The Ole Miss men's basketball team hits the road for the first time this season, as they travel north to Philadelphia to take on Temple at 2:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, November 22.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (4-0)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 1st Season at Ole Miss (4-0) • 241-98 career record (12th Season)
Temple (3-1)
Head Coach: Adam Fisher • 1st Season at Temple (3-1) • 3-1 career record (1st Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Harry Donahue
Color: John Baum
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Eli Savoie
Color: Marc Dukes
SERIES HISTORY VS. TEMPLE
The Rebels trail in the all-time series which dates back to 1987, as the Owls lead three games to two. The two programs first met in New Orleans, La. in December of 1987, with Temple getting the best of Ole Miss 70-61.
Following a 20-win season under head coach Rob Evans, Ole Miss made their second-ever NCAA Tournament in 1997 as the No. 8 seed, but would fall to No. 9 Temple 62-40 in the first round. The Rebels would get their revenge the next season, welcoming No. 18 Temple to the Tad Smith Coliseum and defeating them 87-74. The Owls would get the best of the Rebels the next year, as the two played their first game in Philadelphia. Ole Miss would use a big second-half to come out on top of last season's matchup, winning 63-55 in the SJB Pavilion.
LAST MEETING: DEC. 17, 2022 (W, 63-55, IN OXFORD)
• Ole Miss trailed at the half, down 29-27, but would score 39 in the second half to come out on top in the end.
• Matthew Murrell led the Rebels with 21 points, adding seven rebounds. Myles Burns led the team with 12 boards, while Daeshun Ruffin came off the bench and scored 17.
The team's leading scorer in this current 2023-24 season, Hysier Miller scored seven points in last year's game, as Ole Miss held him to 2-10 shooting from the floor.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple owns a 3-1 record to begin the season, picking up wins over Maryland Eastern Shore, Navy, and Drexel before falling to Columbia. The Owls went 16-16 last season, going 10-8 in conference, ending the year with a loss to Cincinnati in the AAC Tournament.
A starter in all 32 games last season, Hysier Miller returns to Temple this year and is leading the squad in scoring at 20.0 points per game. He nearly willed the Owls into a win over Columbia, scoring 29 points and playing in all 40 minutes of the game. Jahlil White leads the team in rebounds, averaging 8.0 per game and ranks second in scoring at 14.0 per contest.
Earning his first head coaching job of his career last March, Adam Fisher leads the Owls this year after a two year stint as the associate head coach at his alma mater Penn State. He was previously an assistant coach at Miami from 2015 to 2021.
A NEW ERA BEGINS
With the hiring of Chris Beard last March, the Ole Miss men's basketball program is prepared to take the next step forward, bringing in one of the most successful coaches of the last decade.
Compiling a record of 241-98 as an NCAA head coach since 2012, Beard holds one of the highest win percentages in the nation, ranking 11th among active head coaches with 10 or more years of experience at 71.1%.
The 2019 AP National Coach of the Year has led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament over the previous eight years, and is undefeated in the opening round at 5-0. His all-time record in the NCAA Tournament is 11-5 (.688).
"I CAN BE YOUR LONG LOST PAL"
After posting the third double-double of his career in the season opener (15 points, career-best 12 rebounds), Allen Flanigan followed it up with a career-best 29 points against Eastern Washington. The senior guard also surpassed the 1,000 career-point mark against the Eagles, and played a key part in securing the victory by scoring eight of the last 11 points for the Rebels.
He once again led the team in scoring with 23 against Sam Houston, connecting on a career-best 14 makes from the free throw line. Flanigan currently ranks third in the SEC in points per game at 18.8.
"I TAKE THE WORK, FLIP IT, ACROBATIC"
Through the first four games of the season, Ole Miss has shown elite ball control and movement on the offensive side. With a total of 66 assists compared to just 37 turnovers, the Rebels' assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.78 ranks No. 31 in the nation. They also rank No. 34 in the country in turnovers per game at 9.2.
The team is led in assists by Jaylen Murray (18 assists to 10 turnovers) and Matthew Murrell (15 assists to six turnovers).
EYES UP HIGH
On Friday, October 27th, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced their 20-member watch list for the 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award. For the second consecutive year, Jamarion Sharp saw his name on that list.
