Men’s Basketball to Honor Coolidge Ball, Host South Carolina on Tuesday Night

			OLE MISS (12-13, 3-9 SEC) vs. SOUTH CAROLINA (14-10, 5-7 SEC) Tuesday, February 15 • 6 p.m. CT • Oxford, Miss. The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500)
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OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss men's basketball returns home and will honor the legendary Coolidge Ball at halftime when the Rebels host the South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT inside The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss and live on ESPNU.

PROMOTIONS
• Coolidge Ball replica statue giveaway
• Coolidge Ball t-shirt giveaway for Club Red
• Coolidge Ball halftime recognition

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (12-13, 3-9 SEC)
Head Coach: Kermit Davis • 4th Season at Ole Miss (63-55) • 532-318 career record (27th Season)

South Carolina Gamecocks (14-10, 5-7 SEC)
Head Coach: Frank Martin • 10th Season at South Carolina (167-144) • 284-198 career record (15th Season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: ESPNU
Play-by-Play: Kevin Fitzgerald
Color: Joe Kleine

OLE MISS RADIO

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: John Stroud

SiriusXM
XM: 191
SiriusXM App: 962

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, 2021, Ole Miss' first Black student-athlete was celebrated with a life-size, bronze likeness erected in the north plaza of SJB 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.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
Tuesday night marks the 44th all-time meeting between the Rebels and Gamecocks, a series that has almost exclusively taken place since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1991-92. The lone game prior came on Dec. 30, 1960, an 85-79 loss to the Gamecocks in Shreveport, Louisiana. Overall, Ole Miss holds a 23-20 edge against South Carolina, with the home team holding wide margins in Oxford (Ole Miss leads, 15-2) and Columbia (South Carolina leads, 12-3). At six neutral site games (five at the SEC Tournament), the Gamecocks hold a slim 6-5 edge with a 5-5 series tie at the conference tournament. In overtime games, South Carolina is 2-0. The Rebels are currently on a three-game winning streak against the Gamecocks stretching back to 2020, their longest since a three-game run from 2014-15. No team has won four in a row since the Rebels took four straight from 1999-2002 -- the longest streak in the series for either team. During their last three wins, the Rebels are averaging a 12.7 point margin of victory.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
South Carolina enters Tuesday at 14-10 overall and 5-7 in SEC play. The Gamecocks own a NET rating of 102, with a combined 4-8 record against Quad 1 (1-6) and Quad 2 (3-2), and a 9-2 mark against Quad 3 (4-2) and Quad 4 (5-0).

The Gamecocks lead the SEC and rank eighth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (13.5), and they couple that with a tight defense that ranks third in the SEC in blocks at 5.1 per game (24th NCAA), fourth in field goal defense at 41.1 percent (68th NCAA) and fifth in turnovers forced per game at 15.5 (40th NCAA).

South Carolina is led by two double-digit scorers in Erik Stevenson (11.0) and James Reese V (10.5), who average a combined 3.5 three-pointers per game.

LAST MEETING: March 11, 2021 (W, 76-59, SEC Tournament)
• Ole Miss: No. 6 seed; South Carolina: No. 11 seed
• First SEC Tournament win since 2017
• Largest margin of victory in an SEC Tournament game since winning 80-60 over LSU in 2007
• Eighth win in 10 games
• Held South Carolina to 36 percent shooting, blocked 7 shots
• Jarkel Joiner: 18 points, 6-6 FT
• Romello White: 17 points
• Devontae Shuler: 15 points

LAST MEETING IN OXFORD: Feb. 5, 2020 (W, 84-70)
• 500th career win for Kermit Davis
• Morgan Freeman Night
• Ole Miss: 47.4 percent shooting, 24-32 FT, won rebounding battle 39-29
• Breein Tyree: then career-high 38 points (20 in second half)
• Khadim Sy: 10 points, 8 rebounds
• South Carolina's Jermaine Couisnard (28) and Maik Kotsar (19) combined for 47 points

LAST MEETING IN COLUMBIA: Feb. 13, 2021 (W, 81-74)
• First win in Columbia since Jan. 18, 2014 (75-74)
• Ole Miss: 50 percent shooting, 34-44 FT
• Devontae Shuler: career-high 31 points on 8-13 FG
• Romello White: 14 points, 5-9 FG, 5 rebounds

