Game Notes: Ole Miss men’s basketball faces Top 5 road test at No. 3 Auburn

Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations | Ole Miss men’s basketball will square off against Top 5 Auburn for the second time this season when it travels to take on the No. 3-ranked Tigers on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

TEAM FACTS

Ole Miss Rebels (13-14, 4-10 SEC)
Head Coach: Kermit Davis • 4th Season at Ole Miss (64-56) • 533-319 career record (27th Season)

#3 Auburn Tigers (24-3, 12-2 SEC)
Head Coach: Bruce Pearl • 8th Season at Auburn (162-95) • 624-240 career record (27th Season)

ON THE AIR

Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Mike Morgan
Color: Jon Sundvold

OLE MISS RADIO

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

SiriusXM
XM: 380
SiriusXM App: 970

SERIES HISTORY VS. AUBURN

Wednesday night marks the 143rd all-time meeting between the Rebels and Tigers, a series that Auburn enjoys an 80-62 lead dating back to the series origin in 1928. The Rebels hold a 17-game edge in Oxford at 43-26, including a 4-3 record since SJB Pavilion opened in January 2016. Auburn, meanwhile, holds a wide 51-17 advantage on their turf. The Rebels are on top in all the other specialty categories, however, with a 4-1 lead on neutral sites, 3-1 lead in the postseason, and a 4-3 lead in overtime games. In the postseason, three of those games have come in the SEC Tournament (1985, 1989, 2012), but the first game was at the SoCon Tournament back on Feb. 28, 1928 (W, 31-30). The series is tied, 5-5, in the last 10 meetings since 2017, but the pattern has been both schools trading consecutive wins back and forth. It has been fairly tight in that span as well, with the average margin of victory in those 10 games coming in at +8.2 points per game. Ole Miss has won two of the last three matchups, a Jan. 6, 2021 victory at home (72-61) and exactly one month later on Feb. 6 in Auburn in overtime, 86-84. Earlier this season, Ole Miss was up by as many as 14 over No. 4 Auburn at home on Jan. 15, but fell to the Tigers, 80-71. Since 2012, Ole Miss has won 14 of the last 19 matchups vs. Auburn.

SCOUTING AUBURN

Auburn enters Wednesday night at 24-3 overall, an SEC-leading 12-2 in conference play, and are ranked No. 3 by the Associated Press and No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Tigers have been nationally ranked each week this season, never falling further than No. 22 in either poll and rising as high as No. 1 across a three-week stretch from Jan. 24 to Feb. 7. In the NET ratings, Auburn is currently slotted at No. 10, with the Tigers owning a combined 13-3 record against Quad 1 (7-3) and Quad 2 (6-0), and a perfect 11-0 record against Quad 3 (7-0) and Quad 4 (4-0).

Auburn won 23 of its first 24 games of the season, including 19 in a row from Nov. 25 to Feb. 5 before an overtime loss at Arkansas on Feb. 8 (80-76). The Tigers are coming off an upset loss at Florida on Feb. 19 (63-62), and their lone non-conference blemish comes from a double overtime loss to UConn on Nov. 24 in the Battle 4 Atlantis (115-109). During their 19-game winning streak, Auburn was outscoring opponents by an average of +14.2 points per game (79.5-65.3), while shooting 45.5 percent overall, winning the rebounding margin by an average of +5.2 per game, and holding opposing defenses to just 38.6 percent shooting overall and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Auburn’s national rankings are highly indicative of a top-five team. The Tigers own a bruising shot defense, leading the NCAA in blocks per game (8.2), while ranking second in the SEC and 13th nationally at an opposing field goal clip of just 38.4 percent. Auburn is also superb on the ball, recording the NCAA’s 27th-most steals at 8.6 per game (No. 4 SEC). The Tigers are also spectacular on the glass, leading the SEC in defensive rebounds per game (27.8) while also ranking top-five in offensive rebounds at 12.7 per game (No. 5) and total rebounding margin at +5.4 per game (No. 3). That all combines to give Auburn the NCAA’s 11th-best scoring margin at +12.9 points per game (No. 2 SEC), helped by the 19th-best scoring offense at 79.8 points per game (No. 3 SEC).

The Tigers are led by freshman Jabari Smith, who was the highest rated commit in the history of Auburn basketball last season. Smith averages 16.3 points (No. 7 SEC), 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 43.8 percent overall, 43.3 percent from three and 79.7 percent from the free throw line. Smith also leads in total threes made with 61 trifectas. Other Tigers averaging double-digit scoring include K.D. Johnson (12.7) and Wendell Green Jr. (12.4), while Walker Kessler leads the NCAA in blocks per game (4.6) and ranks fourth in field goal percentage at his SEC-leading 64.5 percent clip. Kessler averages 12.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and against the Rebels on Jan. 15 he tallied 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven blocks, four steals and one assist.

