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

The stoutest non-conference stretch for Ole Miss under Chris Beard continues Tuesday night at Louisville. 

The No. 23 Rebels (6-1) are coming off a split of Quadrant 1 opportunities in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego last week. The Rebels took down then-NET No. 12 BYU before falling by just two to NET No. 3 Purdue. 

Ole Miss is currently 55 in the NET. The Cardinals (5-2) are NET No. 30. The Rebels will get another Q1 shot at Memphis on December 28.

“A brand-new team,” Beard, in his second Ole Miss season, said of Louisville. “I don’t think there’s one player playing in the rotation that played at Louisville last year. Might be one guy on the roster. Coaching staff did a good job kind of in today’s modern college basketball. Came in and were able to get one really good high-school player through a coaching change and then these guys did a great job in the portal. 

“They not only signed talented players but they signed some guys that appear to play together well. They got off to a great start starting their season, really highlighted by their play in the Bahamas at a three-game tournament. A lot of respect for their coaching staff and what they’ve put Goethe very quickly at Louisville.”

The Rebels and Cardinals are facing off as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge. Ole Miss hosted and whipped NC State by 20 in the Challenge last season. The Wolfpack went on to become an NCAA Final Four team. 

Tipoff Tuesday is set for 8 p.m. CT.

HOW TO WATCH

Television/Online: ACC Network
Play-by-Play: Wes Durham
Color: Dan Bonner

HOW TO LISTEN

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

SERIES HISTORY 

Tuesday will be the fourth all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Louisville. The Rebels lead the series 2-1. They’re 1-0 at Louisville. 

The teams first met in December of 1997 in Louisville. No. 18 Ole Miss defeated the Cardinals, 74-70, behind 18 points from now-Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter. 

The two met again a year later, but in Oxford, an 88-69 Ole Miss win. They wouldn’t play again until the 2008 SEC/Big East Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio, just over a decade later. No. 9 Louisville defeated Ole Miss, 77-68. The Cardinals ended up in the Elite Eight that season.

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SCOUTING LOUISVILLE

Louisville opened the 2024-25 campaign with a win over Morehead State before falling to No. 12 Tennessee. The Cardinals have wins over Bellarmine and Winthrop at home. They took down No. 14 Indiana, 89-61, in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas.

Louisville needed overtime but got past West Virginia, 79-70, to advance to the tournament title game. The Cardinal lost to Oklahoma, 69-64.

Wisconsin transfers Chucky Hepburn leads the team in points (14.6 per game) and assists (32). Hepburn had a double-double against Indiana, soaring 16 points and totaling 10 assists.

Four Cardinals average double-digits points: Hepburn, Reyne Smith (13.1 ppg), Kasean Pryor (12.0 ppg) and Terrence Edwards, Jr. (11.1. ppg). 

Hepburn has led the way on the defensive end, too. He’s the national leader in steals per game (4.0). He had 16 last week over three games in the Bahamas. 

Louisville is eighth in the NCAA in three-point attempts (31.9). However, the Cardinals are shooting just 28.7 percent from deep, which ranks 319th in college basketball. Their turnover margin (+4.6) is 28th in the NCAA. Louisville is forcing the 10th-most turnovers per game (17.9).

Pat Kelsey in his first season as Louisville head coach. He was hired in March after three seasons at Charleston, highlighted by a 31-win season in 2022-23. Charleston won 27 games in 2023-24. Kelsey led Charleston to the NCAA Tournament both seasons.

He also had a successful, nine-season run at Winthrop. Kelsey took Winthrop to 20 five-win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances.