Men's Hoops Remains at Home Saturday, Hosting Florida

			OLE MISS (11-11, 2-7 SEC) vs. FLORIDA (14-8, 6-3 SEC) Saturday, February 8 • 1 PM • Oxford, Miss. The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
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GAME 23
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Oxford, Miss.
Arena: The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
Television: ESPN2
   Beth Mowins, play-by-play
   Dalen Cuff, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Sports Network (XM - 374, Sirius/XM Internet - 374)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: ESPN.com/ESPN app
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com/TuneIn app
Series: Florida leads 67-46
Last Meeting: Jan. 14, 2020
   Florida won 71-57
   Gainesville, Fla.

PROMOTIONS
- Meet the 2020 Baseball Rebels: Get autographs and meet the 2020 Ole Miss baseball team.
- BabyDega 500: The third annual baby crawl race is back! The first 500 fans in attendance will get a BabyDega500 sippy cup.
- On-Court Ceremony: Get in your seats early! Prior to tipoff, head coach Kermit Davis will be honored with a game ball recognizing 500 career victories as a head coach.

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- Ole Miss is in the midst of a three-game homestand.
- Twelve of the past 16 games in the series have been decided by seven points or less.
- Florida won the first meeting this season, but Ole Miss was without starters Khadim Sy and Breein Tyree.
- Ole Miss won the last matchup in Oxford 78-72 (Jan. 13, 2018) and hold a 29-23 series advantage at home.
- Sophomore KJ Buffen is averaging 18.5 ppg over his career against Florida; in two games against the Gators, he has made 18 of 19 free throw attempts (94.7 percent).
- Against the Gators (Jan. 14), Florida native Blake Hinson recorded his first career double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds).
- The Rebels are coming off an 84-70 win over South Carolina Wednesday; Breein Tyree scored a career-high 38 points, the fourth-most by any SEC player in a game this season.
- With the victory over the Gamecocks, Kermit Davis earned his 500th career win as a college basketball head coach over 25 seasons; 434 of those victories have come in Division I, ranked 38th among active head coaches.
- Breein Tyree is averaging 22.8 ppg in SEC play to lead the conference; he increased his scoring output from non-conference to SEC play in each of his first three seasons as well.
- Devontae Shuler is averaging 20.3 ppg over the past three contests.
- Ole Miss starters have scored 525 of the team's 597 points in SEC play (87.9 percent).
- Junior Khadim Sy is averaging 12.5 ppg and a team-high 6.3 rpg over the past four games.
- Balanced scoring is the key to victories as all five starters average double figures in wins: Breein Tyree (19.1 ppg), Blake Hinson (13.4 ppg), KJ Buffen (12.0 ppg), Devontae Shuler (10.9 ppg) and Khadim Sy (10.0 ppg).
- Breein Tyree is the SEC's leading active scorer with 1,583 career points, moving from 12th to 10th on the Ole Miss all-time scoring list following his 38-point game against South Carolina.
- Ole Miss is 1-0 when Morgan Freeman delivers a pregame locker room speech to the team; the Academy Award winner spoke to the Rebels before the victory over South Carolina on Morgan Freeman Night at The Pavilion.

SEC LEADERS
- Breein Tyree leads the SEC in scoring in conference play (22.8 ppg) and ranks third overall (18.9 ppg); he is the SEC's active leader in career points (1,583) and field goals made (536).
- Devontae Shuler ranks second in the SEC in steals (2.0 per game) during conference play and sixth overall (1.8 per game).
- Shuler is one of four SEC guards to rank in conference's top 10 in both steals (6th-1.8) and assist/turnover ratio (6th-1.6).

SCOUTING FLORIDA
Florida enters Saturday's matchup with a 14-8 record, including a 6-3 mark in SEC play. The Gators are coming off an 81-75 victory over Georgia (Feb. 5), rallying from 22 points down in the second half. It was the second time this season that they came back from at least a 20-point deficit. Florida has taken care of the basketball, only surrendering 11.7 turnovers per game for the fewest in the SEC. Grad transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. leads the Gators with 13.9 ppg and 8.2 rpg. He has found success at the charity stripe, ranking in the nation's top 15 in makes (116) and attempts (149) for 77.9 percent. Keyontae Johnson adds 13.4 ppg, while Andrew Nembhard averages 11.7 ppg and paces the Gators in assists (5.8 per game). Florida is coached by Mike White, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program after serving as the head coach at Louisiana Tech for four seasons. White is a Rebel, having played at Ole Miss (1996-99) before serving as an assistant coach for seven seasons (2005-11).