LAST TIME OUT (at Missouri: L, 74-68)
• Missouri: 21-2 run from late first half into the second
• 20 Mizzou points off 12 Ole Miss turnovers
• Rebels shot 50 percent overall
• Ole Miss: cut 20-point second half deficit down to four
• Matthew Murrell: 15 points, 6-11 FG
• Jarkel Joiner: 13 points
• Luis Rodriguez: 12 points, 10 rebounds (fourth career double-double; second in last four games)

LAST WIN (at #25 LSU: W, 76-72)
• First win vs. ranked LSU since Jan. 18, 2003 against 23rd-ranked Tigers (67-57, in Baton Rouge)
• Second ranked win of the season
• First win in Baton Rouge since March 9, 2013
• Ole Miss led by 24 in first half (largest lead vs. LSU since 2012, largest in Baton Rouge since 2011)
• Led by 13 at halftime, first halftime lead vs. LSU since 2016, largest since 2013
• Shot 65.4 percent in the first half
• Daeshun Ruffin: 19 points, 3 assists, 2 steals (left game with season-ending knee injury)
• Luis Rodriguez: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals (third career double-double)
• Nysier Brooks: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

RODRIGUEZ ON THE BOARDS
Junior Luis Rodriguez has stuffed the stat sheet as of late, turning into a rebounding machine over the last several games for the Rebels. Rodriguez is averaging 9.8 rebounds over his last four outings in contrast to his season average of 5.6, helped greatly by three double-digit rebound games at No. 25 LSU (12), at Florida (11) and at Missouri (10). In his career entering this season, Rodriguez had three total double-digit rebound games. In that same stretch, he has recorded his third and fourth career double-doubles, tying his career high with 15 points to go along with his 12 boards at LSU, and tallying 12 points on top of his 10 boards at Missouri. In those same four games, Rodriguez is averaging 8.8 points, and it also includes a massive career-best nine assists at home vs. Alabama on Feb. 9.

SHOT FOR SHOT
Ole Miss senior guard Jarkel Joiner helped the Rebel offense go toe-to-toe with a prolific Alabama scoring machine on Feb. 9, leading the Rebels to a season-high 12 threes made in the 97-83 shootout loss to the Crimson Tide -- the most treys made by Ole Miss since Dec. 14, 2019 vs. Middle Tennessee (14). Joiner accounted for half of those threes, a career-high six amidst a demonstrative 33-point outing, which ties with Vanderbilt's Scottie Pippen Jr. for the most points scored in a game by any SEC player this season (Pippen Jr. had 33 vs. Kentucky on Feb. 2). Those 33 points stand as an Ole Miss career-high for Joiner and just one point shy of his overall best of 34 against Cal Baptist on Jan. 24, 2019 during his time at CSU Bakersfield. It also stands as the most points scored by a Rebel since Breein Tyree's 40 points against Mississippi State on Feb. 11, 2020.

HE'S BACK
Ole Miss senior guard Jarkel Joiner returned to the Rebel lineup at Florida on Feb. 5 and has jumped right back in to being a leader on the court. Joiner missed three weeks after needing back surgery for an injury suffered in between the Dec. 21 game vs. Samford and the SEC opener at No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 5. In his three games back, Joiner is averaging 35.7 minutes played and 17.7 points per game. His return came on the roat at Florida on Feb. 5, and immediately he was right back in the thick of it, playing 40 minutes in the overtime loss to the Gators while tallying seven points, four rebounds and one assist in the effort. Joiner played minimally against Mississippi State on Jan. 8 prior to having a minor procedure done the following week, but Florida's 40 minutes constituted his first full game of action since Dec. 21 vs. Samford and his first 40-minute outing since ending the 2020-21 season with consecutive 40-minute games against LSU in the SEC Tournament and Louisiana Tech in the first round of the NIT. Joiner followed that up with an Ole Miss career-high 33 points in 33 minutes against Alabama on Feb. 9, the most points scored by a Rebel in almost exactly two years.