LAST MEETING: Jan. 15, 2022 (L, 80-71, in Oxford)

• Auburn ranked No. 4
• Ole Miss led by as many as 14 in the first half, led for 23:17 total game time, led 44-38 at halftime (first halftime lead vs. top-5 opponent since 39-38 lead vs. #5 Kentucky on March 5, 2019 in Oxford)
• 12 lead changes, two ties
• Auburn held Ole Miss to 29.2 percent second-half shooting after a 56.7 percent first half from the Rebels
• 15-of-15 free throw performance by the Rebels is the best with at least 10 attempts Nov. 18, 2008 (22-22, vs. South Alabama), and the best against an SEC opponent since going 10-for-10 against Mississippi State on Feb. 28, 1959
• Auburn’s Walker Kessler: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 7 blocks, 4 steals; second half: 10/8/5/3
• Tye Fagan: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2-3 3PT
• Nysier Brooks: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
• Matthew Murrell: 13 points, 8 rebounds (career-high), 2 assists, 3-8 3PT, 4-4 FT
• Jaemyn Brakefield: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

LAST MEETING IN AUBURN: Feb. 6, 2021 (W, 86-84/OT)

• Devontae Shuler: GW buzzer beater with 0.2 seconds left
• Erased 14-point second half deficit
• Ole Miss: 50 percent shooting, 44 points in the paint, 17 turnovers forced (17 points off)
• Romello White: 30 pts (14-of-18 FG), 10 reb, 4 blk
• Shuler: 26 points (10-25 FG)
• Robert Allen: 12 points

LAST TIME OUT (at Georgia: W, 85-68)

• Ole Miss without top-two scorers Jarkel Joiner and Matthew Murrell due to the flu
• Nysier Brooks (10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals) and Luis Rodriguez (6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) battled through symptoms, combined for 16 points in 63 minutes
• Tye Fagan: 20 pts, 5 ast, 4 stl, 2 reb in return to Athens
• Jaemyn Brakefield: career-high 19 points, 7-8 FG, 4-5 3PT, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
• Austin Crowley: career-high 18 points, 7-14 FG, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
• Ole Miss: shot 55.9 percent overall, held Georgia to 37.5

LAST RANKED 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

TOP-5 SHOWDOWN AWAITS

Ole Miss will square off against a top-five Auburn squad for the second time this season on Wednesday night. A win against the 3rd-ranked Tigers would be historic on many fronts, standing as the first Rebel won over a top-five team in general since the 2001 SEC Tournament against No. 5 Florida (74-69). Other superlatives to watch for include…

• Last top-5 win overall: vs. No. 5 Florida (74-69), March 10, 2001 (SEC Tournament)
• Last top-5 win in the regular season: vs. No. 4 Auburn (79-77/OT), in Oxford on Jan. 22, 2000
• Last top-5 win on the road: Never
• Last top-10 win overall: vs. No. 10 Missouri (80-59) in Oxford on Feb. 10, 2021
• Last top-10 win on the road: at No. 7 Kentucky (73-64) on Feb. 14, 1998
• Last ranked win on the road: at No. 25 LSU (76-72) on Feb. 1, 2022
• Last ranked win vs. Auburn: vs. No. 10 Auburn (82-67) in Oxford on Jan. 12, 2019
• Last ranked road win at Auburn: Never

THE FLU GAME

The situation looked dire when Ole Miss rolled into Georgia on Feb. 19. The Rebels were already down their two top-scorers in Jarkel Joiner and Matthew Murrell due to the flu, with fellow starters Nysier Brooks and Luis Rodriguez battling symptoms of their own. Ole Miss would not accept that as an excuse, as the Rebel trio of Tye Fagan (20 points), Jaemyn Brakefield (19 points) and Austin Crowley (18 points) combined for 57 points alongside two gutsy efforts from Nysier Brooks (10 points) and Luis Rodriguez (6 points) in an 85-68 victory over the Bulldogs.

Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis postgame: “Austin Crowley really ran our team and was great from the point guard spot, that was the best Jaemyn Brakefield has played this year because he confidently made shots, and it was just great for Tye Fagan to come home and have 20 and five tonight. I’m really proud of our team. It’s a much-needed road win for us.”

