Ole Miss Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Rebels

Schedule Outlook

The Rebels will take on Alabama State, Eastern Washington, Detroit Mercy and Sam Houston for the first four games of the season. An interesting tidbit? The Rebels’ game against Sam Houston will take place in their former home from 1966 to 2016 — the Tad Smith Coliseum on Nov. 17. It is known as Throwback in the Tad Pad to honor former Ole Miss head coach Rob Evans.

The schedule kicks up in late Nov./early Dec. where the Rebels will travel to Philadelphia to take on Temple on Nov. 22 while hosting both NC State on Nov. 28 in the SEC/ACC Challenge and Memphis on December 2.

After a contest versus Mount. St. Mary’s on Dec. 5, Ole Miss will travel to Orlando to take on Johnny Dawkins’ UCF Knights on Dec. 10th. After a 6-day break, the Rebels will then travel to San Antonio to battle Mark Madsen’s new-look California squad on Dec. 16.

To round out their non-conference schedule, the Rebels will play three quality mid-majors against teams that combined for an average of 20.66 wins last year. The three teams include Troy on Dec. 19, Southern Miss in Biloxi on Dec. 23, and the Bryant Bulldogs on Dec. 31.

Come to the end of the 2023-24 season, expect this non-conference schedule to be ranked in the middle half of college basketball in terms of strength of schedule metrics.

The Rebel’s 18-game SEC schedule, starting on Jan. 6, will feature Auburn, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Missouri in a home-and-home series. Road-only games include Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee. Home-only games include Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Alabama and Florida. Although the Rebels don’t have to travel to Fayetteville or Tuscaloosa this season, traveling to Lexington and Knoxville is no easy task.