Ole Miss basketball enters conference play ranked No. 22 in the nation

With a 13-0 record — tied for the best start in program history — the Ole Miss men’s basketball team will begin Southeastern Conference (SEC) play ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll.

The Rebels, on Sunday, capped off early nonconference play with a 95-78 win over Bryant at home to give Chris Beard his 250th career win at the NCAA level. Now, the Rebels will turn the page to face conference foes, with a match at No. 5 Tennessee being the first stop of the upcoming gauntlet.

Beard, in his first year in Oxford, has had instant success with a program that has already matched the season win total from one year ago. The Rebels have been given national recognition for wins over programs such as No. 15 Memphis, Central Florida, and NC State.

Ole Miss has leaned on veteran presence in its star returners Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield to mesh with transfer additions in Jaylen Murray, Allen Flanigan, Jamarion Sharp, Moussa Cisse, and Brandon Murray.

Murrell leads the team in scoring, averaging 17 points per game. Flanigan’s 7.5 rebounds per game is best on the team while Jaylen Murray is averaging 3.7 assists per game. On the defensive side of the ball, Murrell is averaging 2.3 steals, and Sharp, standing at seven-foot-five, is averaging 2.5 blocks per game.

“When you enter conference play, it’s all about consistency. If you dissect anybody’s nonconference schedule in the SEC, you’ll find plenty of reasons to justify why this team can be a real factor,” Beard said after Sunday’s game.

“I think as we continue to embrace defense, as we continue to embrace possession-by-possession basketball, I do think we have a chance to be competitive in the SEC. That was always one of our objectives this first year. I think there’s a way to win every game on the schedule that’s remaining.”

Tipoff for the Rebels (13-0) and the Volunteers (9-3) is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. CT. The contest will be broadcast on the SEC Network and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.

Ole Miss joins No. 3 Houston and No. 19 James Madison as the only remaining unbeaten teams in the country.

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