At the time of his last game prior to injury on Dec. 21, Joiner ranked second in the SEC and 18th in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (3.0), ninth in the SEC in minutes (31:33), fifth in free throw shooting (.846) and 13th in scoring (13.6 PPG). Joiner has scored in double-digits in 17 of his last 21 games played.

RUFFIN OUT
Ole Miss suffered a devastating blow in its upset win at No. 25 LSU on Feb. 1, as freshman point guard Daeshun Ruffin tore his ACL late in the second half and will miss the remainder of the season. Against the Tigers, Ruffin led Ole Miss with 19 points, three assists and two steals alongside a 6-of-11 line from the field, a 2-of-4 clip from three and a perfect 5-of-5 streak from the free throw line in 20 minutes of game action.

"Daeshun was just hitting his stride and was establishing himself as one of the best point guards in the SEC," said Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis. "I feel badly for Daeshun, but I know he will attack rehab with a great maturity and will return stronger than ever next season. Our team has been very resilient all season long, and we expect no difference against a really good Florida team on Saturday."

Ruffin had been electric since returning to the team following an eight-game absence due to a broken right hand suffered in the season opener against New Orleans on Nov. 9. On the season, Ruffin averaged a team-high 2.3 steals per game and led the Rebels with a 52-of-69 (.754) clip from the charity stripe, to go along with 12.6 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. In SEC season he's been just as impressive against some of the best teams in the nation, ranking at the time of his injury second in the conference in SEC-only action in steals (2.7/game), ninth in free throw shooting (.833) and 10th in assists (3.9/game). Furthermore, his five steals at No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 5 ranks tied for the second-most in an SEC game this season.

He was particularly effective for the Rebels stepping up for the injured Jarkel Joiner, averaging 12.5 points, 3.8 assists, 2.5 steals and shooting 36 percent overall and 77.8 percent from the free throw line in Joiner's absence since Dec. 21.

Most recently, Ruffin was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday (Jan. 31) – the first such honor by a Rebel since Jarvis Summers on Dec. 5, 2011. His honor came courtesy of an excellent three-game stretch from Jan. 24-29, during which he averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals with a 19-of-24 (.792) mark from the free throw line – at one point hitting 14 in a row during those three games. Included in there is a career-high 21 points vs. Florida on Jan. 24, with 15 of those points coming in the second half. In just 14 career games played, Ruffin has scored in double-digits in 10, scored 15 or more in six contests, and has had multiple steals in nine games. Ruffin was on pace to break Elston Turner's 1978 record for steals by a freshman of 47, but will end his season at 32 swipes.

Ruffin came to Ole Miss following a superb high school career at Callaway High School in Jackson, Mississippi, joining as the first McDonald's All-American signee in program history.

HITTING HIS STRIDE
The injury to Daeshun Ruffin was made even more devastating by the fact that he was truly starting to hit his stride as a leader on the court. Over his final four games played, Ole Miss went 3-1 with wins against Florida (70-54), Kansas State (67-56) and LSU (76-72), and in those games Ruffin averaged 16.8 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and shot .828 from the free throw line with an average of 6.0 free throws made (24-of-29).

Jan. 24 - vs. Florida (W, 70-54) - 21 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, 2 rebounds, 6-13 FG, 9-10 FT
Jan. 26 - vs. Arkansas (L, 64-55) - 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 5-5 FT
Jan. 29 - vs. Kansas State (W, 67-56) - 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Feb. 1 - at No. 25 LSU (W, 76-72) - 19 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound, 5-5 FT

BEWARE THE REBELS
Ole Miss has been a thorn in the side of nationally ranked teams lately, as the Rebels have notched five AP Top-25 victories over the last calendar year after a 76-72 victory over No. 25 LSU -- Ole Miss' first win in Baton Rouge since 2013. Since a 52-50 win at home vs. No. 10 Tennessee on Feb. 2, 2021, Ole Miss has gone 5-2 against ranked squads, with the lone losses by a combined 15 points at No. 18 Tennessee on Jan. 5 of this year (66-60/OT), and against No. 4 Auburn at home on Jan. 15 (80-71). The Rebels held double-digit first half leads in both of those losses, leading by as many as 12 with 8:22 to go in the first half against the Vols and by as many as 14 with 6:04 to go in the first half against Auburn. Under head coach Kermit Davis, the Rebels have beaten seven top-25 opponents.