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will be the 114th meeting between the Rebels and the Gators. Florida holds a 67-46 lead in the series, which began in 1940, but Ole Miss holds a 29-23 advantage in Oxford. Twelve of the last 16 games in the series have been decided by seven points or less. The last time Ole Miss and Florida faced off in The Pavilion, the Rebels came away with a 78-72 victory (Jan. 13, 2018). This year, the two teams are playing a home-and-home series for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

LAST TIME WE MET
Florida won the first matchup of the season, taking advantage of an Ole Miss team that was without starters Khadim Sy (coach's decision) and Breein Tyree (lower back injury). A road test short-handed proved to be a tall order, and the Rebels fell to the Gators 71-55 (Jan. 14). In his return to his home state, sophomore Blake Hinson produced his first career double-double. The Deltona, Florida, native tallied 16 points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds. Fellow classmate KJ Buffen scored a team-high 20 points for his third 20-point game of the season. He found most of his success at the free throw line, going 10 of 11. Keyontae Johnson (15 points), Kerry Blackshear Jr. (13 points) and Andrew Nembhard (10 points) all recorded double figures for the Gators. As a team, Florida shot 54 percent (27 of 50) from the field and controlled the paint with 44 points.

OLE MISS-FLORIDA CONNECTIONS
- The Gators are led by former Ole Miss letterwinner Mike White. A point guard for the Rebels from 1996-99, White helped Ole Miss to 74 wins, two SEC West titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances in his four years in Oxford. A co-captain as a senior, White ranks seventh in Ole Miss history with 370 career assists. After his playing career, White served as an Ole Miss assistant coach for seven seasons, including five under Andy Kennedy.
- Ole Miss juniors Devontae Shuler and Khadim Sy, as well as Florida freshman forward Keyontae Johnson, played at Oak Hill Academy. However, the two Rebels were never teammates with the Gator.
- Sophomore Blake Hinson and junior Bryce Williams hail from The Sunshine State; Hinson is a native of Deltona, while Williams is from Tampa. Last season, Williams played in Florida along with Sy; the duo led Daytona State to a 25-7 record.

ON THIS DATE
While this will be the first Feb. 8 matchup between the Rebels and Gators in 114 meetings, Ole Miss earned a conference victory on this date six years ago. Marshall Henderson scored 29 points, including eight three-pointers, and four Rebels scored in double figures, as Ole Miss held off the Missouri Tigers 91-88 in Tad Smith Coliseum (Feb. 8, 2014). Henderson hit 8 of 15 from beyond the arc and added five assists for the Rebels, who remained in sole possession of third place in the conference standings. Jarvis Summers and LaDarius White had 16 points apiece, and Anthony Perez added 11. Missouri trailed 91-83 with 19 seconds left and had an opportunity to force overtime, but a 28-foot shot by Earnest Ross bounced off the front of the rim at the buzzer. Missouri trailed by as many as 17 and 50-35 at halftime before a belated rally. Ole Miss shot 50 percent from the field (29 of 58) and 48.3 percent (14 of 20) from three-point range. Missouri shot 47.5 percent (28 of 59) from the field, and hit 11 three-pointers, led by Ross with five.

KJ ENJOYS FACING FLORIDA
Only a sophomore, KJ Buffen has played two of his best games as a Rebel against the Gators. The Gainesville, Georgia, native averages 18.5 ppg versus Florida, while shooting 94.7 percent (18 of 19) from the charity stripe. As a freshman, he scored a season-high 17 points, including 8 of 8 from the line in the second half, tying his career high in made free throws at the time. Returning to Gainesville one year later, Buffen led the Rebels with a team-high 20 points. It was the third 20-point game of his career, and he once again found success at the free throw line by knocking down 10 of 11 attempts (career high).

BREEIN LOVES SEC PLAY
Ole Miss senior Breein Tyree thrives during conference play. Not only is he the leading active scorer in the SEC (1,583 points), but his scoring output increased from non-conference action to SEC play in each of his first three seasons. He has kept the trend going as a senior, scoring 26 points against Texas A&M (Jan. 7) in the conference opener before tallying 27 versus Arkansas (Jan. 11). After missing the Florida game due to a back injury, Tyree returned better than ever and scored 36 points versus LSU (Jan. 18). With those performances, Tyree became the first Rebel to score at least 25 points in each of the first three SEC games of the season since Joe Harvell (1992). During the 1991-92 campaign, Harvell started conference play with four consecutive 30-point games.

