From UM Media Relations:
ORLANDO, Fla. – Ole Miss is ready to roll for three games at The Most Magical Place on Earth at the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational, held Nov. 24-27 at the State Farm Field House at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex located at Disney World. First up for the Rebels is Stanford, with tipoff set for 12:30 p.m. CT on Thanksgiving Day live on ESPNU.
The invitational will feature 12 total games across three days of action, with each team playing in one game per day and advancing through the bracket. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship matchup on Sun., Nov. 27. All games will air on the ESPN family of networks, with the Sunday championship game slated for ESPN at 12:30 p.m. CT.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Kermit Davis • 5th Season at Ole Miss (68-61) • 537-324 career record (28th Season)
Stanford Cardinal (2-2, 0-0 Pac-12)
Head Coach: Jerod Haase • 7th Season at Stanford (100-92) • 180-145 career record (11th Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPNU
Play-by-Play: Rich Hollenberg
Color: Chris Spatola
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Eli Savoie
Color: Marc Dukes
SiriusXM
SiriusXM: 384
SiriusXM App: 974
MEET THE FIELD
Florida State • 1-4
Series History: Florida State leads, 3-1
Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton (396-246, 21st Year)
Memphis • 2-1
Series History: Memphis leads, 28-15
Head Coach: Penny Hardaway (86-44, 5th Year)
Nebraska • 3-1
Series History: Ole Miss leads, 2-1
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg (27-68, 4th Year)
Oklahoma • 3-1
Series History: Tied, 2-2
Head Coach: Porter Moser (22-17, 2nd Year)
Seton Hall • 3-1
Series History: Seton Hall leads, 1-0
Head Coach: Shaheen Holloway (3-1, 1st Year)
Siena • 2-2
Series History: Never met
Head Coach: Carmen Maciariello (49-31, 4th Year)
Stanford • 2-2
Series History: Never met
Head Coach: Jerod Haase (100-92, 7th Year)
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Game 1 • 11/24, 10 AM CT • ESPN2
Florida State vs. Siena
Game 2 • 11/24, 12:30 PM CT • ESPNU
Ole Miss vs. Stanford
Game 3 • 11/24, 4 PM CT • ESPN
Oklahoma vs. Nebraska
Game 4 • 11/24, 6:30 PM CT • ESPNews
Memphis vs. Seton Hall
Game 5 • 11/25, 10 AM CT • ESPN
Semifinal #1
Game 6 • 11/25, 12:30 PM CT • ESPNews
Consolation #1
Game 7 • 11/25, 4:30 PM CT • ESPNews
Consolation #2
Game 8 • 11/25, 7 PM CT • ESPN2
Semifinal #2
Game 9 • 11/27, 10 AM CT • ESPNU
5th Place Game
Game 10 • 11/27, 12:30 PM CT • ESPN
Championship Game
Game 11 • 11/27, 4 PM CT • ESPN2
3rd Place Game
Game 12 • 11/27, 6:30 PM CT • ESPNews
7th Place Game
LAST TIME OUT: vs. UT Martin (W, 72-68)
• Nine lead changes and four ties; eight and three in the first half, respectively
• Ole Miss: 24-4 second half run to overcome 12-point deficit
• UT Martin: 51.8 percent shooting, 6-of-11 3PT in first half
• Held Skyhawks to just 1-of-9 from three in the second half
• Matthew Murrell: 16 points, 5 reboubnds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
• Myles Burns: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block)
• Robert Allen: 9 points, 7 rebounds
• TJ Caldwell: 4 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
MM11
Junior Matthew Murrell has wasted no time lighting the net on fire this season, picking up right where he left off last season as one of the most feared three-point shooters nationwide. Murrell ranks second in the SEC in threes per game (3.5) and third in total threes made (14). Murrell also ranks third in the SEC at 17.8 points per game, helped by two 20-point outings against Chattanooga (25) and Alcorn State (20). Against the Mocs, Murrell drained a career-high six three-pointers -- the most by a Rebel since Devontae Shuler nailed six threes against Wichita State on Jan. 2, 2021. His 25-point game against Chattanooga marked his sixth career 20-point outing, which all have come within his last 21 games played dating back to last season. In his career, Murrell has hit five or more threes four times, while also notching seven games with at least four, 12 with at least three, 23 with multiple threes, and 25 consecutive games with at least one triple made.
Murrell has been a legit scoring threat since he stepped foot on campus as Ole Miss’ highest-rated signee in program history, but he has been especially lights-out since the start of last conference season. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 SEC season, only Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi has more threes made in the conference with 64 trifectas to Murrell’s 57. Late last year, Murrell eclipsed 20 points in consecutive games for the first time in his career over his last three regular season games, averaging 22.5 points and 3.5 threes made across two strong outings vs. Texas A&M (20 points) and at No. 6 Kentucky (25 points) -- a stretch in which he shot 57.7 percent overall and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. All four of Murrell’s 20-point games came in SEC play last season, topped by a superb 31-point outing vs. Mississippi State on Jan. 8.
MURRELL NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SEC
Ole Miss junior Matthew Murrell was honored by the league head coaches, earning Second-Team Preseason All-SEC in recognition of his sharp-shooting prowess last season. Murrell – a native of Memphis, Tennessee – is among the best three-point shooters and all-around guards returning from SEC action last year after ending the 2021-22 conference season ranked second in three-point shooting (.426), third in threes per game (2.5), sixth in minutes per game (34.1), eighth in field goal shooting (.466) and ninth in scoring (15.5). Murrell accounted for 26.6 percent of all three-pointers made by the Rebels last season, and he especially turned it on late, averaging 20.0 points and 3.0 threes over his final three games, as well as 16.3 points and 2.5 threes over his final eight games.
Sparking that SEC season stretch for Murrell was a historic outing versus in-state rival Mississippi State on Jan. 8, where he was nearly perfect in a bombastic 31-point outing against the Bulldogs. Murrell that day became only the third Rebel to go 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, and he is the only Rebel to do so against an SEC opponent during the regular season. Murrell was also 6-of-6 from the free throw line, with his lone blemish coming from within the arc in the closing minutes to end 10-of-11 overall from the field.
Murrell was also big when the spotlight was on against ranked opponents, averaging 15.0 points while shooting 42.9 percent overall and 45 percent from three in six games against AP Top-25 schools. Included in those six were two Ole Miss victories over No. 18 Memphis on Dec. 4 and No. 25 LSU on Feb. 1, during which Murrell averaged 14.0 points for the Rebels.
RENAISSANCE MAN
Senior transfer Myles Burns has made an immediate impact for the Rebels on both ends of the floor with a unique talent blend as a defensive force and a go-getter on the offensive glass. Burns currently ranks third in the SEC and No. 10 in the NCAA at 3.3 steals per game, while also ranking fifth in the conference at 3.0 offensive boards per game.
Prior to Ole Miss, Burns had an extraordinary career at Loyola New Orleans, where he was a four-time NAIA All-American and three-time SSAC Defensive Player of the Year. With the Wolf Pack, Burns played in 120 career games with 111 starts, while setting career averages of 15.3 points (1,852), 8.8 rebounds (1,069), 3.0 steals (358), 2.5 assists (298) and 1.0 blocks (116). In Loyola’s record book, Burns ranks No. 1 in steals (358), No. 2 all-time in points (1,852), No. 2 in rebounds (1,069), No. 4 in blocks (116) and No. 7 in assists (298), with his 358 steals resting 163 more than any other player in Loyola history. Burns helped lead Loyola to the 2022 NAIA National Championship title, the first in school history since 1945, as the tournament MVP at 19.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.2 steals with four double-doubles in six tournament games.
Burns is no stranger to dominating these two distinct statistical categories, though, as his 151 offensive rebounds and 152 steals in 2021-22 had no rival in all of college basketball, with the nearest Division I comparison being defending national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky, who had 179 offensive rebounds and 60 steals last season. Furthermore, Burns’ 152 steals last season earned him the 2022 Marques Haynes Award, which is given annually to the player with the most steals in all of college basketball, regardless of division.
BEST OF THE BEST
Ole Miss’ four senior transfers are among some of the best returning big men in all of college basketball. Jayveous McKinnis stands alone as one of the best returners in the nation this year, currently third in total rebounds (1,019), fourth in total blocks (234), fifth in career double-doubles (38), seventh in rebounds per game (9.4), 10th in blocks per game (2.2) and 16th in field goal shooting (.607). McKinnis is one of just three active players in all of college basketball with 1,000 career rebounds alongside South Alabama’s Kevin Samuel (1,085) and North Carolina’s Armando Bacot (1,048). He is also just one of three, alongside those same two players, with 1,000 career points (1,089) and 1,000 career rebounds.
Ole Miss is one of two schools with multiple top-20 rebounders on the active career list alongside Texas Tech. McKinnis (1,019) and Josh Mballa (803; No. 16) combine for 1,822 career rebounds, the second-most among teammates behind Texas Tech’s 1,830 from Fardaws Almaq (918) and Kevin Obanor (912).
Ole Miss also ranks highly on the career blocks list with two top-10 entries at the moment. McKinnis ranks fourth at 234 swats, while Theo Akwuba sits eighth at 188. Combined at 422 career rejections, the Rebel duo accounts for a whopping 17.8 percent of the 2,374 career blocks among the active top-10. Ole Miss stands as one of just two schools with multiple top-25 active blockers alongside Gardner-Webb, but the Rebels are the only school with two within the top-10.
The Rebel trio of McKinnis (38, No. 5), Mballa (29, No. 13) and Akwuba (17, No. 40) combine for 84 career double-doubles, with McKinnis and Mballa owning the second-most by a pair of teammates with 67 behind Texas Tech’s Almaq (41) and Obanor (35) at 76.
* Note: Myles Burns’ 1,077 career rebounds while at NAIA Loyola New Orleans do not transfer over to the NCAA records lists, but would rank second in the nation if they did and give Ole Miss a combined 4,206 boards between Akwuba (653), Burns, Mballa, McKinnis and Robert Allen (654). Burns’ combined career total of 1,884 points would also rank No. 10 among all NCAA divisions at the moment.
AIN’T WASTING TIME NO MORE
With eight new faces for Ole Miss this season, the Rebel newcomers are already seeing serious minutes and have contributed to the team’s 4-0 start.
Newcomer Splits:
Minutes: 51.2% (413 of 806)
Scoring: 45.1% (133 of 295)
Rebounding: 46.4% (78 of 168)
Assists: 49.1% (27 of 55)
Steals: 62.9% (22 of 35)
Blocks: 75.0% (12 of 16)
Newcomer Scoring:
vs. Alcorn State: 29 of 73 (39.7%)
vs. Florida Atlantic: 36 of 80 (45.0%)
vs. Chattanooga: 33 of 70 (47.1%)
vs. UT Martin: 35 of 72 (48.6%)
| OLE MISS (4-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. STANFORD (2-2, 0-0 Pac-12) Thursday, Nov. 24 • 12:30 p.m. CT • Orlando, Fla. State Farm Field House (5,000) ESPN Events Invitational 
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| Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Tournament Info • Bracket Ole Miss Game Notes • Stanford Game Notes • SEC Game Notes |
The invitational will feature 12 total games across three days of action, with each team playing in one game per day and advancing through the bracket. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship matchup on Sun., Nov. 27. All games will air on the ESPN family of networks, with the Sunday championship game slated for ESPN at 12:30 p.m. CT.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Kermit Davis • 5th Season at Ole Miss (68-61) • 537-324 career record (28th Season)
Stanford Cardinal (2-2, 0-0 Pac-12)
Head Coach: Jerod Haase • 7th Season at Stanford (100-92) • 180-145 career record (11th Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPNU
Play-by-Play: Rich Hollenberg
Color: Chris Spatola
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Eli Savoie
Color: Marc Dukes
SiriusXM
SiriusXM: 384
SiriusXM App: 974
MEET THE FIELD
Florida State • 1-4
Series History: Florida State leads, 3-1
Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton (396-246, 21st Year)
Memphis • 2-1
Series History: Memphis leads, 28-15
Head Coach: Penny Hardaway (86-44, 5th Year)
Nebraska • 3-1
Series History: Ole Miss leads, 2-1
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg (27-68, 4th Year)
Oklahoma • 3-1
Series History: Tied, 2-2
Head Coach: Porter Moser (22-17, 2nd Year)
Seton Hall • 3-1
Series History: Seton Hall leads, 1-0
Head Coach: Shaheen Holloway (3-1, 1st Year)
Siena • 2-2
Series History: Never met
Head Coach: Carmen Maciariello (49-31, 4th Year)
Stanford • 2-2
Series History: Never met
Head Coach: Jerod Haase (100-92, 7th Year)
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Game 1 • 11/24, 10 AM CT • ESPN2
Florida State vs. Siena
Game 2 • 11/24, 12:30 PM CT • ESPNU
Ole Miss vs. Stanford
Game 3 • 11/24, 4 PM CT • ESPN
Oklahoma vs. Nebraska
Game 4 • 11/24, 6:30 PM CT • ESPNews
Memphis vs. Seton Hall
Game 5 • 11/25, 10 AM CT • ESPN
Semifinal #1
Game 6 • 11/25, 12:30 PM CT • ESPNews
Consolation #1
Game 7 • 11/25, 4:30 PM CT • ESPNews
Consolation #2
Game 8 • 11/25, 7 PM CT • ESPN2
Semifinal #2
Game 9 • 11/27, 10 AM CT • ESPNU
5th Place Game
Game 10 • 11/27, 12:30 PM CT • ESPN
Championship Game
Game 11 • 11/27, 4 PM CT • ESPN2
3rd Place Game
Game 12 • 11/27, 6:30 PM CT • ESPNews
7th Place Game
LAST TIME OUT: vs. UT Martin (W, 72-68)
• Nine lead changes and four ties; eight and three in the first half, respectively
• Ole Miss: 24-4 second half run to overcome 12-point deficit
• UT Martin: 51.8 percent shooting, 6-of-11 3PT in first half
• Held Skyhawks to just 1-of-9 from three in the second half
• Matthew Murrell: 16 points, 5 reboubnds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
• Myles Burns: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block)
• Robert Allen: 9 points, 7 rebounds
• TJ Caldwell: 4 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
MM11
Junior Matthew Murrell has wasted no time lighting the net on fire this season, picking up right where he left off last season as one of the most feared three-point shooters nationwide. Murrell ranks second in the SEC in threes per game (3.5) and third in total threes made (14). Murrell also ranks third in the SEC at 17.8 points per game, helped by two 20-point outings against Chattanooga (25) and Alcorn State (20). Against the Mocs, Murrell drained a career-high six three-pointers -- the most by a Rebel since Devontae Shuler nailed six threes against Wichita State on Jan. 2, 2021. His 25-point game against Chattanooga marked his sixth career 20-point outing, which all have come within his last 21 games played dating back to last season. In his career, Murrell has hit five or more threes four times, while also notching seven games with at least four, 12 with at least three, 23 with multiple threes, and 25 consecutive games with at least one triple made.
Murrell has been a legit scoring threat since he stepped foot on campus as Ole Miss’ highest-rated signee in program history, but he has been especially lights-out since the start of last conference season. Since the beginning of the 2021-22 SEC season, only Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi has more threes made in the conference with 64 trifectas to Murrell’s 57. Late last year, Murrell eclipsed 20 points in consecutive games for the first time in his career over his last three regular season games, averaging 22.5 points and 3.5 threes made across two strong outings vs. Texas A&M (20 points) and at No. 6 Kentucky (25 points) -- a stretch in which he shot 57.7 percent overall and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. All four of Murrell’s 20-point games came in SEC play last season, topped by a superb 31-point outing vs. Mississippi State on Jan. 8.
MURRELL NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SEC
Ole Miss junior Matthew Murrell was honored by the league head coaches, earning Second-Team Preseason All-SEC in recognition of his sharp-shooting prowess last season. Murrell – a native of Memphis, Tennessee – is among the best three-point shooters and all-around guards returning from SEC action last year after ending the 2021-22 conference season ranked second in three-point shooting (.426), third in threes per game (2.5), sixth in minutes per game (34.1), eighth in field goal shooting (.466) and ninth in scoring (15.5). Murrell accounted for 26.6 percent of all three-pointers made by the Rebels last season, and he especially turned it on late, averaging 20.0 points and 3.0 threes over his final three games, as well as 16.3 points and 2.5 threes over his final eight games.
Sparking that SEC season stretch for Murrell was a historic outing versus in-state rival Mississippi State on Jan. 8, where he was nearly perfect in a bombastic 31-point outing against the Bulldogs. Murrell that day became only the third Rebel to go 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, and he is the only Rebel to do so against an SEC opponent during the regular season. Murrell was also 6-of-6 from the free throw line, with his lone blemish coming from within the arc in the closing minutes to end 10-of-11 overall from the field.
Murrell was also big when the spotlight was on against ranked opponents, averaging 15.0 points while shooting 42.9 percent overall and 45 percent from three in six games against AP Top-25 schools. Included in those six were two Ole Miss victories over No. 18 Memphis on Dec. 4 and No. 25 LSU on Feb. 1, during which Murrell averaged 14.0 points for the Rebels.
