On3 Things to Know: Ole Miss looking for better success against Temple, its second-straight AAC opponent

Ole Miss basketball on Saturday will look to bounce back after a disappointing loss to UCF when the Rebels host Temple at 4 p.m. CT. 

The Owls, the second-straight AAC opponent for Ole Miss, are 6-5 overall and the third opponent for the Rebels (7-3) over a five-game home stand. The game will be broadcast by the SEC Network.

An Ole Miss win would give the Rebels eight wins prior to the New Year for the fourth time in head coach Kermit Davis’ five seasons leading the program and keep Ole Miss undefeated against Temple at home in the second matchup of the teams Oxford.

“We’ve got to get off to better starts,” Davis said recently. “We’ll look at, maybe, some different guys that we’ve played. You know, we’re trying a lot of guys on our team.”

Let’s take a closer at the matchup, with game notes provided by Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations.

SERIES HISTORY VS. TEMPLE

Ole Miss and Temple have met just twice over the last two decades, but the series, historically, is filled with big-time games. 

They first met in the 1987-88 season at the Sugar Bowl Classic in the Superdome. Temple was ranked No. 6 in the country under eventual Naismith Hall of Fame coach John Chaney, and the Rebels would narrowly lose, 70-61. The Owls, meanwhile, would finish the year No. 1 and reach the Elite Eight of the 1988 NCAA Tournament. 

The two would face off again — in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri — a little over 10 years later. 

No. 9 seed Temple prevailed once more, besting the No. 8 seed Rebels, 62-40. Ole Miss enacted a bit of revenge the following fall. The Rebels, ranked No. 21, took care of the No. 18 Owls, 87-74 inside Tad Smith Coliseum in November of 1997. Junior guard Keith Carter (now the school’s athletics director) helped lead the way in collecting one of two double-doubles in the game. 

Carter finished with 33 points on seven made threes, and he added 15 rebounds. Ansu Sesay, who would go on to be named SEC Player of the Year, had 23 points and four assists, while Jason Smith scored 10 points to go along with his 10 rebounds. 

No. 7 Temple beat Ole Miss, 68-52, in Philadelphia a year later.

LAST MEETING: November 18, 1998 (L, 52-68, Philadelphia, Pa., The Apollo of Temple)

Both team entered the matchup 2-0 no the season, though Temple was No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. The Owls jumped out to a 36-20 halftime lead. Carter was Ole Miss’ leading scorer with 16 points. He totaled six rebounds, an assist and a steal, too.

Temple’s Rasheed Brokenborough led all scorers with his 21 points. He connected on four threes and chipped in five rebounds, four steals and three assists to boot.

DEEP POCKETS

Ole Miss’ depth has been on full display to begin the season. 

The Rebel bench has accounted for over a third of the team’s scoring through the first 10 games (37.6 percent, 268 of 712 points). Ole Miss has also topped its opponents in bench points in eight of 10 games. The Rebels are outscoring opposing benches by 123 points on the year (268 to 145). 

Their 26.8 bench points per game is good for fourth in the SEC.

ANOTHER ONE

Ole Miss has been among the best teams in the country in creating second-chance opportunities. 

The Rebels are averaging 13.1 offensive rebounds per game. They’re currently tied for No. 27 in all of college basketball in the category, and they’re sixth in the SEC. Ole Miss is led by senior transfer Myles Burns, who has 24 offensive rebounds.

LIGHTS OUT

Ole Miss has lit the net on fire, shooting at least 50 percent overall in four games and at least 45 percent in six of 10. 

The Rebels were especially hot in Orlando, Florida, for the ESPN Events Invitational a few weeks ago, when they shot 48.5 percent overall, aided by a pair of 50 percent outings against Stanford and Siena. 

It marked the first two-game stretch for Ole Miss shooting at or above 50 percent since the Rebels opened 2021-22 against New Orleans (.531) and Charleston Southern (.507). 

Ole Miss is 33-5 overall when shooting 50 percent or better under Davis.

WHEN IT COUNTS

Ole Miss has been especially strong in the second half of games this season. 

The Rebels are converting 49.1 percent of their shots in the back half and outscoring opponents 390-329 (39.0 points per second half, +6.1 scoring margin). 

Even more, the Rebels have put up a +3.5 rebounding margin iover that span, while junior Matthew Murrell is averaging 8.2 points and 1.3 threes. 

Ole Miss shot a blistering 55 percent at the ESPN Events Invitational, including 14.3 points, on average, per second half by true freshman point guard Amaree Abram. The former four-star prospect was 5 for -6 from three and 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the second half.