Tyree's Seasons	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	22.8 ppg

TYREE LEADS OLE MISS PAST SOUTH CAROLINA
On a night when Morgan Freeman was honored, two other Rebels reached milestones for the Ole Miss men's basketball team. Senior guard Breein Tyree jumped into the top 10 on the program's all-time scoring list with a career-high 38 points, leading the Rebels to an 84-70 victory over South Carolina. Playing all 40 minutes, he finished 12 of 21 for the game, including 11 of 13 at the free throw line. The win was the 500th career victory for Kermit Davis as a head coach. Blake Hinson added 13 points and seven rebounds. Khadim Sy tallied 10 points to go along with eight rebounds that tied his career high. As a team, Ole Miss shot 47.4 percent (27 of 57) from the field, while making 24 of 32 free throw attempts (75.0 percent). On the defensive end of the floor, the Rebels limited South Carolina leading scorer AJ Lawson to just five points on 2 of 10 shooting.

DAVIS EARNS 500TH CAREER WIN
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis picked up his 500th win Wednesday night as the Rebels defeated South Carolina at home (Feb. 5). In his 25th season as a college basketball head coach, Davis has collected 500 wins over 787 games (.635 winning percentage). His head coaching career started as a 24-year old at Southwest Mississippi Community College in 1984, the youngest junior college coach in the country, and he earned 66 victories over three season in the junior college ranks. Four years later at the age of 28, Davis became Idaho's head coach and was the youngest Division I head coach in the nation. Through 22 seasons as a Division I head coach, which includes becoming the winningest coach in Middle Tennessee and Sun Belt Conference history, Davis has 434 wins. He ranks 38th in victories among active Division I head coaches.

DEFENDING HOME COURT
Winning at home has been a trademark at Ole Miss. Over the past 14 seasons, the Rebels are 162-51 (.761 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 49-25 (.662) advantage against the opposition. Ole Miss has won 287 of its last 370 games (.776 win pct.) in Oxford dating back to the 1996-97 campaign. Under second year head coach Kermit Davis, the Rebels are 19-9 (.679 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). Against No. 16 Auburn last week (Jan. 28), over 2,000 students showed up to cheer on the Rebels. It was the highest student attendance in Pavilion history.

TYREE'S BIG GAMES
Breein Tyree has 11 20-point games on the season, producing three such contests in November and three in December to go along with five in SEC play. He has 33 20-point games over his Ole Miss career. His biggest game as a Rebel was a career-high 38 points to lead Ole Miss past South Carolina (Feb. 5), the most points by a Rebel since Deandre Burnett scored 41 points against Oral Roberts (Nov. 18, 2016). It was the most scored by an Ole Miss player in an SEC game since Stefan Moody dropped 43 to lead the Rebels over MSU on his senior night (March 3, 2016). Tyree also had 34 against Middle Tennessee (Dec. 14) and 36 versus LSU (Jan. 18) to give him five 30-point games for his career.

CONSISTEN-SY
Khadim Sy has provided consistency in the post throughout the past two weeks. The junior forward has averaged 12.5 ppg and a team-high 6.3 rpg over the last four games, scoring in double figures each contest. He has shot 48.7 percent 19 of 39) from the field, while also going 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) from the free throw line. Sy started the stretch with 16 points to help Ole Miss earn a road win at Georgia (Jan. 25). After adding two more solid performances last week, he tallied 10 points and matched his career high with eight rebounds in a victory over South Carolina (Feb. 5).

BALANCED SCORING LEADS TO VICTORIES
It's no secret that a balanced offense helps in seeking victories. When Ole Miss finds that balance, it usually leads to positive outcomes. In wins, all five Rebel starters are averaging double figures: Breein Tyree (19.1 ppg), Blake Hinson (13.4 ppg), KJ Buffen (12.0 ppg), Devontae Shuler (10.9 ppg) and Khadim Sy (10.0 ppg). In losses, Tyree (18.6 ppg) and Shuler (11.7 ppg) are the only Rebels scoring in double digits.

