After a 5-2 start to the season for both teams, Ole Miss and Memphis meet for a can’t-miss SEC/AAC matchup.
When: Saturday, December 4 at 12:00 pm ET on ESPN2
Location: The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss, Oxford, MS
In one of the more-intriguing matchups from a loaded college basketball slate Saturday, Memphis travels to Ole Miss badly needing a bounce-back win.
Ole Miss are coming off a dominant 75-51 win over Rider on Tuesday night, a game in which the Rebels led for a majority on the contest. The Rebels out-rebounded Rider 57-36 in the contest, and had four players in double-figures led by guard Jarkel Joiner who added a game-high 18 points.
The Rebels sit at 5-2 on the season, and come into this contest averaging 74.1 PPG offensively, as well as allowing only 61.7 PPG to opponents. Leading the Rebels in scoring in the previously mentioned Joiner who averages 15.4 PPG, while others such as transfers Jaemyn Brakefield, Nysier Brooks, and Tye Fagan are all among Ole Miss’ leading scorers and rebounders.
Memphis on the other hand comes to Oxford having dropped two games in a row, including an 82-79 upset loss on Wednesday night at Georgia. A close, back-and-fourth contest throughout, the Tigers led for a majority of the second half, but surrendered the lead to the Bulldogs with under two minutes remaining.
The Tigers come into contest as the No. 18 ranked team in the country with a 5-2 record, but as mentioned previously have dropped their last two games. Averaging 78.6 PPG while only allowing 67.6 PPG, Memphis are led by the star freshman duo of Emoni Bates (12.2 PPG, 3 RPG) and Jalen Duren (11.1 PPG, 8.7 RPG), as well as others such as DeAndre Williams, Landers Nolley II, and Lester Quinones all averaging 9+ PPG.
Memphis needs a win here after having dropped two consecutive games, but it will not be an easy task against the Rebels who are a perfect 4-0 at home so far this season. This game will likely be close throughout, but I’ll say that Ole Miss picks up a big win at home here.
Prediction: Ole Miss 76, Memphis 73