On3 Things to Know: Ole Miss looks to get right against Valparaiso

Ole Miss basketball (6-2, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday hosts Valparaiso (4-6, 0-2 Missouri Valley) at 2 p.m. CT to tip off a five-game homestand. 

The game — carried live on the SEC Network — will be the third meeting between the teams, but the first not played at a neutral site. Ole Miss and Valparaiso first faced off in December of 1969, when the Rebels claimed an 80-77 win. They matched up again in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. 

Valparaiso infamously used a buzzer beat three-pointer by Bryce Drew to pull off the first-round upset, 70-69. Ole Miss, a No. 4 seed, had earned its third-ever invite to the NCAA Tournament. Keith Carter, Ole Miss’ current Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics, led the Rebels in scoring (22) and rebounds (11).

An Ole Miss win would move the Rebels to 2-0 against MVC teams under fifth-year head coach Kermit Davis. The Rebels previously defeated Illinois State, 81-74, in December of 2018, Davis’ inaugural season in Oxford.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at the matchup, with game notes provided by Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations. 

RELATED: Ole Miss and Valparaiso set to meet for the first time since ‘The Shot’

GUESS WHO’S BACK?

Second-year point guard Daeshun Ruffin finally returned from injury in the Rebels’ loss to Memphis a week ago. Ruffin, who tore his ACL against LSU in February, missed the final month of last season and the first seven games of the 2022-23 campaign.

He came off the bench and had three points and four assists in his 14 minutes. His his return was delayed due to a minor bone bruise. 

Ruffin, the first McDonald’s All-American signed by Ole Miss out of high school, also missed eight games last season because of a broken right hand. In all, he averaged a team-high 2.3 steals per game and led Ole Miss with a. 754 clip from the free throw line. He added 12.6 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game. 

He was equally impressive in SEC games.

Ruffin at the time of his injury was second in the the league in steals (2.7/game), ninth in free throw shooting (.833) and 10th in assists (3.9/game).

He was named SEC Freshman of the Week in January — the first such honor for a Rebel since Jarvis Summers in 2011. Ruffin had scored double-digits points in 10 games, 15 or more in six, and had multiple steals in nine. 

Ruffin was on pace to break Elston Turner’s 1978 record for steals by a freshman.

DIAPER DANDY!

Amaree Abram entered the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, Florida, two weeks ago as a skilled but inexperienced freshman point guard filling in for the injured Ruffin. 

He came out of it as a serious scoring threat for the Rebels. 

Abram was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week for his efforts, leading the Rebels to a 2-1 record and a trip to the title game against Oklahoma. Abram accounted for 30.1 percent of all Rebel scoring, averaging 20.7 points across three games against Stanford (26 points; W, 72-68), Siena (19 points; W, 74-62) and Oklahoma (17 points; L, 59-55). He also averaged 3.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals and shot .641 overall (25-39) and .750 from three (6-8).

Abram made all six of his free throws.

His 26 against Stanford is career and Ole Miss team season-high. They were also the most points scored by a Rebel freshman since Blake Hinson against Mississippi State in 2018-19. They were the most by an Ole Miss freshman in a non-conference game since Jarvis Summers against Penn State in 2011-12. 

Abram, a former four-star and Top 100 recruit, scored 43 of his 62 total points in the second halves of games at the Invitational. Abram averaged 14.3 points in the back half and shot .696 overall (16-23) and 833 from three (5-6).

He entered play averaging just 7.0 points per game, including a career-high eight points against Florida Atlantic November 11. He scored at least 17 points in all three games in the tournament.

RENAISSANCE MAN

Senior transfer Myles Burns has made an immediate impact for the Rebels on both ends of the floor. 

Burns, with a unique blend as a defensive force and a go-getter on the offensive glass, currently leads the SEC and ranks No. 4 in the NCAA with 3.0 steals per game. He also ranks eighth in the conference in offensive rebounds (2.62).

Burns had a stellar career at Loyola New Orleans before transferring to Ole Miss. 

He was a four-time NAIA All-American and three-time SSAC Defensive Player of the Year. Burns played in 120 career games (111 starts) and finished with career averages of 15.3 points (1,852), 8.8 rebounds (1,069), 3.0 steals (358), 2.5 assists (298) and 1.0 blocks (116).

Burns is No. 1 all-time at Loyola in steals (358), No. 2 in points (1,852), No. 2 in rebounds (1,069), No. 4 in blocks (116) and No. 7 in assists (298). His 358 steals are 163 more than any other player in Loyola history.