SHULER STATS
Junior guard Devontae Shuler leads the Rebels in assists (3.5) and steals (1.8). The Irmo, South Carolina, native is one of two players in the SEC to record at least 1.8 steals per game and a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio, joining Kentucky's Ashton Hagans. He has recorded at least two steals in eight of the last 10 games. Shuler has provided some consistency offensively, reaching double figures in 10 of the past 14 games which included the best two games of his career last week. Against No. 16 Auburn (Jan. 28), he took over after Breein Tyree fouled out and finished with 26 points in 48 minutes of the double overtime battle. Shuler followed that performance with a career-high 28 points at No. 22 LSU (Feb. 1). He now has five 20-point games over his career, including four this season.

VETERANS LEAD THE WAY
The Rebels are led by a veteran cast. Senior guard Breein Tyree (18.9 ppg), junior Devontae Shuler (11.3 ppg), sophomore Blake Hinson (10.7 ppg) and sophomore forward KJ Buffen (9.8 ppg) have accounted for 69.1 percent of the team's scoring this season. Tyree ranks third in the league in scoring, while Buffen leads the team in rebounding (5.9 per game) and blocks (0.9 per game). Shuler also paces the Rebels in assists (3.5 per game) and steals (1.8 per game), both top 10 in the SEC, while ranking sixth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.6). After missing four games due to injury, Hinson has put together 10 double-digit scoring performances, starting 17 games following the injury to Luis Rodriguez.

DEVONTAE'S BIG WEEK
Going up against a pair of ranked teams last week, Devontae Shuler stepped up and brought his best. The junior guard had his best two scoring games as a Rebel, averaging 27.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg during the week. Shuler shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) from the field, 50 percent (6 of 12) from beyond the arc and 80 percent (20 of 25) from the free throw line. In the double overtime contest versus No. 16 Auburn (Jan. 28), he scored 26 points over a career-high 48 minutes. It was his highest scoring game as a Rebel, besting his 24-point outburst in last season's Emerald Coast Classic championship game against Cincinnati (Nov. 24, 2018). He built on that performance at No. 22 LSU (Feb. 1), scoring 28 points for a new career high. He made five three-pointers, also a career best, while going a perfect 7 of 7 from the charity stripe.

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 22 games, one of only two Rebels to start each game, Buffen is averaging 9.8 ppg along with a team-best 5.9 rpg. His rebounding average is 19th in the conference. The Gainesville, Georgia, native is also leading the team in blocks (0.9), while ranking 10th in the SEC in steals (1.5 per game). 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). In the return to his home state, Buffen was 5 of 6 from the field and made all four of his free throws, tallying 14 points to help Ole Miss beat Georgia (Jan. 25). His play factors into the outcome of games. Buffen averages 12.0 ppg and 7.1 rpg in wins, while tallying 7.5 ppg and 4.7 rpg in losses.

CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
In his final year as a Rebel, senior guard Breein Tyree ranks 10th on the all-time scoring list with 1,583 points. That career output leads all active players in the SEC. The Somerset, New Jersey, native scored a career-high 38 points in the win over South Carolina (Feb. 5) to pass Don Kessinger (1,553) and Gerald Glass (1,564), cementing his place in the top 10. Next on Tyree's climb up the charts is Joe Gibbon (1,601). Through 120 games in an Ole Miss uniform, Tyree has knocked down 187 three-pointers to sit sixth in the program's rankings. He drained a trio of three-pointers against Tennessee (Jan. 21) to pass Stefan Moody (181).

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 434 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 500 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 ranks 13th 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). Last month (Jan. 8), Davis was called upon to make his first career start, and boy did he deliver. The NBA Rebel scored 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. On Sunday (Feb. 2), Davis tallied a career-high 31 points off the bench to help the Raptors win their 11th straight game. Averaging 7.8 ppg, he is only Raptor to play in all 51 of the team's games. Davis is the first Rebel to play in the NBA since Justin Reed (2005-07).

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
Following a pair of contests at The Pavilion this week, the Rebels close out the three-game homestand Tuesday (Feb. 11). Ole Miss hosts rival MSU to begin the season's home-and-home series. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. on ESPNU. The two teams close out the regular season in Starkville (March 7).

RebelsCalendar

Players Mentioned

KJ Buffen

Terence Davis

Blake Hinson

Luis Rodriguez

Devontae Shuler

Khadim Sy

Breein Tyree

Bryce Williams

The University of Mississippi Athletics