Ole Miss transfer Moussa Cisse commits to return to Memphis

Former Ole Miss Rebels and Oklahoma State Cowboys center Moussa Cisse has committed to join the Memphis Tigers via the NCAA Transfer Portal, he shared to social media on Friday.

Cisse posted an edit on his Instagram of himself in Memphis apparel, captioned, “Back home 901 (Blue-M emoji) #signed.” You can check out the photo here.

A former five-star recruit in the 2020 class, Cisse began his career at Memphis before transferring to Oklahoma State after his freshman season. He spent the next two seasons in Stillwater before playing one season for Chris Beard in Oxford.

He averaged 4.5 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Rebels this past season, starting in 17 of the 26 games he appeared in. 

When he began his career, Cisse had high expectations as a blue-chip high school recruit. He started all 28 games for Penny Hardaway’s Memphis squad that season, but only played 18.6 points per game. Averaging 6.6 points and 6.3 rebounds, Cisse hit the transfer portal looking for an extended role with another program.

He landed on Oklahoma State, where he would spend the next two seasons. He averaged just over 21 minutes per game during his time as a Cowboy and started 46 of the 61 games he appeared in over that time. Cisse’s average at Oklahoma State saw him score 7.0 points and 7.3 rebounds across two years before hitting the portal once again.

He would not achieve those same numbers during his single season with the Ole Miss Rebels. He managed to score in double figures on three seperate occasions this past season, the best being a 13-point performance in a 72-69 loss to South Carolina on Feb. 24. 

During his time at the preps ranks, Cisse was the No. 17-rated player in the 2020 class, and the No. 2 center, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

Ole Miss agrees to home-and-home series with Memphis 

Ole Miss and Memphis have agreed to play a home-and-home series in basketball over the next two seasons, The Commercial Appeal reported. The Tigers will host the first meeting in the 2024-25 season before traveling to Oxford the following year. 

Dates for the games have still yet to be set.

Memphis and Ole Miss have met four times over the past five seasons with the home team winning each time. The Rebels won the most recent contest by a score of 80-77 this past season. 

The trio of Matthew Murrell, Jaylen Murray and Allen Flanigan combined to score 60 of Ole Miss’ 80 points in this past season’s win vs. the Tigers. It marked the fifth victory for the Rebels in the past seven meetings, though Memphis leads the all-time series 28-16.

Ole Miss is coming off of a 20-12 finish in the inaugural season for coach Chris Beard. The Rebels started off 13-0 and got up to 18-3 before dropping nine of their final 11 games and missing out on the NCAA Tournament. 

On3’s Chandler Vessels and Barkley Truax contributed to this report.