| OLE MISS (2-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. MARQUETTE (3-0, 0-0 Big East) Thursday, November 18 • 6 p.m. • Charleston, S.C. TD Arena (5,100) Shriners Children's Charleston Classic 
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| Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Tournament Info • Bracket Ole Miss Game Notes • Marquette Notes • SEC Game Notes |
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Ole Miss men’s basketball faces stiff competition but a big opportunity this week for the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, which runs Nov. 18-21 at College of Charleston’s TD Arena. The Rebels will open against a Marquette team that just upset No. 10 Illinois, with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2 on Thursday night.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (2-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Kermit Davis • 4th Season at Ole Miss (53-42) • 522-305 career record (27th Season)
Marquette Golden Eagles (3-0, 0-0 Big East)
Head Coach: Shaka Smart • 1st Season at Marquette (3-0) • 275-142 career record (13th Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Rich Hollenberg
Color: Debbie Antonelli
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Cabell Philpott
Color: Marc Dukes
NOTES
REBELS IN THE LOW COUNTRY
Ole Miss is in store for a high-quality tournament when it hits the court for the Shiners Children’s Charleston Classic, held at College of Charleston’s TD Arena Nov. 18-21. Eight total teams are in Charleston for the Tournament, with the Rebels being joined by Boise State, Clemson, Elon, Marquette, No. 22 St. Bonaventure, Temple and West Virginia. The tournament, entering its 13th year in 2021, features a bracket format with 12 games over three days. Each team competes in one game per day regardless of results.
MEET THE FIELD
Boise State • 1-1
Series History: Never met
Head Coach: Leon Rice (218-138, 12th Year)
Clemson • 3-0
Series History: Clemson leads, 3-2
Head Coach: Brad Brownell (204-150, 12th Year)
Elon • 2-1
Series History: Never met
Head Coach: Mike Schrage (25-31, 3rd Year)
Marquette • 3-0
Series History: Marquette leads, 1-0
Head Coach: Shaka Smart (3-0, 1st Year)
No. 22 St. Bonaventure • 2-0
Series History: Never met
Head Coach: Mark Schmidt (247-185, 15th Year)
Temple • 1-1
Series History: Temple leads, 3-1
Head Coach: Aaron McKie (19-29, 3rd Year)
West Virginia • 2-0
Series History: WVU leads, 2-0
Head Coach: Bob Huggins (312-171, 15th Year)
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Game 1 • 11/18, 1 PM CT • ESPN2
#22 St. Bonaventure vs. Boise State
Game 2 • 11/18, 3 PM CT • ESPN2
Clemson vs. Temple
Game 3 • 11/18, 6 PM CT • ESPN2
Marquette vs. Ole Miss
Game 4 • 11/18, 8 PM CT • ESPN2
Elon vs. West Virginia
Game 5 • 11/19, 11 AM CT
Consolation #1 (ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Game 6 • 11/19, 1 or 1:30 PM CT
Semifinal #1 (ESPN2)
Game 7 • 11/19, 6 PM CT
Semifinal #2 (ESPN2)
Game 8 • 11/19, 8 PM CT
Consolation #2 (ESPN3)
Game 9 • 11/21, 9:30 AM CT
7th Place Game (ESPNU)
Game 10 • 11/21, 12 PM CT
5th Place Game (ESPN2)
Game 11 • 11/21, 4 PM CT
3rd Place Game (ESPN2)
Game 12 • 11/21, 6:30 PM CT
Championship (ESPN)
SERIES HISTORY vs. MARQUETTE
The Rebels and Golden Eagles have only met once in their history, with the then 19th-ranked Marquette winning, 96-66, at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
SCOUTING MARQUETTE
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 67-66 upset of No. 10 Illinois in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Marquette forced 26 costly Illini turnovers, turning those into 28 points. The Golden Eagles held Illinois to just one point over the final 5:33 of the game. MU’s Darryl Morsell (21 points, 5 rebounds, 3-of-4 3PT) and Justin Lewis (17 points, 4 rebounds) combined for 38 points and shot a combined 12-of-22 in the victory, while the Golden Eagle defense collectively held a potent Illinois offense to 37.9 shooting overall and 37.5 from beyond the arc.
