Resume Check: Looking ahead to South Carolina basketball's next opponent, the Ole Miss Rebels

South Carolina basketball is 10-13 and 0-10 in conference play following another conference loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. The Gamecocks have not won a game since beating Presbyterian on December 30th at Colonial Life Arena.

The ten-game losing streak has all but killed any postseason chances for USC. Over the rest of the season, the Gamecocks will have to play for pride, the slim hope of a run in the SEC Tournament, and Collin Murray-Boyles’ NBA Draft hopes. The next opportunity for South Carolina will come on Wednesday against a ranked Ole Miss Rebels team.

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Resume Check: Ole Miss Rebels

Record: 18-6 (7-4 in SEC)
AP Ranking: 25th
Last Week: Win over Kentucky 98-84 in Oxford; Win over LSU 72-70 in Baton Rouge
Previous Meeting: South Carolina won 72-59 in Oxford during 2023-2024 season

Ole Miss basketball continues to play well under head coach Chris Beard. Andy Kennedy and Kermit Davis, two good coaches, only made the NCAA Tournament three times in 17 seasons. Beard, following a 20-win campaign in year one, has the Rebels on the way to the Dance this season. After re-entering the AP top 25 last week, Mississippi went 2-0 in the SEC this week. They should be ranked even higher by the time they take the floor against the Gamecocks later this week.

In the non-conference this season, Ole Miss went 11-2. Their only losses before the New Year came in a neutral site game against a top-15 Purdue team and in a road loss to the talented Memphis Tigers. The Rebs beat talented teams from Illinois, Colorado State, BYU, and Louisville. In SEC play, Ole Miss’ four losses all came against ranked foes, including three on the road.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s meeting with South Carolina, Ole Miss doesn’t have any primary stats that jump out of the box score when compared to the rest of the conference. They are 10th in the league in scoring, 14th in field goal percentage, and 15th in rebounding. Even so, Beard’s team is a winner. How?

Simply put, the Ole Miss Rebels take care of the basketball and don’t allow their opponents to do the same. Despite being one of just three teams in the conference to play at least 24 games already, Ole Miss has given away fewer turnovers than every other team in the SEC. On the other end of the floor, the defense has forced more turnovers than every SEC rival. They also pass the ball well and have posted the fifth-most assists in the conference. Together, the Rebs own the second-best assist/turnover ratio in the SEC and fourth-best in America.

While much of the team’s overall shooting numbers are modest, Ole Miss has some big-time gunners in the starting lineup. Starting guards Sean Pendulla (who nearly beat the Gamecocks last season while playing for Virginia Tech), Matthew Murrell, and Jaylen Murray combine to score 38 points per game and will pull up from just about anywhere inside the halfcourt line.

Beard doesn’t play much size as only three players in the rotation are taller than 6’6″ (former Gamecock Ja’Von Benson is taller, but he is not typically part of the Mississippi rotation). Two of those taller players like to hang out on the perimeter, too. That fact partially explains the team’s rebounding struggle this season. However, it also makes the Rebels difficult to guard when they do shoot the ball well.

This season, Ole Miss wins when they shoot a decent number from outside. In 15 games in which they made at least one-third of their perimeter jumpers, the Rebels are 13-2.

Ole Miss is extremely healthy, as well. Coach Beard didn’t put anyone on the SEC-mandated availability report before their win over the LSU Tigers over the weekend.

South Carolina and Ole Miss will tip off at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. SEC Network will broadcast the Colonial Life Arena-hosted contest, while the ESPN app will make it available for streaming.

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