on the road Wednesday (Jan. 8). Arkansas is 2-2 on the road this season. The Razorbacks are the nation's best in defending the three, holding opponents to a 22.6 percent clip. The Arkansas defense also leads the SEC in steals (9.5 per game), turnover margin (+5.1) and turnovers forced (17.9 per game). All marks rank top 20 nationally. Mason Jones (19.8 ppg) and Isaiah Joe (17.1 ppg) make up the second-highest scoring duo in the SEC. Jones, a junior guard, also leads Arkansas in rebounds (6.1 per game), assists (2.8 per game) and steals (1.9 per game). He ranks second in the SEC and 12th nationally in free throw shooting, making 91.6 percent (76 of 83) of his attempts. The Rebels will have to continue their strong three-point defense against Joe, who attempts nearly 12 three-pointers per game (fifth in the country) and makes 34.2 percent of them (3.7 per game). Eric Musselman is in his first season as head coach of the Razorbacks after spending the last four seasons at Nevada.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will be the 82nd meeting between the two schools, with the Razorbacks holding an all-time series lead of 48-33. The series began in 1937 and Arkansas won 32 of the first 38 meetings, but Ole Miss has won 27 of the last 43 meetings and 12 of the last 20. The Rebels are 2-1 against Arkansas in The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The two teams have played twice in each of the past three seasons, but Saturday's contest in The Pavilion is the only scheduled matchup this year. The Rebels and Razorbacks split last season's series with each team protecting their home floor.

LAST SEASON'S SPLIT
Game 1 (Oxford, Miss.) - No. 18 Ole Miss 84, Arkansas 67: First, No. 18 Ole Miss jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back, cruising to an 84-67 wire-to-wire win over Arkansas (Jan. 19, 2019). After their 10-game winning streak was snapped to hand them their first SEC loss earlier in the week, the Rebels bounced back with a convincing victory in front of a sellout crowd at The Pavilion. Ole Miss caused havoc on defense, converting 17 turnovers (13 steals) into 22 points. The Razorbacks were limited to a 36.7 percent (11 of 30) clip in the second half, and 6 of 23 (26.1 percent) from three throughout the entire game. The Rebels also controlled the paint 44-28, holding Arkansas leading scorer Daniel Gafford to a then-season-low nine points. Ole Miss had balanced scoring with four Rebels in double figures. Breein Tyree tallied a game-high 22 points, scoring 11 in each half. The junior guard was 7 of 15 from the floor and made all six of his free throw attempts. Terence Davis stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and five steals. The 17-point win was the team's largest margin of victory in SEC play since 2017.

Game 2 (Fayetteville, Ark.) - Arkansas 74, Ole Miss 73: Two months later in Bud Walton Arena (March 2, 2019), a Jalen Harris floater with 5.9 seconds left tumbled around the rim before falling to give Arkansas a 74-73 victory. The Rebels were led by Tyree, who scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half on 8 of 14 shooting. Devontae Shuler, Terence Davis, and Bruce Stevens all joined Tyree in double figures with 12 points apiece. Ole Miss' 53.7 field goal percentage was its best in SEC play. The Razorbacks were led by Mason Jones, who had 22 points with the help of going 6 of 8 from behind the arc. Gafford scored 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting, while the team shot 50 percent from three (9 of 18) for the game.

ON THIS DATE
Eight years ago (Jan. 11, 2012), Murphy Holloway scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Ole Miss to a 71-63 victory over Arkansas in the Rebels' SEC home opener. After missing three straight games with a sparined ankle, Holloway returned to post his fifth double-double of the season. Nick Williams added 18 points as the Rebels won the rebounding battle 48-26 and shot 50 percent from the field. Ole Miss led by as many as 13 points in the second half. The loss snapped the Razorbacks' seven-game winning streak. Arkansas was led by Marvell Waithe's 15 points while B.J. Young added 14 points and Julysses Nobles scored 12.

BREEIN LOVES SEC PLAY
Ole Miss senior Breein Tyree thrives during conference play. Not only is he the leading active scorer in the SEC (1,427 points), but his scoring output has increased from non-conference action to SEC play in each of his first three seasons. He kept the trend going Tuesday night, scoring 26 points against Texas A&M in the conference opener.