ADAPT TO THE TIMES
The new age of the NCAA often sees heavy roster turnover from year-to-year. While Ole Miss returns five members of last year's team, they added 11 strong newcomers through the transfer portal and the high school recruiting trail: (stats current to opening day)
Returners (5)
Jaemyn Brakefield - 33 GP, 31 GS, 11.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG
Cam Brent - 2022-23 practice squad member
TJ Caldwell - 31 GP, 7 GS, 4.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Robert Cowherd - 2022-23 freshman, redshirted
Matthew Murrell - 30 GP, 29 GS, 14.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Transfers (7)
Moussa Cisse - Oklahoma St.; 61 GP, 7.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG
Allen Flanigan - Auburn; 114 GP, 8.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Cole McGrath - Blue Mountain; 53 GP, 6.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Brandon Murray - Georgetown; 27 GP, 13.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Jaylen Murray - St. Peter's; 62 GP, 8.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Austin Nunez - Arizona St.; 28 GP, 4.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG
Jamarion Sharp - Western Ky.; 65 GP, 7.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG
Freshman (4)
Cameron Barnes - Three-star (ESPN, 247, Rivals), No. 147 national (Rivals)
Jacob Gazzo - Three-star (ESPN), No. 3 in Mississippi (ESPN)
Rashaud Marshall - Four-star (ESPN, 247, Rivals), No. 83 national (247)
Gavin Murphy - His high school's fourth-leading all-time scorer
HOW'S THE WEATHER?
The roster for Ole Miss this season has the tallest student-athlete in Division I in forward Jamarion Sharp, and has the shortest student-athlete in the country in guard Cam Brent. The two stand a full two feet apart in height, with Sharp at 7'5" and Brent at 5'5".
"I'M 22 AND A VET IN THE GAME"
The Ole Miss men's basketball team returned a plethora of NCAA experience to the court to begin the year. Between their returners and transfers, the Rebels' roster included:
Games Played: 624
Minutes Played: 14,975
Points: 5,220
Rebounds: 2,644
Assists: 801
Steals: 425
Blocks: 524 (441 from Cisse and Sharp alone)
AMONG THE BEST
Forwards Jamarion Sharp and Moussa Cisse rank among the nation's best in active career leaders in a handful of statistical categories. After becoming the fifth player ever to lead the NCAA in blocks in two seasons, Sharp ranks first in both career blocks and career blocked shots per game. Establishing himself as a premier shot blocker as well, Cisse ranks 14th in blocks per game, and 14th in total blocks.
Averaging 7.5 rebounds per game in his career, Sharp ranks 33rd in the country, while Cisse's 622 career boards rank 62nd. Cisse also ranks among the top-50 in double-doubles (15, No. 45 in NCAA), and career field goal percentage (56.5%, No. 48 in NCAA).
MILESTONE ALERT
Career milestones to watch for the Rebels:
Allen Flanigan
• Career 3PM: 95
Matthew Murrell
• Career Points: 985 - Will be 42nd member of 1,000-point club at Ole Miss
• Career 3PM: 145 - 163 enters top-10 in school history
• Career 3PA: 440 - 454 enters top-10 in school history
Jamarion Sharp
• Career Blocks: 290 - Would be 112th player in NCAA history with 300 career blocks
"WE BALLIN' LIKE THE MARCH MADNESS"
Among the seven transfers for the Rebels, over half have been to the NCAA Tournament during their collegiate career, with a total of five appearances. Brandon Murray (LSU, 2022 First Round), Austin Nunez(Arizona State, 2023 First Round), and Jaylen Murray (Saint Peter's, 2022 Elite Eight) have each been to the postseason once in their careers, while Allen Flanigan has been twice (Auburn, 2022 and 2023 Second Round).
SKEE-LO'S HERO
Transfer forward Jamarion Sharp stands as the tallest student-athlete in NCAA Division I men's basketball this season at 7'5", a title he has held for three-straight seasons now, and is even listed as one of the tallest living humans on Wikipedia. After spending his first two college years at John A. Logan College, Sharp played two years at Western Kentucky from 2021 to 2023. In 64 games played, he averaged 7.8 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, and became just the fifth person ever to lead the NCAA in blocks twice. His margin of 4.26 blocks per game during his career is currently the 11th-best average in college basketball history.
