Field of 68: Ole Miss basketball could ‘push for Top 5 in the SEC’ next season
‘The Field of 68’ is slow-releasing off-season grades for 2024-25 NCAA Tournament contenders. Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels passed with flying colors.
Rob Dauster and John Martin each gave the Rebels a B+ grade after Ole Miss went out and added 10 new players in the off-season. Included was a transfer class ranked No. 16 nationally by On3.
The full portal haul: Sean Pedulla (Virginia Tech), Ja’Von Benson (Hampton), Davon Barnes (Sam Houston State), Dre Davis (Seton Hall), Malik Dia (Belmont) and Mikeal Brown-Jones (UNC-Greensboro).
“They changed over a lot of things,” Dauster said. “They bring back some really important pieces, specifically Matthew Murrell, Jaylen Murray and Jaemyn Brakefield, and they went out and added guys in the portal that can have an immediate impact.
“I think the team is Top 20 good and can push for Top 5 in the SEC. They go about eight or nine deep. They have size, depth, versatility, shot-making, floor-spacing and they’re older.”
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Fifth-year senior guard Matthew Murrell is one of six returners from last season.
The Rebels won 20 games for the first time since 2018-19 — the last year they reached the NCAA Tournament. Martin believes they’ll contend for their 10th all-time appearance this season.
“There’s money in Oxford, and the Ole Miss boosters care passionately,” Martin said. “Normally Ole Miss would never have been opened up to a chance to have a coach like Chris Beard. Now that he’s there, it’s reinvigorating for all that money that was maybe apathetic to Ole Miss basketball.
“He’s taken advantage of it (and) done a good job of energizing the people down there. It’s translated into now building out this roster that’s going to contend for an NCAA Tournament appearance.”
Of course, all the new pieces have to come together. Fortunately, team-building doesn’t only occur on the court, and the new-look Rebels have kept quite busy this summer. The included photos were provided by Ole Miss Athletics.
Bracket Watch: Offseason moves has Ole Miss among 10 SEC teams in NCAA Tournament projections
John Bol
Dre Davis
Mikeal Brown-Jones
Mikeal Brown-Jones
Jaylen Murray
Mikeal Brown-Jones
Davon Barnes