	Non-Conference	SEC
2016-17 (Freshman)	5.1 ppg	9.3 ppg
2017-18 (Sophomore)	9.0 ppg	12.3 ppg
2018-19 (Junior)	16.5 ppg	19.1 ppg
2019-20 (Senior)	16.5 ppg	26.0 ppg

DEFENDING HOME COURT
Winning at home has been a trademark at Ole Miss. Over the past 14 seasons, the Rebels are 161-48 (.770 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 48-22 (.686) advantage against the opposition. Ole Miss has won 286 of its last 366 games (.781 win pct.) in Oxford dating back to the 1996-97 campaign. Under second year head coach Kermit Davis, the Rebels are 18-6 (.750 win pct.) at home.

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 was up significantly from the 7,104 average during the 2017-18 campaign. Five sellouts in 2018-19 also broke another Pavilion record. The Pavilion has nine sellouts in its history (opened in January 2016).

UNDERRATED REBELS
Ahead of the SEC's media day, a panel consisting of SEC and national media members picked the Rebels to finish eighth in the conference standings this season. That shouldn't worry Ole Miss fans, as the Rebels have placed higher than the media's projection in seven of the last eight seasons since the SEC went away from the divisional format. That includes last season when Ole Miss was predicted to finish last in the SEC, only to tie for sixth and return to the NCAA Tournament under first year head coach and 2019 SEC Coach of the Year Kermit Davis.

CLOSING OUT ON THREES
Ole Miss has defended the long ball well all season long, holding its opposition to a 28.8 percent clip from three-point land. That mark ranks third in the SEC as well as 36th in the nation. The Rebels have limited opponents to shooting under 30 percent from beyond the arc in 10 of their 14 games, including below 25 percent in six contests. In their last game, the Red and Blue kept Texas A&M to 3 of 17 from long distance (17.6 percent).

REBELS DROP SEC OPENER AT TEXAS A&M
It was a tale of two halves as Ole Miss began SEC play Tuesday night in Texas. The Rebels held a 10-point halftime lead behind the play of senior Breein Tyree, but Texas A&M countered in the second half to flip the game in its favor, 57-47. The backcourt of Tyree and Devontae Shuler combined for 38 of the team's 47 points. Tyree tallied a game-high 26, while Shuler scored 12 to reach double figures for the sixth consecutive game.

TYREE'S 20-POINT GAMES
Breein Tyree has seven 20-point games on the season, producing three such contests in November and three in December to go along with his 26-point night Tuesday at Texas A&M (Jan. 7). Coming off the bench against No. 24 Butler (Dec. 3), he tallied a team-high 22 points to go along with a career-high eight rebounds. In the win over CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 7), Tyree scored 20 points with the help of shooting 11 of 14 from the free throw line. He followed that up with his biggest game as a Rebel, tallying a career-high 34 points versus Middle Tennessee (Dec. 14) for his third career 30-point game. Tyree went 8 of 11 from beyond the arc in the victory. He has 29 20-point games over his Ole Miss career. Last year, he scored at least 20 points in both games against Arkansas, averaging 21.0 ppg over the two contests.

VETERANS LEAD THE WAY
While several newcomers have made immediate impacts to expand Ole Miss' depth, the Rebels are led by a veteran cast. Senior guard Breein Tyree (17.1 ppg), junior Devontae Shuler (10.9 ppg), sophomore Blake Hinson (10.8 ppg) and sophomore forward KJ Buffen (9.6 ppg) have accounted for 65.3 percent of the team's scoring this season. Tyree ranks fourth in the league in scoring, while Buffen leads the team in rebounding (6.4 per game) and steals (1.7 per game). Shuler also paces the Rebels in assists (4.3 per game), 10th in the SEC, and ranks fifth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.9). Since returning from injury, Hinson has put together five double-digit scoring performances while starting nine games following the injury to Luis Rodriguez.

