OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss men's basketball team looks to follow up their season-opening win with another on Friday night, when they host Grambling State in the SJB Pavilion on November 8 at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.
TEAM FACTS
No. 24/25 Ole Miss Rebels (Record: 1-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (21-12) • 258-110 career record (13th Season)
Grambling State Tigers (Record: 1-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Head Coach: Donte' Jackson • 8th Season at Grambling State (121-102) • 233-160 career record (14th Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Mike Morgan
Color: Ron Slay
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Marc Dukes
SERIES HISTORY VS. GRAMBLING STATE
Ole Miss' series with Grambling State began with a landmark win for the program back in the 1979-80 season. In the first postseason appearance for the Rebels, the team matched up with Grambling in Oxford in the first round of the 1980 NIT. Guided by head coach Bob Weltlich, Ole Miss earned their first postseason victory as well with a 76-74 triumph. The two teams would match up again in 2011, when the Rebels took down the Tigers 69-39. Ole Miss held Grambling to just 17 points in the first half while scoring 47 of their own.
LAST MEETING: November 14, 2011 (W, 69-39, Oxford, Miss.)
• The Ole Miss got it done on both side of the court in the first half, taking a 47-17 lead into halftime before winning by 30.
• Murphy Holloway (Ole Miss): 14 points, 7-11 FG, 10 rebounds, one assist, one block, one steal.
• Aaron Jones (Ole Miss): 10 points, 5-7 FG, 7 rebounds, two assists, three blocks, three steals.
• Demetri Wheeler (Grambling): 12 points, 6-8 FG, one rebound.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Grambling State comes to Oxford with a 1-0 record after defeating SUNO 92-42 in their season opener this past Monday. They shot over 50 percent from the floor in the win, knocking down 12 shots from three-point range. They out-rebounded SUNO 51-36, and forced 18 turnovers on the defensive end with 10 steals and eight blocks.
The Tigers were an NCAA Tournament team a season ago, when they finished with 21 wins and went 14-4 in conference, picking up the SWAC Tournament crown. They defeated Montana State in the "First Four" round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 1 seed Purdue.
Kintavious Dozier paces the Tigers, scoring 15 points in the season opener with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He was tabbed as the preseason SWAC Player of the Year and a preseason first team all-conference selection. Antwan Burnett was the team's leading scorer against SUNO with 19 points and eight boards.
Donte' Jackson is in his eighth season at the helm of the Grambling men's basketball program, and is coming off of back-to-back 20-win campaigns. He's guided the Tigers to 121 wins since 2017-18, after three seasons at Stillman and four at Central State.
I GOT ALL NUMBERS
The 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball roster boasts some serious career statistics. Six players have scored over 1,000 points in their collegiate career, including Matthew Murrell (1,455), Sean Pedulla (1,235), Dre Davis (1,155), Jaemyn Brakefield (1,115), Mikeal Brown-Jones (1,020), and Jaylen Murray (1,019).Davon Barnes (931) is on the cusp of hitting that mark as well. Entering the season, the team possessed 8,735 career points, 3,062 rebounds, 1,346 assists, 596 steals, and 327 blocks.
"I'm Like Mayonnaise 'Cause I'm smooth and Dangerous to Leave Open"
This year's roster possesses a mountain of shooting talent, notably from beyond the three-point arc. With nearly 900 career three-pointers made among the 2024-25 roster, the Rebels will look to light it up from deep on offense this season. Among the current members of the Ole Miss roster, they made a total of 410 shots from three during the 2023-24 season, a total that would have ranked third in all of college basketball last year.
2023-24 Made Three Pointers (30+)
Matthew Murrell: 78
Jaylen Murray: 72
Davon Barnes: 59 (at Sam Houston)
Sean Pedulla: 53 (at Virginia Tech)
Malik Dia: 44 (at Belmont)
Jaemyn Brakefield: 38
Dre Davis: 35 (at Seton Hall)
SEASONED VETERANS
Featuring 10 seniors on the roster, Ole Miss returns the fourth-highest minutes-per-game figure among all "power-five" programs in the nation at 284.3, and the most in the SEC. In total, Ole Miss players have played in 858 career collegiate games with 502 starts. The Rebels are one of 18 programs in the nation that feature five or more players in at least their fifth year of college basketball.
SETTLED IN
Success in year two under Chris Beard has been evident throughout his coaching career. At Angelo State, he jumped from 19 wins in year one (2013-14) to 28 in year two (2014-15) and reached the round of 16 at the NCAA Division II Tournament. He then increased his win total by nine in year two at Texas Tech (18 wins in 2016-17, 27 wins in 2017-18), leading the Red Raiders to the 2018 Elite Eight. Following his first campaign at Texas, Beard began the next season with convincing victories over No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 7 Creighton, earning a national ranking as high as No. 2 in the nation.
PROGRAM POINT PRESIDENTS
Seniors Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield have each surpassed the 1,000-point mark during their careers here in Oxford, and have their sights set on the program leaderboard. Here's a snapshot of where they lie among the career points list at Ole Miss:
...
14. Aaron Harper - 1,505
15. Murphy Holloway - 1,476
16. Matthew Murrell - 1,455
17. Ansu Sesay - 1,428
...
