Undefeated Ole Miss hits the road to UCF looking for another early season resumé win
Sunday starts the first road trip, of sorts, of the season for the Ole Miss men’s basketball team. Starting with a game in Orlando against Central Florida the Rebels then travel to San Antonio next weekend to play California in a key neutral site game.
These are only the second and third games the Rebels will play outside of the SJB Pavilion this season after earning a win at Temple last month. Winners of eight straight, Ole Miss (8-0) has most of its success on its home court. Sunday offers up the next challenge to see where things stand less than a month before Southeastern Conference play begins.
Wins over North Carolina State and Memphis last week provided a good foundation for Ole Miss to continue building its resumé off of but of the remaining non-conference games UCF (6-2) offers the only ‘good’ win.
The Golden Knights are currently No. 63 in the latest NET Rankings, meaning when the Rebels take them on at 3 p.m. CT on Sunday (ESPN+) then there is a chance for them to earn a Quad 1 victory.
For Ole Miss, which is No. 89 in the NET, this would be a prized win to have in its back pocket as it is currently lacking a win in its Quad 1 column.
A second road win of the season will be difficult for the Rebels, at least according to ESPN’s win predictor. Currently UCF has a 78 percent chance of winning this weekend’s game.
“It doesn’t take long when you see (UCF) play that they’re well-coached,” said Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard. “They have an identity. In terms of personnel, it’s a Big 12 team. Got great size. Good guard play, point guard play. Their scoring comes in a variety of ways.
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“To me, having been in the Big 12 most of my career, I understand that means. Just like the SEC it’s one of the best leagues in the country. So when we start talking about a Big 12 opponent it’s a great challenge.”
Ole Miss is off to its best start to a season in 16 years
Not since the 2007-2008 season have the Rebels won its first eight games. That year they went on to win their first 13 games, going undefeated in non-conference play before dropping their SEC opener to Tennessee. This is only the fourth time in program history Ole Miss has gotten off to this kind of winning streak to open a season.
The rest of the non-conference slate after UCF is not as tough but offers up speed bumps nonetheless. For Ole Miss losses in any of its final four games after this weekend would be considered bad losses.
Starting with California on December 16 none of the remaining four non-conference opponents have a current NET ranking higher than 174, which is Bryant. Troy is currently at 220, Southern Mississippi is ranked No. 243 followed by the Bears at No. 251.
This week Ole Miss made its way into ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s ‘Bracketology’ as one of the First Four Out. It is the first time the Rebels have been in any NCAA Tournament conversation in quite some time. They have positive momentum back up the Field of 68 mountain but a loss in any of these final five non-conference games will send them back down it and essentially have to start over from scratch against a tough SEC slate.
