The Ole Miss men’s basketball team has come in at No. 22 in the latest poll from the Associated Press after being knocked out of the rankings just one week ago.
First-year head coach Chris Beard’s group earned a place back in the Top 25 by responding to a devastating loss at No. 6 Tennessee with consecutive double-digit victories over conference opponents.
On Wednesday, Ole Miss eclipsed triple digits for the first time in the history of the John and Sandy Black Pavilion in a 103-85 win over Florida. The Rebels, in the second half, shot 75% from the floor while holding Florida to 38.6% — largely due to a record-breaking nine-block night from 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp. Returning veterans Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield accounted for 51 of the team’s points in the dominant win over the Gators.
The team then amassed a program-best 10-game home winning streak with Saturday’s 69-56 win over Vanderbilt. A dominant offensive showing from Murrell catapulted the Rebels over the Commodores. Murrell joined former Ole Miss great Stephon Moody as a single-game three-point record holder with the Memphis native knocking down six triples in the contest. Ole Miss also outrebounded its opponent for the first time since beginning conference play. The Rebels secured 42 boards, with Sharp hauling in eight of them, compared to the Commodores’ 33 rebounds.
“We have a home court in advantage in Oxford now,” Beard said of the fans showing up to the home conference games. “The main message is thank you for all the people who are jumping on early — not just today.”
Next up for Ole Miss is a Wednesday night match at LSU. The game will tip off at 6 p.m. CT
The full top 25 can be found below:
- UConn
- Purdue
- Kansas
- North Carolina
- Houston
- Tennessee
- Duke
- Kentucky
- Baylor
- Memphis
- Wisconsin
- Arizona
- Auburn
- Illinois
- Oklahoma
- Utah State
- Marquette
- Creighton
- TCU
- BYU
- Dayton
- Ole Miss
- Florida Atlantic
- Iowa State
- Texas Tech
