BYU vs Ole Miss: 2024-25 College basketball game preview, TV schedule

BYU faces off against Ole Miss in the Rady Children’s Invitational in each team’s first real challenge of the season; will the Cougars or Rebels persevere and stay unbeaten?

TV schedule: Thursday, November 28, 5:00 pm ET. FS1

Arena: LionTree Arena in San Diego, California

After breakthrough success last season, BYU (5-0) began a new era this season with Kevin Young taking over as head coach. The Cougars made a great first step in the Big 12 last season and are hoping to repeat that success by competing in the league again. These first few weeks haven’t presented many challenges and BYU sits at five home wins with limited difficulty.

A balanced attack has paced the Cougars, led by Egor Demin (15.2 ppg, 7.2 apg), a freshman point guard with phenomenal potential. After coming off the bench the last two seasons, Richie Saunders (13.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg) has become a major productive contributor while a starter as a junior. Additionally, Fousseyni Traore (13.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg) is well on his way to his most productive season and stands out in this BYU frontcourt.

Unranked despite an undefeated start, BYU is 26th in the KenPom rankings and could work their way into national attention if they perform well in San Diego. The offense, especially inside the paint, has been fantastic in each of their early contests, though the defense has had a few slip-ups, giving up 80 points to UC Riverside a few weeks ago. The Cougars are still figuring things out, but this is a team that can outmuscle weaker teams; how will they fare against Big 12 foes in a few weeks?

Another untested team awaits them, as Mississippi (5-0) has beaten Colorado State and a whole host of underwhelming teams to start their own season. The Rebels are looking strong in year two under Chris Beard and hope to show signs of growth, though things have been far from perfect early on. After all, this team only beat Grambling State by 2 points just three weeks ago.

Fresh off great production at Virginia Tech, Sean Pedulla (14.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg) has been an excellent offseason addition and might become the catalyst on this talented team. The Rebels also lean heavily on Jaemyn Brakefield (11.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg), a former Duke prospect who has been important in this frontcourt in recent years. Another name to keep an eye on is Matthew Murrell (12.0 ppg, 3.0 apg), a senior guard who was Ole Miss’s leading scorer last season.

Preseason expectations have helped raise the profile for Ole Miss, who are ranked #23 by the AP Top 25 despite sitting just 48th in the most recent KenPom ratings. They’ve gotten to this point in the season with five wins, though it’s been far from pretty or consistent. The Rebels have started to figure things out on offense, scoring 100 on Oral Roberts last week, but need much more consistency from their starters, especially with how many points they’re giving up in the paint.

This neutral-site matchup pits BYU and Ole Miss against each other in an intriguing showdown. Neither of these teams is exactly firing on all cylinders, but this tournament presents a chance to see where they stand. The Rebels aren’t getting enough consistent play while the Cougars look a bit better on the offensive end, albeit against weaker opposition.

This would be a great time for Murrell to have a standout performance because the Rebels have quite the challenge against this BYU offense. Obviously, the defense that plays better will win this game, but a lot will fall on how the Rebels’ offense performs. You can expect BYU to make shots and get the job done down low, but can Ole Miss match them possession for possession down the stretch? We’re leaning towards BYU, especially if they can find their touch from outside.

Prediction: BYU 80, Ole Miss 76