HOMECOMING FOR TYE FAGAN

Last Saturday at Georgia marked the return to Athens for Ole Miss senior Tye Fagan, who dropped 20 points in his old gym to help lead Ole Miss to an 85-68 victory over the Bulldogs. Fagan spent his previous three seasons at Georgia. During his time with the Bulldogs, Fagan played in 89 games and scored 450 points while shooting 56.4 percent overall. Last season, Fagan started 25 of 26 games played for the Bulldogs, averaging 9.2 points, 4.3 rebounds with a team-high 58.7 field goal percentage. Fagan was the first SEC Player of the Week for the 2020-21 season following a then-career day of 21 points and 10 rebounds against Florida A&M, his first career double-double. Fagan scored in double-digits in 11 games last season, including twice against Ole Miss: a 19-point outing on 9-of-9 shooting in Oxford on Jan. 16, and a 13-point effort on Jan. 30 in Athens. Fagan was also instrumental for Georgia in two upset wins last season against LSU (18 points) and Auburn (16 points). Fagan is a native of Logtown, Georgia, and was the No. 10 prospect in the state and the nation’s No. 18 combo guard coming out of Upson-Lee. Fagan was a two-time Class 4A Player of the Year as a junior and senior after leading the Knights to back-to-back state titles on consecutive undefeated seasons, ultimately charting the third-longest winning streak in Georgia boys high school history in that stretch at 63-0. In his high school career, Fagan scored a school record 2,038 points total and averaged 25.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.4 steals as a senior.

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 9.3 rebounds over his last six outings in contrast to his season average of 6.9, helped greatly by four double-digit rebound games at No. 25 LSU (12), at Florida (11), at Missouri (10) and a season-high 13 vs. South Carolina at home. In his career entering this season, Rodriguez had three total double-digit rebound games. In that same five-game 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 five games, Rodriguez is averaging 8.2 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 is still tied for the most points scored in a game by any SEC player this season. 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 four games back, Joiner is averaging 34.8 minutes played and 17.8 points per game. His return came on the road 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 scored by a Rebel in two years. Joiner has since tallied two additional double-digit scoring games, a 13-point outing in 34 minutes at Missouri and an 18-point effort in 32 minutes in the OT loss to South Carolina. 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.

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 36.4 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.

LATE-SEASON CONSISTENCY FOR MURRELL

Sophomore Matthew Murrell has settled into a grove over his last four games, providing a consistent scoring effort for the Rebels. Murrell has been a lethal scoring threat for Ole Miss all season long, but over his last four outings he is averaging 15.5 points and 2.0 threes made per game — led by an 18-point effort against South Carlolina. Murrell is also currently on a streak of 10 straight free throws made across perfect outings at Missouri (2-2) and vs. South Carolina (career-high 8-8), with his last miss coming with 4:41 left in the first half against Alabama on Feb. 9. On the year, Murrell is averaging 11.2 points per game, and in SEC play he averages 15.2 points (No. 8 SEC).

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 8.9 points and 1.5 threes made while shooting lights-out clips of 53.9 percent overall and 47.6 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.

OLE MISS CAN’T MISS

The Rebels were 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 57.5 percent 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 15 of its last 21 opponents to 35 percent or lower from beyond the arc — including nine of 14 SEC foes. In seven of those nine 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), Florida (4-29) and Georgia (3-10), Rebel opponents shot a combined 21-of-124 (.169), 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 32-18 when holding opponents to 30 percent or lower and 52-29 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 .350 (No. 3 SEC) has been helped greatly by 7.6 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.

OLE MISS NET SPLITS (USING CURRENT RATINGS)

vs. Quad 1: 1-9
vs. Quad 2: 5-0
vs. Quad 3: 2-4
vs. Quad 4: 5-1
vs. NET Top-100: 6-10
vs. NET Top-50: 4-8
vs. NET Top-25: 1-4
Top NET Win: LSU (16)
Top NET Loss: Auburn (10), 80-71
Other NET Top-50 Losses: Tennessee (11; 66-60/OT), Alabama (22; 97-83), Arkansas (23; 64-55), Boise State (30; 60-50), Marquette (33; 78-72), Mississippi State (47; 78-60), Florida (49; 62-57)
Average Margin of Defeat vs. NET Top-50: 9.6 PPG

HISTORIC SHOWINGS AT THE FREE THROW LINE

Ole Miss has recorded half of its all-time 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 two of the three best free throw performances in the SEC this season, and the 15-of-15 outing against Auburn ranks among just 16 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. Texas A&M – 16-16 (vs. Florida, Feb. 15)
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)
14. Ole Miss – 15-15 (vs. Auburn, Jan. 15)
14. Miami (Ohio) – 15-15 (vs. Western Michigan, Jan. 15)
14. Charleston Southern – 15-15 (vs. Clemson, Nov. 26)

MURRELL GOES UNCONSCIOUS

Sophomore Matthew Murrell lit the net on fire against 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 33-of-80 (.413) from three .449 overall, averaging 15.2 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 45-of-116 (.388) at 2.3 threes per game across his last 20 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 third in conference action at 3.2 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 three 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 7.7 per game in conference play. Overall, Brooks ranks seventh in the SEC at 7.7 rebounds per game, and his overall offensive rebounding average of 2.9 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.

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.

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). 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.

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, 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 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)