Following its 67-63 upset over No. 18 Memphis on Dec. 4, Ole Miss notched its fourth consecutive Top-25 win for just the second time in school history. The other such occurrence came across the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, when Ole Miss ripped off four in a row against No. 6 Florida on Feb. 16, 2002 (68-51), No. 6 Alabama on March 3, 2002 (84-56), at No. 23 LSU the following season on Jan. 18, 2003 (67-57), and three days later vs. No. 15 Alabama on Jan. 21, 2003 (76-57). The latest streak came against No. 10 Tennessee on Feb. 2, 2021 (52-50), No. 10 Missouri on Feb. 10, 2021 (80-59) and at No. 24 Missouri on Feb. 23, 2021 before the win vs. Memphis. This was also the first time since 2001 that Ole Miss won against four ranked teams within the same calendar year. That season the Rebels did so five times against No. 10 Tennessee on Feb. 10 (87-71), No. 20 Alabama on March 3 (105-71), No. 5 Florida in the SEC Tournament (74-69), No. 19 Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament (59-56) and the following season against No. 22 Memphis on Dec. 7 (71-67).

2020-21 / 2021-22
Feb. 2, 2021 - vs. #10 Tennessee (52-50)
Feb. 10, 2021 - vs. #10 Missouri (80-59)
Feb. 23, 2021 - at #24 Missouri (60-53)
Dec. 4, 2021 - vs. #18 Memphis (67-63)

2001-02 / 2002-03
Feb. 16, 2002 - vs. #6 Florida (68-51)
March 3, 2002 - vs. #6 Alabama (84-56)
Jan. 18, 2003 - at #23 LSU (67-57)
Jan. 21, 2003 - vs. #15 Alabama (76-57)

REBEL RESUME

Ole Miss NET Splits (Using Current Ratings)
vs. Quad 1: 1-8
vs. Quad 2: 5-1
vs. Quad 3: 1-3
vs. Quad 4: 5-1
vs. NET Top-100: 6-8
vs. NET Top-50: 3-7
vs. NET Top-25: 1-3
Top NET Win: LSU (16)
Top NET Loss: Auburn (7)
Other NET Top-50 Losses: Tennessee (10; 66-60/OT), Alabama (22; 97-83), Marquette (30; 78-72), Arkansas (33; 64-55), Boise State (39; 60-50), Florida (49; 62-57)
Average Margin of Defeat vs. NET Top-50: 8.4 PPG

FURIOUS STARTS FOR MURRELL
Sophomore Matthew Murrell has been a prolific scorer as of late for the Rebels, but he has been even more lethal from the jump in SEC play. In the first half during conference play, Murrell is averaging 9.1 points and 1.6 threes made while shooting lights-out clips of 57.4 percent overall and 52.8 from three. Murrell put together an absurd first half against Mississippi State on Jan. 8, dropping 23 of his eventual 31 points in the opening 20 minutes. That first half performance was the best by a Rebel against an SEC opponent since Stefan Moody poured in 24 in the opening frame against State on March 2, 2016.

SERIOUS MINUTES IN SEC PLAY
Ole Miss has received tremendous effort out of both Matthew Murrell and Nysier Brooks in SEC play, with both ranking within the top-10 in SEC-only minutes played. Murrell ranks second at 35.9 minutes per contest, while Brooks comes in at No. 9 at 32.6. Prior to SEC play starting, the duo combined for only 24 minutes per game, with Brooks averaging 25.9 and Murrell averaging 22.1.