SHARING IS CARING
Ole Miss has been a machine in distribution through the early going, notching exactly 23 dimes in each of its first two games. No Rebel team since 1994 has recorded 20 assists in the first two games of the season, with the ‘94-95 Ole Miss squad tallying 22 to open against Morgan State on Dec. 1, 1994, and 20 against Sam Houston State two days later on Dec. 3, 1994. In available records through 1987-88, no Rebel team has had 23 or more in their first two games of the season.
The Rebels lead the SEC and rank sixth in the NCAA in assists per game (23.0), and they also lead the SEC and rank 11th in the nation in assist-turnover ratio (2.19) and 49th in fewest total turnovers per game (10.5). On average, Ole Miss is dishing out an assist on 63.9 percent of its made field goals so far this season.
PASS THE ROCK
Leading the passing attack for the Rebels have been Austin Crowley and Jarkel Joiner, who are averaging a combined 11.0 assists per game through two contests. Crowley has been particularly prolific, as he currently ranks third in the SEC and 15th nationally at his 6.5 dimes per game. He most recently is coming off a career-high nine assist outing vs. Charleston Southern. Crowley has also been careful with the ball, only turning it over twice this season to rank third in the SEC and 25th nationally at an assist-turnover ratio of 6.5.
Joiner, meanwhile, has not turned the ball over yet this season, while also ranking ninth in the SEC at 4.5 assists per game. Joiner also had a career-high with seven assists vs. Charleston Southern, combining with Crowley for 16 of the 23 Rebel dimes.
HOMETOWN REBEL LEADS THE WAY
Jarkel Joiner, the hometown Rebel, has opened his senior campaign in demonstrative fashion after two strong outings vs. New Orleans and Charleston Southern. Joiner sixth in the SEC at 18.0 points per game, which includes his most recent output of 24 points vs. CSU -- two points off his Ole Miss career-high total of 26 vs. LSU in the 2021 SEC Tournament. Joiner also ranks sixth in the SEC in threes per game (3.0), three-point shooting (.545), overall shooting (.609), and ninth in assists per game (4.5) and total threes (6).
Joiner was an immediate shot in the arm for the Rebels in 2020-21, averaging 12.0 points per game as a junior while leading the team and ranking third in the SEC at an 84.5 percent clip from the charity stripe. Joiner transferred home after spending his first two seasons at CSU Bakersfield, where he set seven school records in 64 games played and 61 games started. At Oxford High School, Joiner was prolific, ranking fourth in the country his senior season at 36.5 PPG.
SCORE FROM FAR
Ole Miss has been dazzling on the offensive end of the floor through two games, shooting 50 percent or better in the first two games for the first time since 2007. What has helped spur this on has been a surge from beyond the arc, where Ole Miss stands at 20-of-51 (.392). The Rebels have hit at least nine threes through each of their first two games after only doing so six times all season in 2020-21. Ole Miss is third in the SEC and 49th in the NCAA at threes per game (10.0), and it has received help from a couple of unlikely heroes to start the year.
Austin Crowley and Tye Fagan, who entered the season a combined 37-of-137 (.270) in their careers from three, are right now shooting 10-of-16 (.625) from deep as a duo to start the year. Crowley at 6-of-11 is already beyond the halfway mark for his single-season best in three-pointers made (11, 2019-20), and Fagan at 4-of-5 is nearly halfway of his season-best 10 from last season at Georgia. Crowley is tied for the team lead in threes with Joiner, who is also 6-of-11 from downtown so far.