Career Blocked Shot Average (min. 225 blocks)
1. 5.87 - Keith Closs, Central Conn. St. (54 GP, 317 blks.)
2. 5.66 - Adonal Foyle, Colgate (87 GP, 492 blks.)
3. 5.34 - Shawn James, Northeastern/Duquesne (83 GP, 443 blks.)
4. 5.24 - David Robinson, Navy (67 GP, 351 blks.)
5. 4.66 - Mickell Gladness, Alabama A&M (85 GP, 396 blks.)
6. 4.65 - Wojciech Myrda, La.-Monroe (115 GP, 535 blks.)
7. 4.58 - Shaquille O'Neal, LSU (90 GP, 412 blks.)
8. 4.48 - Jerome James, Florida A&M (81 GP, 363 blks.)
9. 4.42 - Deng Gai, Fairfield (100 GP, 442 blks.)
10. 4.28 - Emeka Okafor, UConn (103 GP, 441 blks.)
11. 4.26 - Jamarion Sharp, Western Ky./Ole Miss (68 GP, 290 blks.)
VALUED LEADERSHIP
The Ole Miss men's basketball coaching staff is one of the more experienced around the country. Entering his 14th year as a collegiate head coach, Chris Beard is joined on the court by former head coaches Win Case (16 years), Brian Burg (three years), and Wes Flanigan (two years). Assistant coach Bob Donewald Jr. has 16 years of head coaching experience at the professional and national level, while assistant Al Pinkins has been an associate or assistant coach at six different NCAA Division-I programs, including four within the SEC. The Ole Miss coaching staff has experience at five other SEC programs: Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.
ROAD WORK AHEAD
The 2023-24 schedule for Ole Miss holds plenty of challenges, competing in one of the top conferences in the nation and setting a strong list of non-conference foes. Among their 31 games, 19 of them will be against teams that finished with a NET ranking in the top 100 last season, while 12 of them finished in the top 50.
TEAM FACTS
Ole Miss Rebels (4-0)
Head Coach: Chris Beard • 1st Season at Ole Miss (4-0) • 241-98 career record (12th Season)
Temple (3-1)
Head Coach: Adam Fisher • 1st Season at Temple (3-1) • 3-1 career record (1st Season)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Harry Donahue
Color: John Baum
OLE MISS RADIO
Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: Eli Savoie
Color: Marc Dukes
SERIES HISTORY VS. TEMPLE
The Rebels trail in the all-time series which dates back to 1987, as the Owls lead three games to two. The two programs first met in New Orleans, La. in December of 1987, with Temple getting the best of Ole Miss 70-61.
Following a 20-win season under head coach Rob Evans, Ole Miss made their second-ever NCAA Tournament in 1997 as the No. 8 seed, but would fall to No. 9 Temple 62-40 in the first round. The Rebels would get their revenge the next season, welcoming No. 18 Temple to the Tad Smith Coliseum and defeating them 87-74. The Owls would get the best of the Rebels the next year, as the two played their first game in Philadelphia. Ole Miss would use a big second-half to come out on top of last season's matchup, winning 63-55 in the SJB Pavilion.
LAST MEETING: DEC. 17, 2022 (W, 63-55, IN OXFORD)
• Ole Miss trailed at the half, down 29-27, but would score 39 in the second half to come out on top in the end.
• Matthew Murrell led the Rebels with 21 points, adding seven rebounds. Myles Burns led the team with 12 boards, while Daeshun Ruffin came off the bench and scored 17.
The team's leading scorer in this current 2023-24 season, Hysier Miller scored seven points in last year's game, as Ole Miss held him to 2-10 shooting from the floor.
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Temple owns a 3-1 record to begin the season, picking up wins over Maryland Eastern Shore, Navy, and Drexel before falling to Columbia. The Owls went 16-16 last season, going 10-8 in conference, ending the year with a loss to Cincinnati in the AAC Tournament.
