Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma: How to watch, start time, TV channel, spread

Ole Miss basketball matched its longest losing streak of the season (3) with a blowout loss at top-ranked Auburn. 

The Rebels (19-9, 8-7 SEC) haven’t really been themselves in a month. They’ve won four of their last 10, including a pair of comebacks against the SEC’s worst teams record-wise in LSU and South Carolina. 

But they’re still on strong, nearly unshakeable ground to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly six years.

“In my opinion, there’s four teams in this league that are almost kind of favorites to be in that 10 to 12 schools that basically kind of have an advantage,” second-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said. “(Auburn’s) a team that can win six games in three weekends. Then you got the next tier, and despite what you saw (at Auburn) from Ole Miss on the defensive end, I do think that we are in that next tier.”

The latest bracket projections from ESPN and CBS support Beard’s opinion. 

Both have the Rebels as a 7-seed in the Midwest Region. The only difference is Joe Lunardi has Ole Miss playing 10-seed Baylor, while Jerry Palm has the Rebels against 10-seed Nebraska.

They’ve still got work to do, obviously. Ole Miss was in the 4-seed conversation coming off a strong January. Next is Oklahoma (17-11, 4-11) on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT in Oxford.

“I think we are a team that if we can figure out some things defensively and just keep getting better over time, we could be one of those teams that depending on how the bracket opens up and what have you, we’ve done it before,” Beard said. 

“So I think we’re kind of in that next tier.”

HOW TO WATCH

Television/Online: ESPN2
Play-by-Play: John Schriffen
Analyst: Richard Hendrix

HOW TO LISTEN

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Analyst: Marc Dukes

SERIES HISTORY

Ole Miss and Oklahoma have played five times previously. Saturday will be the first matchup with both as members of the SEC. 

Ole Miss came away with a 75-72 win in the first-ever showdown. The Rebels and Sooners faced off in Puerto Rico in December of 1998. 

Oklahoma responded with a home win the following year. Ole Miss won, 60-55, in 2000, but the Sooners have taken the last two, including the first round in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, the Rebels’ last appearance.

GAME SPREAD

A line hasn’t been set yet for the game. 

Ole Miss is 14-14-0 against the spread this season. However, the Rebels are 1-9 in their past 10. Oklahoma is 13-15-0 and 5-5, respectively. The Sooners are 3-7 overall in their last 10.

Ole Miss is 13-15-0 hitting the over, compared to 16-12-0 for Oklahoma.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma was a perfect 13-0 in non-conference play. Among the Sooners’ notable wins were Providence, No. 24 Arizona, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and No. 24 Michigan. 

Their four SEC wins came against South Carolina, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and No. 21 Mississippi State. Oklahoma is 14th in the 16-team SEC. The Sooners own a NET ranking of 50. Ole Miss is No. 27.

Senior forward Jalon Moore is in his second season at Oklahoma after transferring in from Georgia Tech. He leads the team in scoring (17.1 points per game) and rebounds (5.8), while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field (49.2). 

Freshman Jeremiah Fears is nipping on his heels as a scorer (16.0 points per game), while his 4.0 assists and 45 steals on the year are the most of all Sooners. 

Oklahoma is No. 1 in the SEC and 11th nationally in free-throw percentage (78.7). The Sooners are making an average of 17.1 per game, which is the 18th-best mark in college basketball. They’re also holding opponents to 29.9 percent shooting from 3, good for 21st nationally.

Porter Moser is in his fourth season at Oklahoma and 21st overall as a college head coach. He has 71 career wins as a Sooner. 

Moser joined Oklahoma from Loyola Chicago, where he totaled 200 wins and a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. The Ramblers reached the Final Four in 2018. Moser also made stops at Illinois State (2003-07) and Little Rock (2000-03).