Ole Miss Rebels
SEC (20-12, 10-8)
Many projected Mississippi to finish dead last in the SEC during Coach Kermit Davis’ debut season. Instead, the Rebels are back in the NCAA Tournament. There were some tough stretches after the team’s 13-2 start to the campaign. They lost four straight starting in mid-January and then again lost four-of-five starting in the middle of February.
Big Wins: 11/23 vs Baylor (78-70), 1/12 at Mississippi State (81-77), 2/13 at Auburn (60-55)
Bad Losses: 11/16 at Butler (76-83), 2/19 at South Carolina (64-79), 3/2 at Arkansas (73-74)
Coach: Kermit Davis
Why They Can Surprise:
Breein Tyree and Terence Davis are the players that make this team tick. Tyree, a 6-2 junior, leads the team with 18.2 points per game. He is a prolific and consistent outside shooter and is the main reason why Ole Miss is one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the country. Terence Davis is a good shooter too and averages 15.1 points per game, but he also leads the team with 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Rebels do struggle on the glass and defensively. The frontcourt does have some size with Bruce Stevens, KJ Buffen and Dominik Olejniczak, but none of them are prolific shot blockers and that can make it easy for the opposition to get to the basket. But the biggest flaw defensively is their three-point defense. Mississippi allows the opposition to shoot 37.5 percent from beyond the arc and that is one of the worst percentages in the nation. When Ole Miss runs into a team that can hit their shots, they could have a short trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Probable Starters:
Breein Tyree, Junior, Guard, 18.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.8 apg
Terence Davis, Senior, Guard, 15.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.4 apg
Devontae Shuler, Sophomore, Guard, 10.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.0 apg
Blake Hinson, Freshman, Guard, 8.2 ppg
Bruce Stevens, Senior, Forward, 8.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Key Role Players:
KJ Buffen, Freshman, Forward, 6.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg
Dominik Olejniczak, Junior, Center, 5.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
D.C. Davis, Senior, Guard, 2.2 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.0 (93rd in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.6 (163, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.2 (74, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.2 (210, 14)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.2 (124, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.1 (96, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 78.5 (3, 1)
Rebound Margin: 2.3 (107, 8)
Assists Per Game: 14.5 (97, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (154, 5)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2017 | NIT | First Round win over Monmouth |
| 2017 | NIT | Second Round win over Syracuse |
| 2017 | NIT | Quarterfinal loss to Georgia Tech |
| 2015 | NCAA | Opening Round win over BYU |
| 2015 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Xavier |
| 2013 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Wisconsin |
| 2013 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to LaSalle |
| 2012 | NIT | First Round loss to Illinois State |
| 2011 | NIT | First Round loss to California |
| 2010 | NIT | First Round win over Troy |
| 2010 | NIT | Second Round win over Memphis |
| 2010 | NIT | Quarterfinal win over Texas Tech |
| 2010 | NIT | Semifinal loss to Dayton |
| 2008 | NIT | First Round win over UC Santa Barbara |
| 2008 | NIT | Second Round win over Nebraska |
| 2008 | NIT | Quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech |
| 2008 | NIT | Semifinal loss to Ohio State |
| 2007 | NIT | First Round win over Appalachian State |
| 2007 | NIT | Second Round loss to Clemson |
| 2002 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to UCLA |
*all team stats through 3/10