A starter in all 32 games last season, Hysier Miller returns to Temple this year and is leading the squad in scoring at 20.0 points per game. He nearly willed the Owls into a win over Columbia, scoring 29 points and playing in all 40 minutes of the game. Jahlil White leads the team in rebounds, averaging 8.0 per game and ranks second in scoring at 14.0 per contest.
Earning his first head coaching job of his career last March, Adam Fisher leads the Owls this year after a two year stint as the associate head coach at his alma mater Penn State. He was previously an assistant coach at Miami from 2015 to 2021.
A NEW ERA BEGINS
With the hiring of Chris Beard last March, the Ole Miss men's basketball program is prepared to take the next step forward, bringing in one of the most successful coaches of the last decade.
Compiling a record of 241-98 as an NCAA head coach since 2012, Beard holds one of the highest win percentages in the nation, ranking 11th among active head coaches with 10 or more years of experience at 71.1%.
The 2019 AP National Coach of the Year has led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament over the previous eight years, and is undefeated in the opening round at 5-0. His all-time record in the NCAA Tournament is 11-5 (.688).
"I CAN BE YOUR LONG LOST PAL"
After posting the third double-double of his career in the season opener (15 points, career-best 12 rebounds), Allen Flanigan followed it up with a career-best 29 points against Eastern Washington. The senior guard also surpassed the 1,000 career-point mark against the Eagles, and played a key part in securing the victory by scoring eight of the last 11 points for the Rebels.
He once again led the team in scoring with 23 against Sam Houston, connecting on a career-best 14 makes from the free throw line. Flanigan currently ranks third in the SEC in points per game at 18.8.
"I TAKE THE WORK, FLIP IT, ACROBATIC"
Through the first four games of the season, Ole Miss has shown elite ball control and movement on the offensive side. With a total of 66 assists compared to just 37 turnovers, the Rebels' assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.78 ranks No. 31 in the nation. They also rank No. 34 in the country in turnovers per game at 9.2.
The team is led in assists by Jaylen Murray (18 assists to 10 turnovers) and Matthew Murrell (15 assists to six turnovers).
EYES UP HIGH
On Friday, October 27th, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced their 20-member watch list for the 2024 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award. For the second consecutive year, Jamarion Sharp saw his name on that list.
ADAPT TO THE TIMES
The new age of the NCAA often sees heavy roster turnover from year-to-year. While Ole Miss returns five members of last year's team, they added 11 strong newcomers through the transfer portal and the high school recruiting trail: (stats current to opening day)
Returners (5)
Jaemyn Brakefield - 33 GP, 31 GS, 11.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG
Cam Brent - 2022-23 practice squad member
TJ Caldwell - 31 GP, 7 GS, 4.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Robert Cowherd - 2022-23 freshman, redshirted
Matthew Murrell - 30 GP, 29 GS, 14.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Transfers (7)
Moussa Cisse - Oklahoma St.; 61 GP, 7.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG
Allen Flanigan - Auburn; 114 GP, 8.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Cole McGrath - Blue Mountain; 53 GP, 6.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Brandon Murray - Georgetown; 27 GP, 13.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Jaylen Murray - St. Peter's; 62 GP, 8.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Austin Nunez - Arizona St.; 28 GP, 4.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG
Jamarion Sharp - Western Ky.; 65 GP, 7.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG
Freshman (4)
Cameron Barnes - Three-star (ESPN, 247, Rivals), No. 147 national (Rivals)
Jacob Gazzo - Three-star (ESPN), No. 3 in Mississippi (ESPN)
Rashaud Marshall - Four-star (ESPN, 247, Rivals), No. 83 national (247)
Gavin Murphy - His high school's fourth-leading all-time scorer
HOW'S THE WEATHER?
The roster for Ole Miss this season has the tallest student-athlete in Division I in forward Jamarion Sharp, and has the shortest student-athlete in the country in guard Cam Brent. The two stand a full two feet apart in height, with Sharp at 7'5" and Brent at 5'5".