DUNK YOU VERY MUCH
Ole Miss has put on a show for fans in its first two games at home this season, throwing down a combined 15 dunks -- with nine alone coming in the season opener vs. New Orleans for 22 percent of all Rebel scoring. Against Charleston Southern, Luis Rodriguez accounted for three of the six Rebel slams all by himself, and all in the first half.
STARTING OFF THE RIGHT WAY
Ole Miss tipped off its 2021-22 season in high-flying fashion, electrifying the crowd at SJB Pavilion with big dunks and a lights-out shooting performance vs. New Orleans on Nov. 9, winning 82-61. The Rebels shot a lethal 53.1 percent overall, the best in an opener since shooting 54.1 percent vs. Western Michigan on Nov. 10, 2018 -- the first game of the Kermit Davis era. Ole Miss was hot from three as well, draining 40.9 percent from beyond the arc, thanks in large part to a superb outing from Austin Crowley. He would end with a career-high 13 points on 3-of-4 three-point shooting to go along with four assists and three steals. The Ole Miss defense was key as well, forcing 19 UNO turnovers that wound up as 17 Rebel points. Sharing the ball was a focus for the Rebs, as they tallied 23 assists on 34 made field goals. Five Rebels were in double-digit scoring: Crowley (13), Jarkel Joiner (12), Nysier Brooks (11), Jaemyn Brakefield (10) and Tye Fagan (10).
Coach Davis: “I think we’ve got really good depth on our team. I really do. We’re trying to figure it all out like a lot of teams. I think we’ve got 11 guys or so that we can put in a game and they’re fighting for possessions. Depth is a huge thing with foul trouble down the stretch, so I like where we are with that. We just gotta keep working.”
CROWLEY IN THE SPOTLIGHT
West Point, Mississippi native Austin Crowley took control of the game in rapid fashion vs. New Orleans, sparking a huge 20-2 run to firmly put the Rebels ahead. Crowley scored 11 points in a span of just 1:58, going a perfect 3-of-3 from three and throwing down a thunderous fastbreak dunk in that stretch all by himself. Crowley would end with a career-high 13 points and was ultimately 3-of-4 from distance on the night. Crowley was also key as a distributor with four assists and as a disruptor with three steals.
YEAR FOUR OF THE DAVIS ERA
Kermit Davis enters his fourth season at the helm of Ole Miss Basketball. Over his first three seasons, Davis led the Rebels to a pair of postseason appearances (2020 postseason was cancelled due to COVID-19). With 53 victories as head coach of the Rebels, Davis is one of only four coaches in Ole Miss history to rack up at least 50 wins over their first three seasons. A nine-time conference coach of the year, Davis is 38th among active Division I head coaches with 456 career wins over 23 seasons, including stints at MT, Idaho and Texas A&M. In 26 seasons as a college basketball head coach, he has amassed 522 wins.
DAVIS ERA TRENDS TO WATCH
• 45-12 when leading at half
• 5-0 when scoring 90+, 26-3 when scoring 80+, 38-17 when scoring 70+
• 38-15 when winning the rebounding battle
• 24-3 when at 50 percent shooting or better
• 16-4 when shooting 40 percent or better from three
• 51-26 when keeping opponents below 50 percent shooting (28-5 when below 40 percent)
RUFFIN OUT
Freshman Daeshun Ruffin, the program’s first McDonald’s All-American signee, will miss four weeks of action after fracturing his hand in the second half against New Orleans on Nov. 9. Ruffin exited the game with four points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. Coming out of Callaway High School, Ruffin was a consensus four-star prospect, and was rated No. 1 in the state of Mississippi and No. 40 nationally. He was the 2021 winner of Mississippi’s Gatorade Player of the Year, and he ended his illustrious high school career with 2,337 points scored (25.4 PPG).
WINNING BIG
When the Rebels win, they usually win big.
• Dating back to 2019-20, Ole Miss has won by double-digits in 25 of last 33
• 12 of 17 wins last season were by double digits, including eight by at least 17 points.
