Rebels Take Winning Streak on the Road, Face South Carolina Saturday

			OLE MISS (11-8, 6-6 SEC) at SOUTH CAROLINA (5-8, 3-6 SEC) Saturday, Feb. 13 • 5 p.m. • Columbia, S.C. Colonial Life Arena
Watch • Live Stats • Listen Ole Miss Game Notes • South Carolina Notes • SEC Game Notes

GAME 20
Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Arena: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Television: SEC Network
   Mike Morgan, play-by-play
   Mark Wise, analyst
Radio: Ole Miss Sports Network (XM-380, Internet-970)
   David Kellum, play-by-play
   Marc Dukes, analyst
Live Video: ESPN.com/ESPN app
Live Audio: OleMissSports.com/TuneIn app
Series: Ole Miss leads 21-20
Last Meeting: Feb. 5, 2020
   Ole Miss won 84-70
   Oxford, Miss.

TIPOFF TIDBITS
- The Rebels and Gamecocks face off for the first time this season after the Jan. 9 matchup in Oxford was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the South Carolina program.
- In last year's matchup, an 84-70 Ole Miss victory, Kermit Davis picked up his 500th career win as a head coach.
- The last time Ole Miss played in Colonial Life Arena, it was against Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (March 22, 2019).
- SEC Player of the Week Devontae Shuler is a native of South Carolina, playing alongside Ja Morant and Zion Williamson during their AAU days.
- Ole Miss enters Saturday's contest on a three-game winning streak, holding a 3-0 record in February.
- Three different Rebels have led Ole Miss in scoring during the winning streak: Devontae Shuler (15) versus No. 10 Tennessee, Romello White (30) at Auburn and Jarkel Joiner (21) versus No. 10 Missouri.
- Two of the three wins during the streak have been against top-10 teams, giving Ole Miss multiple top-10 victories for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
- Ole Miss is coming off an 80-59 win over No. 10 Missouri, their largest margin of victory over a top-10 team since 2002.
- Ole Miss already has three top-10 victories in three seasons under Kermit Davis; the Rebels have 20 top-10 victories in program history.
- Luis Rodriguez scored a career-high 15 points in Wednesday's win over No. 10 Missouri.
- The Rebels shot 56.9 percent from the floor against No. 10 Missouri, their best field goal percentage in an SEC game since Feb. 7, 2015 (57.8 percent vs. Auburn).
- Ole Miss has moved up to No. 57 in the NET; the Rebels were as far back as 85th on January 18.
- The Rebels are 8-0 when keeping opponents under 40 percent from the floor.
- The Rebels rank 18th nationally with 161 steals this season.
- Devontae Shuler celebrated his 23rd birthday on Tuesday.

HONORING A TRAILBLAZER: OLE MISS ERECTING STATUE OF COOLIDGE BALL
Fifty years ago, Coolidge Ball broke down walls at the University of Mississippi. On May 15, Ole Miss' first Black student-athlete will be celebrated with a life-size, bronze likeness erected in the north plaza of The Pavilion. On August 6, 1970, Ball signed the Rebels' last available basketball scholarship for that season. The Indianola, Mississippi, native was recruited by other schools such as Arizona State, Northwestern and New Mexico State, but his decision to attend Ole Miss opened the door for future Black student-athletes to make their way to the Oxford campus to wear the Red and Blue, not just in basketball, but other sports as well. Ball's ground-breaking career at Ole Miss saw him earn first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors from the league coaches in 1972 and 1973. He also earned second-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press in 1972 and 1973, was selected to the United Press International third team during all three of his varsity seasons (1972-73-74) and made the All-SEC Freshman team in 1970-71.His first varsity season came his sophomore year when he averaged 16.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, while leading the team with 42 assists. He scored a career-high 30 points against Vanderbilt and LSU that season and added a career-high 19-rebound performance against Southern Miss. Ball was instrumental in helping Ole Miss defeat SEC rivals Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi State in consecutive games in 1973. He scored 1,072 points during his varsity career, helped lead the Rebels to three straight winning seasons for the first time since 1936-38 and was one of the team's most respected players, earning team captain and MVP honors. A 1975 graduate of the University of Mississippi, Ball was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991 and was a member of the SEC Basketball Legends Class of 2005. When the University of Mississippi celebrated its "First 100 Years of Ole Miss Basketball" in 2009, it came as no surprise when Ball was selected to the All-Century Team.