"I'M 22 AND A VET IN THE GAME"
The Ole Miss men's basketball team returned a plethora of NCAA experience to the court to begin the year. Between their returners and transfers, the Rebels' roster included:
Games Played: 624
Minutes Played: 14,975
Points: 5,220
Rebounds: 2,644
Assists: 801
Steals: 425
Blocks: 524 (441 from Cisse and Sharp alone)
AMONG THE BEST
Forwards Jamarion Sharp and Moussa Cisse rank among the nation's best in active career leaders in a handful of statistical categories. After becoming the fifth player ever to lead the NCAA in blocks in two seasons, Sharp ranks first in both career blocks and career blocked shots per game. Establishing himself as a premier shot blocker as well, Cisse ranks 14th in blocks per game, and 14th in total blocks.
Averaging 7.5 rebounds per game in his career, Sharp ranks 33rd in the country, while Cisse's 622 career boards rank 62nd. Cisse also ranks among the top-50 in double-doubles (15, No. 45 in NCAA), and career field goal percentage (56.5%, No. 48 in NCAA).
MILESTONE ALERT
Career milestones to watch for the Rebels:
Allen Flanigan
• Career 3PM: 95
Matthew Murrell
• Career Points: 985 - Will be 42nd member of 1,000-point club at Ole Miss
• Career 3PM: 145 - 163 enters top-10 in school history
• Career 3PA: 440 - 454 enters top-10 in school history
Jamarion Sharp
• Career Blocks: 290 - Would be 112th player in NCAA history with 300 career blocks
"WE BALLIN' LIKE THE MARCH MADNESS"
Among the seven transfers for the Rebels, over half have been to the NCAA Tournament during their collegiate career, with a total of five appearances. Brandon Murray (LSU, 2022 First Round), Austin Nunez(Arizona State, 2023 First Round), and Jaylen Murray (Saint Peter's, 2022 Elite Eight) have each been to the postseason once in their careers, while Allen Flanigan has been twice (Auburn, 2022 and 2023 Second Round).
SKEE-LO'S HERO
Transfer forward Jamarion Sharp stands as the tallest student-athlete in NCAA Division I men's basketball this season at 7'5", a title he has held for three-straight seasons now, and is even listed as one of the tallest living humans on Wikipedia. After spending his first two college years at John A. Logan College, Sharp played two years at Western Kentucky from 2021 to 2023. In 64 games played, he averaged 7.8 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, and became just the fifth person ever to lead the NCAA in blocks twice. His margin of 4.26 blocks per game during his career is currently the 11th-best average in college basketball history.
Career Blocked Shot Average (min. 225 blocks)
1. 5.87 - Keith Closs, Central Conn. St. (54 GP, 317 blks.)
2. 5.66 - Adonal Foyle, Colgate (87 GP, 492 blks.)
3. 5.34 - Shawn James, Northeastern/Duquesne (83 GP, 443 blks.)
4. 5.24 - David Robinson, Navy (67 GP, 351 blks.)
5. 4.66 - Mickell Gladness, Alabama A&M (85 GP, 396 blks.)
6. 4.65 - Wojciech Myrda, La.-Monroe (115 GP, 535 blks.)
7. 4.58 - Shaquille O'Neal, LSU (90 GP, 412 blks.)
8. 4.48 - Jerome James, Florida A&M (81 GP, 363 blks.)
9. 4.42 - Deng Gai, Fairfield (100 GP, 442 blks.)
10. 4.28 - Emeka Okafor, UConn (103 GP, 441 blks.)
11. 4.26 - Jamarion Sharp, Western Ky./Ole Miss (68 GP, 290 blks.)
VALUED LEADERSHIP
The Ole Miss men's basketball coaching staff is one of the more experienced around the country. Entering his 14th year as a collegiate head coach, Chris Beard is joined on the court by former head coaches Win Case (16 years), Brian Burg (three years), and Wes Flanigan (two years). Assistant coach Bob Donewald Jr. has 16 years of head coaching experience at the professional and national level, while assistant Al Pinkins has been an associate or assistant coach at six different NCAA Division-I programs, including four within the SEC. The Ole Miss coaching staff has experience at five other SEC programs: Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.
ROAD WORK AHEAD
The 2023-24 schedule for Ole Miss holds plenty of challenges, competing in one of the top conferences in the nation and setting a strong list of non-conference foes. Among their 31 games, 19 of them will be against teams that finished with a NET ranking in the top 100 last season, while 12 of them finished in the top 50.
