Ole Miss updates Matthew Murrell's status ahead of Texas A&M matchup

Ole Miss’ Matthew Murrell (face) will be available for today’s game against Texas A&M, per Rebels head coach Kermit Davis. The sophomore guard out of IMG Academy is averaging 11 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game this season for the Rebels.

Murrell, who was dealing with flu-like symptoms last week, suffered a face injury against the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night. He got off to a hot start against Auburn, scoring seven points in 14 minutes. However, the sophomore guard suffered the injury late in the first half and did not return. 

“I thought that really hurt us,” Davis said. “We just can’t seem to get the guys who are available on the floor. …He was giving us some scoring. He had seven. He was in a rhythm. He looked athletic going to the rim. That was a big loss for us.”

Murrell is a former four-star recruit out of Memphis, Tennessee and was the No. 38 overall player in the 2020 class, according to the On3 Consensus, the most advanced, complete and unbiased rating and ranking measurement in the industry. He was the No. 7 shooting guard overall and No. 7 player in Florida, where he played high school ball.

Ole Miss tips off against SEC foe Texas A&M Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET in Oxford, Mississippi live on the SEC Network.

Bruce Pearl discusses how he instilled confidence back in Zep Jasper

Getting Zep Jasper back from injury was a big boost for the Auburn Tigers, and head coach Bruce Pearl knows it. Pearl raved about his point guard’s ability to make plays with the ball in his hand. Jasper finished with a season-high 15 points on 4-5 shooting beyond the arc in the Tigers’ 77-64 win over Ole Miss Wednesday night.

“Obviously, he’s a good shooter, and he’s such an unselfish kid,” Pearl said. The Auburn headman also noted that he wanted to see Jasper hunt his shot more — Jasper followed his coaches advice. 

“[Pearl] hit me with a text message like two days ago and told me he thinks I should be more aggressive and be looking for my shot and try to open it up for other guys, because they kind of key on other guys,” Jasper said. “They don’t key on me to look to take a shot, so I think that him texting me, that was a key aspect in [Wednesday night’s] game.”

Jasper missed two games with an illness, including the Tigers’ loss to Arkansas on Feb. 8. The other game he missed, against Georgia, went down to the wire before Auburn pulled out the victory. It’s safe to say, when Jasper is on the court, Auburn is playing at its best.