SEC LEADERS
- The Rebels rank second in the SEC in scoring defense (63.2) and turnover margin (+3.1).
- Devontae Shuler ranks fourth in the SEC with a 1.5 assist/turnover ratio.
- Shuler and Luis Rodriguez rank fifth in steals, averaging 1.7 per game; Ole Miss is the only team to have two players rank in the conference's top five.
- Shuler is the SEC's active leader in career points (1,201), career steals (174) and career assists (306).

SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
- South Carolina enters Saturday's matchup with a 5-8 record, including a 3-6 mark in SEC play after a narrow loss to league-leading Alabama on Tuesday (81-78).
- The Gamecocks have had eight games either canceled or postponed this season.
- South Carolina crashes the glass, pulling down 14.1 offensive rebounds per game to lead the SEC and rank fifth nationally.
- Saturday's game will be a battle between teams that force turnovers; South Carolina leads the conference, forcing 16.9 turnovers per game. The Rebels aren't far behind, causing 16.7 turnovers per game.
- Junior guard A.J. Lawson leads the team in scoring (17.5 ppg) and steals (1.5 spg). Nearly knocking down a trio of threes per game, Lawson paces the SEC in threes made.
- Keyshawn Bryant (14.5 ppg) and Jermaine Couisnard (10.5 ppg) also average double figures.
- Frank Martin is in his ninth season as head coach of the Gamecocks.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's game will be the 42nd meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, with Ole Miss holding a slim 21-20 advantage. Over the past 10 matchups, each team has won five times apiece. The home teams have dominated the series, going a combined 27-4. Last season, the Rebels protected Craddock Court with an 84-70 victory in Oxford.

LAST TIME WE MET
On a night when Morgan Freeman was honored, two other Rebels reached milestones for Ole Miss. Breein Tyree jumped into the top 10 on the program's all-time scoring list with 38 points, leading the Rebels to an 84-70 victory over South Carolina (Feb. 5 2020). The Somerset, New Jersey, native scored 20 of the team's 41 second half points. Playing all 40 minutes, he finished 12 of 21 for the game, including 11 of 13 at the free throw line. 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. Jermaine Couisnard recorded 28 points to pace the Gamecocks, while Maik Kotsar added 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Rebels controlled the glass 39-29. The win was the 500th career victory for Kermit Davis as a head coach.

SOUTH CAROLINA REBEL
Ole Miss senior Devontae Shuler is a native of Irmo, South Carolina. As a kid, Shuler was teammates with the top two picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.

NEW MONTH, NEW REBELS
Ever since the calendar flipped to February, Ole Miss has looked like an entirely different basketball team. After back-to-back road losses to Arkansas and Georgia to end the first month of the year, the Rebels bounced back with a big victory over No. 10 Tennessee. The narrow win provided a spark that Ole Miss took to the road, rallying from 14 down in the second half to beat Auburn 86-84 in overtime thanks to 30 points from Romello White and a buzzer-beater by Devontae Shuler. Ole Miss kept the momentum going when another top-10 team came into The Pavilion. The Rebels throttled No. 10 Missouri 80-59 for their second top-10 victory in eight days.

WINS OVER TOP-10 TEAMS
Ole Miss has 20 victories over top-10 teams throughout its history with two of them coming over the past two weeks. Earning wins over No. 10 Tennessee (Feb. 2) and No. 10 Missouri (Feb. 10), the Rebels now have three top-10 victories in three seasons under Kermit Davis. Only Rod Barnes (5) and Bob Weltlich (4) have more top-10 wins as Ole Miss head coach.