RENAISSANCE MAN
Senior transfer Myles Burns has made an immediate impact for the Rebels on both ends of the floor with a unique talent blend as a defensive force and a go-getter on the offensive glass. Burns currently ranks third in the SEC and No. 10 in the NCAA at 3.3 steals per game, while also ranking fifth in the conference at 3.0 offensive boards per game.
Prior to Ole Miss, Burns had an extraordinary career at Loyola New Orleans, where he was a four-time NAIA All-American and three-time SSAC Defensive Player of the Year. With the Wolf Pack, Burns played in 120 career games with 111 starts, while setting career averages of 15.3 points (1,852), 8.8 rebounds (1,069), 3.0 steals (358), 2.5 assists (298) and 1.0 blocks (116). In Loyola’s record book, Burns ranks No. 1 in steals (358), No. 2 all-time in points (1,852), No. 2 in rebounds (1,069), No. 4 in blocks (116) and No. 7 in assists (298), with his 358 steals resting 163 more than any other player in Loyola history. Burns helped lead Loyola to the 2022 NAIA National Championship title, the first in school history since 1945, as the tournament MVP at 19.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 5.2 steals with four double-doubles in six tournament games.
Burns is no stranger to dominating these two distinct statistical categories, though, as his 151 offensive rebounds and 152 steals in 2021-22 had no rival in all of college basketball, with the nearest Division I comparison being defending national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky, who had 179 offensive rebounds and 60 steals last season. Furthermore, Burns’ 152 steals last season earned him the 2022 Marques Haynes Award, which is given annually to the player with the most steals in all of college basketball, regardless of division.
BEST OF THE BEST
Ole Miss’ four senior transfers are among some of the best returning big men in all of college basketball. Jayveous McKinnis stands alone as one of the best returners in the nation this year, currently third in total rebounds (1,019), fourth in total blocks (234), fifth in career double-doubles (38), seventh in rebounds per game (9.4), 10th in blocks per game (2.2) and 16th in field goal shooting (.607). McKinnis is one of just three active players in all of college basketball with 1,000 career rebounds alongside South Alabama’s Kevin Samuel (1,085) and North Carolina’s Armando Bacot (1,048). He is also just one of three, alongside those same two players, with 1,000 career points (1,089) and 1,000 career rebounds.
Ole Miss is one of two schools with multiple top-20 rebounders on the active career list alongside Texas Tech. McKinnis (1,019) and Josh Mballa (803; No. 16) combine for 1,822 career rebounds, the second-most among teammates behind Texas Tech’s 1,830 from Fardaws Almaq (918) and Kevin Obanor (912).
Ole Miss also ranks highly on the career blocks list with two top-10 entries at the moment. McKinnis ranks fourth at 234 swats, while Theo Akwuba sits eighth at 188. Combined at 422 career rejections, the Rebel duo accounts for a whopping 17.8 percent of the 2,374 career blocks among the active top-10. Ole Miss stands as one of just two schools with multiple top-25 active blockers alongside Gardner-Webb, but the Rebels are the only school with two within the top-10.
The Rebel trio of McKinnis (38, No. 5), Mballa (29, No. 13) and Akwuba (17, No. 40) combine for 84 career double-doubles, with McKinnis and Mballa owning the second-most by a pair of teammates with 67 behind Texas Tech’s Almaq (41) and Obanor (35) at 76.
* Note: Myles Burns’ 1,077 career rebounds while at NAIA Loyola New Orleans do not transfer over to the NCAA records lists, but would rank second in the nation if they did and give Ole Miss a combined 4,206 boards between Akwuba (653), Burns, Mballa, McKinnis and Robert Allen (654). Burns’ combined career total of 1,884 points would also rank No. 10 among all NCAA divisions at the moment.
AIN’T WASTING TIME NO MORE
With eight new faces for Ole Miss this season, the Rebel newcomers are already seeing serious minutes and have contributed to the team’s 4-0 start.
Newcomer Splits:
Minutes: 51.2% (413 of 806)
Scoring: 45.1% (133 of 295)
Rebounding: 46.4% (78 of 168)
Assists: 49.1% (27 of 55)
Steals: 62.9% (22 of 35)
Blocks: 75.0% (12 of 16)
Newcomer Scoring:
vs. Alcorn State: 29 of 73 (39.7%)
vs. Florida Atlantic: 36 of 80 (45.0%)
vs. Chattanooga: 33 of 70 (47.1%)
vs. UT Martin: 35 of 72 (48.6%)