NEEDING BUFFEN
KJ Buffen was a primary bench player during his freshman campaign, but the 6-foot-7 forward is an important piece of the Ole Miss lineup as a sophomore. Starting all 14 games, one of only two Rebels to start each game, Buffen is averaging 9.6 ppg along with a team-best 6.4 rpg. The Gainesville, Georgia, native is also leading the team in steals (1.7), which ranks seventh in the SEC. His 6.4 rebounding average is 14th in the conference. Buffen tallied a career-high 23 points in a win over Norfolk State (Nov. 12) before producing his second career 20-point game to close out the calendar year against Tennessee Tech (Dec. 29). There is a correlation to Buffen's play determining the outcome of a game. In Ole Miss wins, he is averaging 12.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg while shooting 60.6 percent (43 of 71) from the floor. In losses, Buffen averages just 4.6 ppg and 4.0 rpg, making only 27.6 percent (8 of 29) of his shots.

CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
In his final year as a Rebel, senior guard Breein Tyree ranks 16th on the all-time scoring list with 1,427 points. That career output leads all active players in the SEC. The Somerset, New Jersey, native scored 26 points at Texas A&M (Jan. 7) to pass Eric Laird (1,421) on the all-time scoring list. Next on Tyree's climb up the charts is 1998 SEC Player of the Year Ansu Sesay (1,428) and Murphy Holloway (1,476). If he matches his scoring output from a season ago, he'll end his career in the top 10. Through 113 games in an Ole Miss uniform, Tyree has knocked down 174 three-pointers to sit eighth in the program's rankings. He drained a career-high eight three-pointers versus Middle Tennessee (Dec. 14) to leapfrog Todd Abernethy and Jason Harrison into eighth on the school's all-time chart. Tyree is two threes away from tying former teammate Terence Davis for seventh, while Stefan Moddy sits in sixth with 181 career three-pointers.

BLAKE IS BACK
After missing the first four games of the season, sophomore Blake Hinson wasted no time making an immediate impact for the Rebels. The Deltona, Florida, native averages 10.8 ppg and is shooting 35.7 percent (18 of 48) from beyond the arc to lead the team in three-point field goal percentage. Hinson has also started all nine games following the injury to Luis Rodriguez, filling a void in the Ole Miss lineup. He scored a season-high 23 points in the win over CSU Bakersfield (Dec. 7).

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 432 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 498 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.

TD IN THE NBA
The Rebels are without 2018-19 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. The Southaven, Mississippi, native matched LeBron James with 13 points in the Raptors' win over the Lakers (Nov. 10). On Wednesday (Jan. 8), Davis was called upon to make his first career start, and boy did he deliver. The NBA Rebel scored a career-high 23 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds, both team highs, to record his first double-double and lead the Raptors to a victory over the Hornets. In overtime, Davis knocked down back-to-back threes to turn a three-point deficit into a three-point lead. Averaging 7.2 ppg, he is only Raptor to play in all 38 of the team's games. Davis is the first Rebel to play in the NBA since Justin Reed (2005-07).

BEST DECADE IN OLE MISS BASKETBALL HISTORY
With the 2010s now in the rearview mirror, we look back on the most successful decade in Ole Miss Basketball history. The Rebels went 204-135 (.602) during the span, the most wins ever by the program over a decade. It started off with the 2010 team capturing the SEC West Division title before advancing to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden. That was the first of four NIT appearances throughout the decade, including twice advancing to the NIT Final Four. The Rebels earned three NCAA Tournament berths during the decade, starting with 2013 SEC Tournament champions that tied a school record with 27 wins. The 2014-15 team had a historic comeback over BYU in a First Four game, while the 2018-19 Rebels exceeded expectations to make the Big Dance in the first year under Kermit Davis.

SESAY EARNS HIS DEGREE
Ansu Sesay, the 1998 SEC Player of the Year and consensus All-American, returned to Ole Miss this season as a manager to serve on Kermit Davis' staff and pursue his degree. Through the Rebel Reconnect program, he completed his final courses in December to earn a bachelor's degree in university studies. During his playing days, Sesay averaged 18.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game over his collegiate career as he became one of only two Rebels to ever record 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 200 assists. Leaving school early 20 years ago, he was chosen in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Sesay played three years with the Seattle Sonics as well as one season as a member of the Golden State Warriors.

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
After the first conference home game of the season, Ole Miss returns the road for the third time in 10 days (four games). The Rebels travel south to battle former Ole Miss basketball player and assistant coach Mike White's Florida Gators. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Luis Rodriguez

Devontae Shuler

Bruce Stevens

Breein Tyree

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