ANOTHER TOP-10 VICTORY
Ole Miss brought down another top-10 opponent in The Pavilion and upset No. 10 ranked Missouri 80-59 Wednesday evening. The Rebels put on one of their best offensive performances of the season, shooting 57 percent (29 of 51) from the floor with three Rebels in double figures. Jarkel Joiner led the way with 21 points (8 of 14), while Luis Rodriguez had a career-high 15 points. Devontae Shuler, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, also had 15 points, all of which came by going 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
- Ole Miss earned its second victory over a top-10 team this season, earning multiple wins over top-10 teams for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign.
- The 21-point win was the largest margin of victory over a top-10 team since an 84-56 win over No. 6 Alabama (March 3, 2002).
- It was the third victory over a top-10 team in three seasons under Kermit Davis.
- The Rebels shot 56.9 percent from the floor, their best field goal percentage in an SEC game since Feb. 7, 2015 (57.8 percent vs. Auburn).
- Joiner scored a game-high 21 points, his third 20-point game of the season.
- Shuler recorded all 15 of his points from beyond the arc; his five three-pointers helped move him into ninth in program history for threes made (166), passing Jason Harrison (163).
- Rodriguez scored a career-high 15 points.
- It was the first time this season that three Rebels scored at least 15 points in the same game.
- Ole Miss held a 34-19 (+15) advantage on the boards.

SHULER NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After leading Ole Miss to a victory over No. 10 Tennessee and hitting the game-winning shot in a thrilling overtime win at Auburn, senior guard Devontae Shuler was named SEC Co-Player of the Week. The conference office announced that Shuler and Missouri guard Dru Smith shared the weekly accolade. Shuler earned the honor for the first time in his career, coming through in the clutch to lead Ole Miss to a pair of huge SEC victories last week. First, Shuler recorded team highs in points (15) and rebounds (7) to propel the Rebels to an upset victory over No. 10 Tennessee (Feb. 2). Late in the second half, he went on his own 7-0 run to flip a three-point deficit into a four-point lead, one Ole Miss would not relinquish. Shuler's heroics continued Saturday (Feb. 6) as the senior guard hit the game-winning shot with 0.2 seconds to go in overtime at Auburn. Scoring a season-high 26 points, 23 of them coming in the second half and overtime, Shuler led a comeback in which the Rebels trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half. He also dished out a team-high four assists, grabbed six rebounds, and produced his ninth multi-steal game of the season. In the win over the Tigers, Shuler moved to fourth on the Ole Miss all-time list for career steals as well as cracked the career top 10 for three-pointers made.

ON THIS DATE
Feb. 13, 2019: Ole Miss completed the regular season sweep of Auburn behind a dominant defensive effort at Auburn Arena. The Rebels held the Tigers to a season-low field goal percentage (32.7 percent) and point total in a 60-55 victory. Ole Miss led by stellar guard play led by Breein Tyree and Devontae Shuler. Tyree scored 20 points for the sixth straight game behind four three-pointers. Shuler added 17 of his own with four three-pointers, a career high at the time. The win concluded an impressive series sweep as Auburn went on to advance to the Final Four later that season.
Feb. 13, 2016: Marcanvis Hymon posted his second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and four other Rebels scored in double digits, as Ole Miss cruised past Arkansas 76-60. Stefan Moody scored 17 points, Tomasz Gielo added 15, as Ole Miss climbed out of an early double-digit hole to easily beat the Razorbacks. Anthony Perez and Sebastian Saiz both scored 11 apiece.
Feb. 13, 1982: Ole Miss escaped with an overtime victory, knocking off Florida 58-57 in Gainesville. Carlos Clark nailed a 10-foot jumper with one second left to propel the Rebels to a win on the road.