HISTORIC SHOWINGS AT THE FREE THROW LINE
Ole Miss has now recorded half of its perfect free throw shooting games with at least 10 attempts in this season alone following a perfect 15-of-15 showing against No. 4 Auburn on Jan. 15 and a follow-up 13-of-13 clip against Arkansas on Jan. 26. Those constitute just the third and fourth games in Ole Miss history to not miss a free throw attempt with at least 10 tries, joining a a school record 22-of-22 effort against South Alabama on Nov. 18, 2008 and a 10-of-10 performance against Mississippi State on Feb. 28, 1959. Both games stand as the best free throw performances in the SEC this season, and the 15-of-15 outing against Auburn ranks among just 15 perfect performances in the NCAA this season with at least 15 made free throws:

1. Villanova - 26-26 (vs. Howard, Nov. 16)
2. Stony Brook - 19-19 (vs. New Hampshire, Feb. 7)
3. Saint Mary's - 18-18 (vs. Loyola Marymount, Feb. 5)
4. Jacksonville - 17-17 (vs. EKU, Feb. 9)
4. Incarnate Word - 17-17 (vs. Nicholls, Feb. 3)
4. Long Beach State - 17-17 (vs. UC Santa Barbara, Jan. 13)
4. Montana - 17-17 (vs. Air Force, Dec. 8)
4. Detroit Mercy - 17-17 (vs. Hofstra, Nov. 27)
9. Villanova - 16-16 (vs. Georgetown, Jan. 22)
9. Grambling - 16-16 (vs. MVSU, Jan. 22)
9. Valparaiso - 16-16 (vs. Illinois State, Jan. 2)
9. Purdue Fort Wayne - 16-16 (vs. Wright State, Dec. 2)
13. Ole Miss - 15-15 (vs. Auburn, Jan. 15)
13. Miami (Ohio) - 15-15 (vs. Western Michigan, Jan. 15)
13. Charleston Southern - 15-15 (vs. Clemson, Nov. 26)

OLE MISS CAN'T MISS
The Rebels were absolutely on fire in the second half against Florida on Jan. 22, going 17-of-23 in the latter 20 minutes for a second-half clip of 73.9 percent. That stands as the first 70 percent second half by a Rebel team since shooting 72 percent (18-25) vs. San Diego on Nov. 28, 2018 and first vs. an SEC opponent since shooting 71.4 percent (15-21) vs. Auburn on Feb. 7, 2015. Furthermore, that stands as the best second-half percentage by a Rebel team since shooting 75 percent (21-28) vs. Centenary on Dec. 23, 2009, and the best in conference play since shooting 75 percent (18-24) vs. Alabama on March 1, 2008. The second half vs. Florida was the best back half by Ole Miss this season by more than 16 percentage points over its previous best of 57.5 vs. Charleston Southern on Nov. 12.

OFF THE LINE
It's been difficult to damage the Rebels from distance this season, as Ole Miss has held 13 of its last 19 opponents to 35 percent or lower from beyond the arc -- including seven of 12 SEC foes. In six of those eight wins of that stretch against Rider (2-of-13), No. 18 Memphis (2-of-11), Middle Tennessee (3-of-27), Dayton (4-18), Mississippi State (3-16) and Florida (4-29), Rebel opponents shot a combined 18-of-114 (.158), with the lone outliers a 30.6 percent outing from K-State on an 11-of-36 line and a 36.4 showing at No. 25 LSU on an 8-of-22 line. In the Kermit Davis era, Ole Miss is 31-17 when holding opponents to 30 percent or lower and 51-28 when holding opponents below 40 percent from deep.

FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Ole Miss has found its stroke from three-ball land again just in time for conference play, as their SEC-only three-point percentage of .349 (No. 4 SEC) has been helped greatly by 7.5 threes per game (No. 5 SEC). Ole Miss hit double-digit threes in each of its first two games of SEC season, going 11-of-22 at No. 18 Tennessee in a near-upset thriller that went into overtime before an 11-of-23 performance against in-state rival Mississippi State on Jan. 8. The Rebels went toe-to-toe with one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation in Alabama, knocking down 12 trifectas in the process -- the most by Ole Miss since hitting 14 against Middle Tennessee on Dec. 14, 2019.

On the season, Ole Miss has hit double-digit threes made four times when including an 11-of-29 performance against Charleston Southern back on Nov. 12 and a season-high 12-of-28 performance vs. Alabama on Feb. 9, the most such games since the Rebels tallied seven double-digit games during head coach Kermit Davis' first season in 2018-19.