41. Denver Brackeen - 1,040
42. Jaemyn Brakefield - 1,037
43. Todd Abernethy - 1,036
RECORD BOOK WRECKER
Senior guard Matthew Murrell enters his fifth season with Ole Miss and continues to put his name up and down the program record book. The Memphis native currently ranks 16th in school history in career points with 1,455, and fifth in both three-point shots made (219), and three-point attempts (618).
Three-Point Field Goals Made
1. 334, Chris Warren (115 games, 2008-11)
2. 278, Aaron Harper (123 games, 2001-04)
3. 267, Marshall Henderson (66 games, 2013-14)
4. 249, Keith Carter (117 games, 1996-99)
5. 219, Matthew Murrell (122 games, 2020-pres.)
6. 214, Joe Harvell (114 games, 1990-93)
7. 207, Breein Tyree (130 games, 2017-20)
8. 181, Stefan Moody (65 games, 2014-16)
9. 178, Devontae Shuler (124 games, 2018-21)
10. 176, Terence Davis (121 games (2016-19)
Three-Point Field Goals Attempted
1. 900, Chris Warren (115 games, 2008-11)
2. 771, Marshall Henderson (66 games, 2013-2014)
3. 720, Aaron Harper (123 games, 2001-04)
4. 686, Keith Carter (117 games, 1996-99)
5. 618, Matthew Murrell (122 games, 2020-pres.)
6. 581, Breein Tyree (130 games, 2017-20)
7. 528, Joe Harvell (114 games, 1990-93)
8. 523, Devontae Shuler (124 games, 2018-21)
9. 519, Terence Davis (121 games, 2016-19)
10. 494, Stefan Moody (65 games, 2015-16)
Murrell has his eyes set on entering the top-10 lists in multiple other categories as well, on the verge in: Career minutes played (Murrell at 3,514, 10th is Breein Tyree at 3,634), career games played (Murrell at 122, 10th is Jason Flanigan at 127), and career steals (Murrell at 123, 10th is Rahim Lockhart at 148).
IT STILL MEANS MORE
The gauntlet of the SEC got even tougher this season with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas to the conference for the 2024-25 academic year. With nine teams earning preseason rankings from the AP, including Ole Miss, the schedule for the Rebels is littered with big games, especially at home in the SJB Pavilion. Between January 22 and February 4, Ole Miss will host Texas A&M (preseason No. 13), Auburn (preseason No. 11), Texas (preseason No. 19), and Kentucky (preseason No. 23).
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
The Ole Miss roster features five returners from last season, including three starters. Last year's leading scorer Matthew Murrell (16.2 PPG, 78 3PM) is joined by fellow starters from 2023-24 in Jaemyn Brakefield (12.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG) and Jaylen Murray (13.8 PPG, 72 3PM). Guards Robert Cowherd (10 GP), and Cam Brent (6 GP) round out the group of returners.
A HOUSEHOLD NAME SOON
This year's team features six players who transferred in from other college programs:
Davon Barnes, Sam Houston (2023-24: 13.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 59 3PFGM, 54 ast.)
Ja'Von Benson, Hampton (2023-24: 32 GP, 15 MPG, 46 blk., 7.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG)
Mikeal Brown-Jones, UNC Greensboro (2023-24: 18.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 24 blk.)
Dre Davis, Seton Hall (2023-24: 15.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 60 ast., 34 stl., 49 blk.)
Malik Dia, Belmont (2023-24: 16.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 44 3PFGM, 27 stl., 26 blk.)
Sean Pedulla, Virginia Tech (2023-24: 16.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.6 APG, 53 3PFGM, 37 stl.)
I AM AN OLE MISS REBEL
The Ole Miss roster has four first-year collegiate players, in freshmen John Bol, Zach Day and Eduardo Klafke, as well as senior Max Smith.
Bol, a 7'2" forward from Overtime Elite in Atlanta, was ranked as the second-highest recruit in program history according to 247Sports. The South Sudan native was a consensus four-star recruit, and was ranked as high as No. 38 in the nation by 247Sports and No. 40 by ESPN. Klafke is a 6'5" guard with great shooting and play-making ability. He trained with the prestigious NBA Academy Latin America, and spent all of last spring as an early-enrollee training with Ole Miss. Day joins the program from Midland, Texas where he averaged 24 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a senior at Midland Christian. Smith joined the team as a senior Ole Miss student, previously playing at Anderson High School in Austin, Texas where he averaged 24 points per game.
HOOP IN THE 'SIP
Chris Beard and staff have gotten a pair of commitments for the upcoming 2025 recruiting class, giving them the No. 14 high school class early on by On3.
Tylis Jordan, PF, 6-9, 210, Wheeler, Louisville, Ga.
Committed this past summer, Jordan is a long forward ranked as high as No. 27 in the country by On3. He's listed as the No. 9 power forward in his class by both On3 and Rivals.
Patton Pinkins, SG, 6-5, 170, Frenship, Wolfforth, Texas
Committing to the program last fall, the son of Ole Miss assistant coach Al Pinkins will bring a strong shooting ability to the program. He owns a national ranking as high as No. 74 by ESPN and is listed as the nation's No. 17 shooting guard by 247Sports.