WHAT A WIN
With 13 seconds left, Kermit Davis put the ball in his senior leader's hands and Devontae Shuler delivered. Shuler's buzzer-beating jumper lifted Ole Miss to an 86-84 overtime victory at Auburn (Feb. 6). For the second straight game, down as much as 14, the Rebels rallied from a double-digit second half deficit.
- The Rebels swept the season series with the Tigers.
- Ole Miss has won 14 of the past 18 against Auburn.
- The Rebels played their first OT game of the season.
- Romello White (30) and Devontae Shuler (26) combined for 56 of the Rebels' 86 points, becoming the first Ole Miss duo to score 25 points apiece since Chris Warren (27) and Terrico White (25) did it versus Kansas State at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off (Nov. 20, 2009).
- White scored a career-high 30 points on 14 of 18 shooting, surpassing his previous best of 25 when he was a freshman at Arizona State (Nov. 17, 2017 vs. Northern Arizona).
- White became the first Rebel to record a double-double with at least 30 points since Justin Reed recorded 32 points and 11 rebounds against South Carolina (Jan. 31, 2004).
- White's 30 points were the most points scored by a Rebel since Breein Tyree scored 40 vs. MSU last season (Feb. 11, 2020).
- White recorded his second double-double of the season and 18th for his career.
- White had a career-high four blocks, the most by a Rebel since Terence Davis in 2018.
- Shuler scored a season-high 26 points, 23 of them coming in the second half and overtime.
- Robert Allen tied a season-high with 12 points.

LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
Head coach Kermit Davis loves a team that plays good defense with toughness. The Rebels have put up some historical defensive numbers so far this season, while ranking 18th in total steals (161) and 20th in turnovers forced (16.8 per game).
- With wins over Mississippi State (64-46) and Texas A&M (61-50), held SEC opponents to 50 points or less in back-to-back games for the first time since 1980
- Five games surrendering 50 points or less (first time since 2003-04 season)
- Has limited three SEC foes to 50 points or less, the first Ole Miss team since the 2000-01 Rebels that set a school record for wins (27) and advanced to the Sweet 16
- Kept first four opponents under 60 points, accomplishing the feat for the first time since the 1944-45 season (76 years)
- Fewest points allowed (316) over the first six games of the season since the 1980-81 campaign (307)

1K REBELS
Ole Miss is the only team in the country to have four 1,000-point scorers on its roster. Jarkel Joiner (1,058) was the latest Rebel to join the club with one of his first half jumpers at Arkansas (Jan. 27). Devontae Shuler (1,201) and Romello White (1,135) both cracked four digits in the SEC opener at Alabama (Dec. 29). Dimencio Vaughn (1,266) is the team's active leader in career points after recording 1,239 during his time at Rider.

RISING UP THE CAREER CHARTS
Playing in 116 games as a Rebel, senior guard Devontae Shuler continues to climb his way up the program record books. He already ranks top 10 in three categories and is 13 assists away from cracking his fourth top 10.

Career Record	Shuler	Rank	Next Up	Record Holder
Steals	174	4th	3rd - Eric Laird (179)	Jason Smith (211)
3FG Attempted	482	9th	8th - Stefan Moody (494)	Chris Warren (900)
3FG Made	166	9th	8th - Terence Davis (176)	Chris Warren (334)
Assists	306	--	10th - Eniel Polynice (319)	Sean Tuohy (830)
Points	1,201	29th	28th - Walter Actwood (1,216)	John Stroud (2,328)

SHULER TAKES COMMAND
With All-SEC guards Terence Davis and Breein Tyree graduated and both continuing their careers in the Toronto Raptors organization, Devontae Shuler has become the Rebels' leader. Shuler paces the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), assists (3.5 per game) and steals (1.7 per game), while producing six 20-point games so far this season. He ranks in the SEC's top 10 in all three categories, and his 1.5 assist/turnover ratio is fourth in the conference. In the first win over Auburn (Jan. 6), Shuler's career-high 10 assists were the most by a Rebel since Jarvis Summers dished out 10 in the NCAA Tournament win over BYU (March 17, 2015). He scored 24 points against Georgia (Jan. 16) and followed up that performance with 22 points to lead the Rebels to a rivalry victory over MSU (Jan. 19). Coming through in the clutch, Shuler nailed a buzzer-beater, part of a season-high 26 points, to lead Ole Miss to another win at Auburn (Feb. 6).