Burns helped lead Loyola to the NAIA national title last season — the first for the school since 1945. He was the tournament MVP with 19.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.2 steals. He had four double-doubles in six tournament games.

His 151 offensive rebounds and 152 steals in 2021-22 had no rival in all of college basketball. Actually, the next-closest Division I comparison is defending National Player of the Year, Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky, who had 179 offensive rebounds and 60 steals last season.

Burns’ 152 steals a year ago earned him the 2022 Marques Haynes Award — handed out each year to the player with the most steals in all of college basketball, regardless of division.

CONSISTENCY KEY FOR BRAKEFIELD

Junior Jaemyn Brakefield has been a rock for the Rebels in the season’s early going. 

Brakefield, a second-year transfer from Duke, leads the Rebels in shooting (59.1), and he’s third in points (8.9 ppg). 

He was even more steady in the ESPN Events Invitational, averaging 13.0 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds. He shot 55.6 percent overall and 44.4 percent from three. 

Brakefield is one of three players in the SEC this season to go at least 6 for 6 from the field. He made all six of his field goals against Florida Atlantic November 11 — the first of three season-high 17-point games for Brakefield this season.

LIGHTS OUT

Ole Miss has shot at least 50 percent overall in three games and at least 45 percent in five of the eight games the Rebels have played. 

They were especially hot in Orlando. Ole Miss made, on average, 48.5 percent of its shots, including two games (Stanford and Siena) shooting over 50 percent from the floor. It was the first two-game stretch for Ole Miss shooting at or above 50 percent since the Rebels did so to open the 2021-22 season against New Orleans (.531) and Charleston Southern (.507). 

Ole Miss is 32-5 overall under Davis when shooting 50 percent or better.

WHEN IT COUNTS

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

The Rebels are making 48.4 percent of their field goals in the back half of games and outscoring their opponents 310-262 — 38.8 points per second half, +6.0 scoring margin.

Ole Miss has also put up a +5.0 rebounding margin in the second half, and junior guard Matthew Murrell is averaging 8.4 points and 1.4 threes per second half. Ole Miss shot a blistering 55 percent in the ESPN Events Invitational, led by 14.3 points per second half by Abram. 

MM11

Junior Matthew Murrell has wasted no time lighting the net on fire this season. 

Murrell, picking up right where he left off a year ago as one of the most feared three-point shooters nationwide, is ninth in the SEC in threes per game (2.5). He’s tied for seventh in total threes made (20). 

Murrell in a win over Chattanooga made a career-high six threes — the most by a Rebel since Devontae Shuler had six against Wichita State in January of 2021. 

Murrell had 25 points against the Mocs, his sixth career 20-point game. All have come within his last 24 games played dating back to last season. 

Murrell in his career has connected on five or more threes four times. He’s also notched seven games with at least four, 12 with at least three and 24 with multiple threes made. Murrell had a 25-consecutive-game streak with at least one three made snapped against Stanford. 

Murrell has been a legitimate scoring threat ever since he arrived as the highest-rated Ole Miss signee of the Davis era. However, he’s been especially lights-out since the start of last SEC season. Only Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi has more threes made against league foes (77) than Murrell (60). 

Murrell scored 20 points or more in consecutive games for the first time in his career in the last last three regular season games. Murrell averaged 22.5 points and 3.5 threes made across two strong outings against Texas A&M (20 points) and at No. 6 Kentucky (25 points). He shot 57.7 percent overall and 53.8 percent from three over the stretch. 

All four of Murrell’s 20-point games came in SEC play last season. He had 31 against in-state rival Mississippi State January 8.

AIN’T WASTING TIME NO MORE

Eight Ole Miss newcomers are already seeing significant playing time and have contributed to the team’s 6-2 start.

Newcomer Splits

Minutes: 52.4% (838 of 1600)
Scoring: 52.3% (289 of 553)
Rebounding: 48.7% (147 of 302)
Assists: 50.0% (52 of 104)
Steals: 63.8% (44 of 69)
Blocks: 78.1% (25 of 32)

Newcomer Scoring

vs. Alcorn State: 29 of 73 (39.7%)
Florida Atlantic: 36 of 80 (45.0%)
Chattanooga: 33 of 70 (47.1%)
UT Martin: 35 of 72 (48.6%)
Stanford: 48 of 72 (66.7%)
Siena: 37 of 74 (50.0%)
Stanford: 39 of 55 (70.1%)
at Memphis: 32 of 57 (56.1%)