MURRELL GOES UNCONSCIOUS
Sophomore Matthew Murrell absolutely lit the net on fire against in-state rival Mississippi State on Jan. 8, dropping a career-high 31 points on an absurd 10-of-11 shooting performance that included a perfect 5-of-5 line from beyond the arc and a 6-of-6 clip from the free throw line. Murrell actually started the game 10-of-10 from the field before a late miss with 2:32 to play gave him his lone blemish on the night. Murrell stands as one of only three Rebels all-time to have gone 5-of-5 from three, joining Devontae Shuler's performance vs. Jackson State on Dec. 10, 2020, and Joe Harvell's 5-of-5 outing against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament on March 9, 1990 -- making Murrell's the only such performance against an SEC opponent during the regular season. Murrell was unconscious in the first half, scoring 23 points in the opening frame alone, which had already beat his previous career-high of 19 points scored against No. 18 Memphis on Dec. 4. His 23 first-half points stands as the most scored by a Rebel against an SEC opponent since Stefan Moody dropped 24 against Mississippi State on March 2, 2016. To anyone paying attention, though, this was just the latest and greatest output from Murrell. Over his last 13 games since SEC play began Jan. 5 at Tennessee, he is 31-of-72 (.431) from three and 62-of-133 (.466) overall, averaging 14.9 points per game in that stretch. Murrell started the season 2-of-10 (.200) from three across his first six games, but a 3-of-6 three-point performance against Rider and a 4-of-9 rip against the nationally-ranked Tigers helped spark a three-point line of 43-of-108 (.398) since across his last 19 games played since Nov. 30 against Rider.

Murrell is the program's highest rated recruit ever nationally, signing with Ole Miss ranked No. 39 overall by both ESPN and the 247Sports Composite in 2019-20.

CLEANING UP THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Graduate transfer Nysier Brooks has been a beast on the offensive glass to start SEC play, ranking fourth in conference action at 3.3 offensive boards per game. Brooks hauled in a whopping eight offensive boards against Mississippi State to help lead to a career-high 16 rebounds, the most total boards by a Rebel since Sebastian Saiz hauled in 17 vs. Georgia Tech in the 2017 NIT. Brooks has had five or more offensive boards in four games this season, and he has had at least six rebounds in all but two games this season. Furthermore, Brooks has hit double-digit rebounds six times, including three in SEC play to average an SEC fourth-best average of 7.9 per game in conference play. Overall, Brooks ranks sixth in the SEC at 7.8 rebounds per game, and his overall offensive rebounding average of 2.8 per game ranks third in the conference. Brooks most recently recorded his third Rebel double-double and eighth of his career following a 15-point, 16 rebound performance against Mississippi State on Jan. 8.

PROTECT THE BALL
Ole Miss has forced double-digit turnovers in all but three of their 25 contests so far this season. In the Kermit Davis era, the Rebels are 48-23 when having fewer turnovers than their opponents, and are 37-14 when forcing 15 turnovers or more.

HOMETOWN HERO
Senior Jarkel Joiner was named one of 60 men's and women's basketball student-athletes nationally named as candidates for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award on Dec. 7. Ole Miss women's basketball senior Shakira Austin was also named a candidate, making Ole Miss the only SEC school to be represented on both lists and one of just four nationally alongside BYU, Michigan and Virginia Tech. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

In the classroom, Joiner holds a 3.13 GPA in multi-disciplinary studies, and is a staple in his hometown community. Joiner was named to the 2020-21 SEC Community Service Team, working closely with the Reading with the Rebels program in addition to the Stronger Together Mississippi initiative and Adopt-A-Basket, which helps feed local families during the holiday season.

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 63 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 466 career wins over 24 seasons, including stints at Middle Tennessee, Idaho and Texas A&M. In 27 seasons as a college basketball head coach, he has amassed 532 wins.

DAVIS ERA TRENDS TO WATCH
• 53-18 when leading at half
• 5-0 when scoring 90+, 27-4 when scoring 80+, 48-20 when scoring 70+
• 43-19 when winning the rebounding battle
• 28-4 when at 50 percent shooting or better
• 18-8 when shooting 40 percent or better from three
• 60-31 when keeping opponents below 50 percent shooting (35-6 when below 40 percent)

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

Nysier Brooks

Jarkel Joiner

Matthew Murrell

Luis Rodriguez

Daeshun Ruffin

Devontae Shuler

Khadim Sy

Romello White

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