MELLO'S WORLD
Graduate transfer Romello White has brought his toughness and physicality to Oxford, dominating the post. The Arizona State transfer is averaging 10.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg. White has been a force down low, making 80 of his 119 attempts for a 67.2 percent clip. With 23 blocks over 19 games, White leads Ole Miss in blocks and ranks 10th in the conference. Earning his first start as a Rebel, he made seven of his eight shot attempts on his way to a game-high 20 points versus UNCW (Dec. 12). It was the fourth 20-point game of White's collegiate career and the first since February 4, 2018 (at Washington State) when he was a freshman at Arizona State. In his first SEC Game, at Alabama (Dec. 29), White led Ole Miss with team highs in points (20) and rebounds (11). He saved his best game for the other SEC team from Alabama, exploding for a career-high 30 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the overtime victory at Auburn (Feb. 6). He became the first Rebel to record a double-double with at least 30 points since Justin Reed accomplished the feat in 2004. The performance marked the 18th double-double of White's career, his second in an Ole Miss uniform.

HOMETOWN REB
No matter what his role is, starting in the backcourt or providing a spark off the bench, Jarkel Joiner makes an impact for his hometown team. In his first season in an Ole Miss uniform, the Oxford, Mississippi native has bumped his scoring average to 12.9 ppg during conference games, second only to fellow guard Devontae Shuler (15.4 ppg). He leads the team in free throw shooting, making 85.5 percent of his attempts. Joiner came off the bench in the first four SEC contests before starting against Georgia (Jan. 16), leading to his best game as a Rebel. Knocking down 9 of 17 from the floor, Joiner scored a season-high 22 points. In the win over MSU (Jan. 19), his first game in the rivalry, Joiner helped lead Ole Miss to victory with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a career-high two blocks. He followed that performance with a game-high 21 points in a win over Texas A&M (Jan. 23), his second 20-point night over a three-game stretch. Joiner led the Rebels to another top-10 victory with a game-high 21 points versus No. 10 Missouri (Feb. 10).

SHULER STEALS
Senior Devontae Shuler is rising up the program's all-time steals list with 174 career steals. Getting two steals against Auburn (Feb. 6), he passed Jason Harrison (172) to move into fifth in Ole Miss history. Averaging 1.7 steals per game, Shuler ranks fifth in the SEC. He is five steals away from tying Eric Laird for third in Ole Miss history. After finishing second on the team in steals as a freshman (32), Shuler produced 56 steals his second year in Oxford, the most ever by an Ole Miss sophomore and seventh-most by any Rebel in a single season. He led the team last year as well, compiling 54 (1.7 per game) throughout the 2019-20 campaign.

LUIS GOT GAME
After going one full year without playing (season-ending foot injury on November 27, 2019), Luis Rodriguez has returned to become a leader for the Rebels. The Los Angeles, California, native paces the team in rebounds (6.5 per game) and steals (1.7 per game) to go along with 7.9 ppg. He is fifth in the SEC in steals with the help of 12 multi-steal games. In the win over UNCW (Dec. 12), Rodriguez produced his first career double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds at Dayton (Dec. 19), the most by a Rebel since Sebastian Saiz pulled down 15 in the NIT quarterfinals versus Georgia Tech (March 21, 2017). In Wednesday's win over No. 10 Missouri, Rodriguez scored a career-high 15 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds.

WINNING BIG
When the Rebels win, they usually win big.
- Nine of the team's 11 victories this season have been by double digits, including six by at least 18 points.
- Dating back to last season, 21 of the 26 wins are double-digit victories.

YEAR THREE OF THE DAVIS ERA
Kermit Davis is in his third 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 449 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 515 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 just the third active coach (Dana Altman, Bob Huggins) to be named coach of the year in four different conferences.

NEXT ON THE HARDWOOD
The Rebels will have a rare week off due to the LSU game, originally scheduled for Feb. 17, getting moved up to Jan. 9 when Ole Miss was supposed to host South Carolina. When they return to the court (Feb. 20), the Rebels will look to sweep the season series with rival MSU. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

RebelsCalendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Robert Allen

Jarkel Joiner

Luis Rodriguez

Devontae Shuler

Khadim Sy

Breein Tyree

Dimencio Vaughn

Romello White

The University of Mississippi Athletics