On3 Things to Know: Ole Miss back on the road at Florida for start of final regular-season push

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team has six games left in the regular season and at least one game in next month’s Southeastern Conference Tournament. Not much is left to play for, though it is technically true no team is officially eliminated from the NCAA Tournament it is an uphill climb, to say the least.

Plenty would need to be done by Ole Miss (10-15, 2-9 SEC) to get back to the big dance, including winning out the remaining games and a magical run in Nashville. Law of averages, based on this season’s sample size, would say that seems unlikely but the Rebels are still playing for pride.

Coming off a loss to South Carolina on Saturday where the Rebels could have strung together back-to-back wins for the first time in SEC and the first time since November. A potential confidence booster went by the wayside as did an outside chance to potentially get out of the bottom four of the SEC standings.

Kermit Davis still believes he can turn things around as he is wrapping up his fifth year at the helm of Ole Miss. The head coach re-affirmed that following Saturday’s loss.

“I do. No question about it,” Davis answered. “No doubt. We’ve been a really inept team at home. I apologize to our fans for that. We’ve had no telling how many games just like this and that is on me, close losses, to the head coach. I don’t think there’s any question about it but right now it’s something that, we’re not putting the product out on the floor that we need to put.”

The Rebels get their first chance to start turning it around on Wednesday when it travels to Florida.

Lets take a closer look at the upcoming matchup, with game notes provided by Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations.

SERIES HISTORY VS. FLORIDA

Wednesday’s matchup will be the 118th meeting between Ole Miss and Florida, with the Gators owning a 69-48 lead in the all-time series. The home team owns the advantage on each campus, as Florida leads in Gainesville 41 wins to 13, and the Rebels lead 31 wins to 23.

The Gators have gotten the better of Ole Miss recently, as they lead 7-3 over the last 10 and have won four of six under current Rebels head coach Kermit Davis.

LAST MEETING: FEBRUARY 5, 2022 (L, 57-62 (OT), GAINESVILLE, FLA.)

• The second meeting of the 2021-22 season, Florida came out on top after Ole Miss won the first matchup.
• The Rebels stormed out the gate, owning a nine point lead midway through the first half before taking a 30-21 advantage into the locker room for halftime. Trailing by six with three and a half minutes left in regulation, Ole Miss came back to force overtime after Tye Fagan made a jumper down low. However, the Rebels would fall in the extra five-minute period.
• Fagan led Ole Miss with 15 points, adding five rebounds, two steals and a block to his line. Matthew Murrell (14 points) and Nysier Brooks (11 points) scored in double figures as well.
• The leading scorer for Florida during the current 2022-23 season, Colin Castleton led the Gators during this game with 17 points and seven rebounds. Tyree Appleby recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists.

SCOUTING THE GATORS

Florida enters Wednesday night’s game with a 13-12 overall record, and an even 6-6 mark in conference play. They began their inaugural season under head coach Todd Golden with a pair of wins over Stony Brook and Kennesaw State before falling to Florida Atlantic. After defeating Florida State, the Gators went 1-2 at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament with a win over Oregon State and losses to Xavier and West Virginia. Entering their SEC opener at No. 20 Auburn with a 7-5 record, they lost two straight before defeating Georgia, LSU and Missouri. A loss to Texas A&M came before wins over Mississippi State and South Carolina, before Florida fell to No. 5 Kansas State in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Following a 67-54 upset over No. 2 Tennessee, Florida lost three-straight to Kentucky, No. 3 Alabama, and Vanderbilt.

The team is led by fifth-year forward Colin Castleton with a 16.5 points per game average on the season, pacing the team in rebounding as well at 7.9 per outing. The big man also ranks second on the team in assists with 67, and leads the team in steals (23) and blocks (an SEC-best 75, and fourth-most in the nation).

Paced by Castleton, the Gators rank fifth in the country and lead the conference with 5.8 blocks per game. They also rank among the top-100 in defensive rebounds per game (27.6, No. 21 NCAA), opponent field goal percentage (40.2, No. 26 NCAA), turnovers per game (11.1, No. 43 NCAA), free throws made per game (15.0, No. 48 NCAA), and free throw attempts per game (20.5, No. 60 NCAA). Florida has had difficulty shooting from deep this year, as they enter Wednesday’s game ranked 308th in the NCAA with a 31.4 shooting percentage from three, and grabbing offensive rebounds, as they enter ranked last in the SEC at 8.5 per game.

IT’S MISTER STEAL-YOUR-PASS

Fifth-year transfer Myles Burns has been a defensive powerhouse this season for the Rebels, collecting 53 steals on the season. Entering the game at Florida, Burns sits on the edge of the top-10 for the most steals in a single season in program history.

THROUGH THE FIRE

Ole Miss has faced off with some of the best competition college basketball has to offer, as the Rebels current strength of schedule ranks 19th in the nation. With a combined opponent record of 369-236 (0.610), they have taken on 13 foes with a current NET ranking in the top-100, including 10 in the top-50 and two in the top-five.

ANOTHER ONE

With an average of 12.1 offensive rebounds per game, the Rebels have been among the best in the country in earning second chances on the glass, currently ranking 40th in the nation. The team is led by senior transfer Myles Burns with 57 offensive rebounds (2.3 per game).

THEM REBS MOVE FAST

Ole Miss has been quick to react on defensive rebounds and turnovers, outscoring their opponents on fast-break opportunities by 88 this season (255-167). The Rebels has recorded more fast-break points than the other team in 18 of their 25 games.