Men’s Basketball Welcomes Charleston Southern Friday Night

			OLE MISS (1-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN (1-0, 0-0 Big South) Friday, November 12 • 6 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss
Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Gameday Info Ole Miss Game Notes • Charleston Southern Notes • SEC Game Notes

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss men's basketball looks to build off an exciting season opening win and improve to 2-0 when it welcomes in Charleston Southern for a Friday night tilt inside SJB Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will stream live on SEC Network+.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Kermit Davis • 4th Season at Ole Miss (52-42) • 521-305 career record (27th Season)

Charleston Southern Buccaneers (1-0, 0-0 Big South)
Head Coach: Barclay Radebaugh • 17th Season at CSU (160-274) • 181-282 career record (18th Season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Will Kollmeyer
Color: John Stroud

OLE MISS RADIO

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Marc Dukes

SERIES HISTORY
The Rebels and Buccaneers have only met once in their history, with Charleston Southern emerging victorious in a tight 66-65 win in Oxford on Nov. 14, 2014.

STARTING OFF THE RIGHT WAY
Ole Miss tipped off its 2021-22 season in high-flying fashion, electrifying the crowd at SJB Pavilion with big dunks and a lights-out shooting performance vs. New Orleans on Nov. 9, winning 82-61. The Rebels shot a lethal 53.1 percent overall, the best in an opener since shooting 54.1 percent vs. Western Michigan on Nov. 10, 2018 -- the first game of the Kermit Davis era. Ole Miss was hot from three as well, draining 40.9 percent from beyond the arc, thanks in large part to a superb outing from Austin Crowley. He would end with a career-high 13 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting to go along with four assists and three steals. The Ole Miss defense was key as well, forcing 19 UNO turnovers that wound up as 17 Rebel points. Sharing the ball was a focus for the Rebs, as they tallied 23 assists on 34 made field goals. Five Rebels were in double-digit scoring: Crowley (13), Jarkel Joiner (12), Nysier Brooks (11), Jaemyn Brakefield (10) and Tye Fagan (10).

Coach Davis: "I think we've got really good depth on our team. I really do. We're trying to figure it all out like a lot of teams. I think we've got 11 guys or so that we can put in a game and they're fighting for possessions. Depth is a huge thing with foul trouble down the stretch, so I like where we are with that. We just gotta keep working."

CROWLEY IN THE SPOTLIGHT
West Point, Mississippi native Austin Crowley took control of the game in rapid fashion vs. New Orleans, sparking a huge 20-2 run to firmly put the Rebels ahead. Crowley scored 11 points in a span of just 1:58, going a perfect 3-of-3 from three and throwing down a thunderous fastbreak dunk in that stretch all by himself. Crowley would end with a career-high 13 points and was ultimately 3-of-4 from distance on the night. In his first two years in Oxford, Crowley was a combined 18-of-69 from beyond the arc (.261). Crowley was also key as a distributor with four assists and as a disruptor with three steals.

DUNXFORD, MISSISSIPPI
Ole Miss put on a show for fans in attendance vs. New Orleans on Nov. 9, as the Rebs threw down 18 total dunks, which constituted 43.9 percent of all Rebel scoring on the night. Ole Miss tallied 16 points on the fastbreak vs. the Privateers.

SHARING IS CARING
Distribution was the name of the game for the Rebels vs. the Privateers on Nov. 9, as Ole Miss tallied up 23 total assists on 34 made field goals -- their most since dishing out 21 vs. No. 10 Missouri on Feb. 10, 2021. Of the 14 Rebels who saw playing time on eight of them had multiple assists, with Austin Crowley and Luis Rodriguez leading the way with four apiece. Conversely, the Rebels had just 12 turnovers while their forced 19 on the other end.

YEAR FOUR OF THE DAVIS ERA
Kermit Davis enters his fourth season at the helm of Ole Miss Basketball. Over his first three seasons, Davis led the Rebels to a pair of postseason appearances (2020 postseason was cancelled due to COVID-19). With 52 victories as head coach of the Rebels, Davis is one of only four coaches in Ole Miss history to rack up at least 50 wins over their first three seasons. A nine-time conference coach of the year, Davis is 38th among active Division I head coaches with 455 career wins over 23 seasons, including stints at MT, Idaho and Texas A&M. In 26 seasons as a college basketball head coach, he has amassed 521 wins.

DAVIS ERA TRENDS TO WATCH
• 44-12 when leading at half
• 25-3 when scoring 80+, 37-17 when scoring 70+
• 37-15 when winning the rebounding battle
• 23-3 when at 50 percent shooting or better
• 16-4 when shooting 40 percent or better from three
• 50-26 when keeping opponents below 50 percent shooting (27-5 when below 40 percent)

RUFFIN OUT
Freshman Daeshun Ruffin, the program's first McDonald's All-American signee, will miss four weeks of action after fracturing his hand in the second half against New Orleans on Nov. 9. Ruffin exited the game with four points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. Coming out of Callaway High School, Ruffin was a consensus four-star prospect, and was rated No. 1 in the state of Mississippi and No. 40 nationally. He was the 2021 winner of Mississippi's Gatorade Player of the Year, and he ended his illustrious high school career with 2,337 points scored (25.4 PPG).

WINNING BIG
When the Rebels win, they usually win big.
• Dating back to 2019-20, Ole Miss has won by double-digits in 24 of last 32
• 11 of 16 wins last season were by double digits, including seven by at least 17 points.

PROTECTING CRADDOCK COURT
Winning at home has been a trademark at Ole Miss. Over the past 15 seasons, the Rebels are 177-56 (.760 win pct.) in home games. In five-plus seasons (opened January 2016) playing in the $96.5 million SJB Pavilion, the Rebels hold a 64-30 (.681) advantage against the opposition. Ole Miss has won 302 of its last 390 games (.774 win pct.) in Oxford dating back to the 1996-97 campaign. Under head coach Kermit Davis, the Rebels are 34-14 (.708 win pct.) at home.

For the latest news and updates regarding Ole Miss Men's Basketball, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissMBB, on Facebook at Ole Miss Men's Basketball and on Instagram at olemissmbb.

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Players Mentioned

Jaemyn Brakefield

Nysier Brooks

Austin Crowley

Tye Fagan

Jarkel Joiner

Luis Rodriguez

Daeshun Ruffin

The University of Mississippi Athletics