OXFORD, Miss. – For the second straight season, the Ole Miss men's basketball team will play in a "Throwback Game at the Tad Pad" presented by Oxford Ortho. This season, the No. 25 Rebels will host South Alabama on Tuesday, November 12 at 7 p.m. while honoring former head coach Bob Weltlich and his former teams.
TEAM FACTS
No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels (Record: 2-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 2nd Season at Ole Miss (22-12) • 259-110 career record (13th Season)
South Alabama Jaguars (Record: 1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Head Coach: Richie Riley • 7th Season at South Alabama (111-84) • 146-112 career record (9th Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: SEC Network+
Play-by-Play: Jake Hromada
Color: Kermit Davis
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Marc Dukes
SERIES HISTORY VS. SOUTH ALABAMA
Ole Miss first took on South Alabama in 1969, when they defeated the Jaguars 80-61 down in Mobile, Ala. While South Alabama won the next matchup during the 1975-76 season, the Rebels would get their revenge 31 years later with a 10-point win. Ole Miss has since won the last three games, all of which have taken place in Oxford, since 2007.
LAST MEETING: December 22, 2016 (W, 92-58, Oxford, Miss.)
• Ole Miss led by 20 at the half, eventually picking up a 34-point victory to move to 9-3 to start the 2016-17 season
• Sebastian Saiz (Ole Miss): 23 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, one block, one steal.
• Deandre Burnett (Ole Miss): 21 points, 9-10 FT, one steal.
• Nick Stover (South Alabama): 17 points, six rebounds.
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
South Alabama enters the "Throwback in the Tad Pad" game with a 1-1 record, having lost to Central Michigan to open the season 74-70, before picking up a 70-64 win over Nicholls. The team finished with a 16-16 record a year ago.
Transfer guard Myles Corey has paced the team so far, recording a double-double against Central Michigan with 20 points and 11 assists before dropping 18 in their win at Nicholls. Corey transferred in from William Jessup, where he was a two-time NAIA All-American Honorable Mention.
In his seventh season at the helm, Richie Riley leads the South Alabama program and has accumulated 111 wins. He got his first head coaching gig with Nicholls for two years from 2016 to 2018. He was an assistant on numerous staffs before, having coaches at Clemson, UAB, Eastern Kentucky, Coastal Carolina, and more.
BACK TO THE "PAD"
For the second straight year, Ole Miss will play a game in their old arena where they hosted basketball games on campus for 51 full seasons. They hosted the first "Throwback Game in the Tad Pad" on November 17, 2023 where they defeated Sam Houston 70-67 in front of a sellout crowd. Allen Flanigan paced the Rebels with 23 points, taking advantage of the free throw shot by going 14-18 from the charity stripe. Sam Houston's leading scorer was current Ole Miss guard Davon Barnes, who scored 22 points.
After honoring former head coach Rob Evans at last year's event, the program will honor coach Bob Weltlich this season. Taking over in 1976, Weltlich led the Ole Miss men's basketball program for six seasons, guiding them to their first-ever postseason appearance and win in the 1980 NIT, before winning the SEC Tournament the following year to reach the first-ever NCAA Tournament. He is a three-time conference coach of the year, winning it in 1980 with the Rebels, 1993 with FIU, and 2000 with South Alabama. He coached at today's opponent, South Alabama, from 1997 to 2002.
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 (1,463), Sean Pedulla (1,247), Dre Davis (1,168), Jaemyn Brakefield (1,126), Jaylen Murray (1,029), and Mikeal Brown-Jones (1,020).Davon Barnes (935) 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 878 career collegiate games with 512 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.
"WE'RE GOING STREAKING!"
Highlighted by their 13-0 run a year ago, the Ole Miss program is currently on a 15-game non-conference winning streak, the second-largest in all of college basketball. Purdue currently leads the nation with a non-conference win streak of 37.
PRECURSORY HARDWARE
The college basketball world has high praise for not just the team, but for many of Ole Miss' players in advance to the 2024-25 season.
Matthew Murrell:
- John R. Wooden Award Preseason Watchlist
- Preseason All-SEC Second Team (Media)
- Preseason All-SEC Second Team (Coaches)
- Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Watchlist
- Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 (Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame)
- No. 58 in the ESPN Preseason Top 100
Malik Dia:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Preseason Top 20 (Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame)
Dre Davis:
- No. 78 in the ESPN Preseason Top 100
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 - 1,463
17. Ansu Sesay - 1,428
...
38. Coolidge Ball - 1,072
39. Jason Harrison - 1,066
40. Jaemyn Brakefield - 1,048
41. Ron Coleman - 1,046
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 1,463, and fifth in both three-point shots made (219), and three-point attempts (621).
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 (123 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. 621, Matthew Murrell (123 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 3,547, 10th is Breein Tyree at 3,634), career games played (Murrell at 123, 10th is Jason Flanigan at 127), and career steals (Murrell at 130, 10th is Rahim Lockhart at 148).
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.
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