18 Home Games, Baylor Rematch Highlight 2014-15 Schedule

18 home dates, including a rematch with 2012 national champion Baylor in December, highlight the 2014-15 Ole Miss women’s basketball schedule released by head coach Matt Insell on Friday. The Rebels will also host eight SEC opponents and make a minimum of nine television appearances, including hosting a SEC Network Monday game against Kentucky in February.
“I am really excited about our overall schedule,” said Insell.  “We have a great mix of teams we are playing in the non conference that will challenge us in different ways which in return will prepare us for what’s ahead in the SEC.”
There will be plenty of chances for Rebel fans to see the squad during the non-conference season, as Ole Miss welcomes 10 non-conference foes to Tad Smith Coliseum. The season kicks off on Nov. 14 when Ole Miss hosts Grambling in the 12th annual School Kids Game, which will tipoff at 11 a.m.
Other highlights of the non-conference schedule include a home match up with Middle Tennessee State (Nov. 23), which will pit father against son, as Rick Insell, father of Ole Miss’ Matt Insell, coaches the Blue Raiders.
“Middle Tennessee State is a program that consistently competes at the top of college basketball having a top 20 RPI a year ago,” said Insell.  “There is no doubt that this game will bring even more excitement due to the connections between the two programs.”
The Rebels will also head to Reno, Nevada for the John Ascuaga Nugget Classic, hosted by the University of Nevada (Nov. 28-29) Ole Miss opens tournament action against Utah (Nov. 28) and will take on the winner of Nevada and Portland on Nov. 29. Ole Miss’ other road trip during the non-conference slate is a trip to Western Kentucky (Dec. 4).
In one of the most anticipated rematches this season, Ole Miss welcomes Baylor to the Tad Pad on Dec. 7. Last season, the Rebels went to Waco, Texas and had the nation’s No. 10 team, as well as the longest home win streak in the nation on the ropes before falling in the final minutes.
“Having a program like Baylor come to Oxford and the opportunity to play them on our home court in front of our fans is very exciting for our team and program,” said Insell. “Additionally, going out west to play Utah, a team out of the Pac 12, will give us a chance early in the season to see where we are at as a team.”
Ole Miss will renew its rivalry with Southern Miss, as the Golden Eagles will travel to Oxford for a matchup on Dec. 18. This will be the first meeting between the teams since 1999-00 season, a 62-60 Ole Miss victory in Oxford.
Former Rebel Yolanda Moore, who helped lead the Rebels to the 1992 SEC regular-season title, will bring her Southeastern Louisiana squad to Oxford on Dec. 29 to close the non-conference slate.
Other non-conference foes include: Mississippi Valley (Nov. 16), Southern (Nov. 20), Southeastern Missouri (Nov. 25), South Alabama (Dec. 14) and Alabama A&M (Dec. 20).
“The SEC is the toughest conference in all of collegiate women’s basketball. In our league you can’t hide, because every night you are playing one of the best teams in the nation,” said Insell.  “I am really excited about our SEC home game schedule. Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee all come to Oxford and are three teams that will be ranked in the top 10 in the country in the preseason rankings.”
The Rebels kick off the 2015 SEC slate on January 2 when Arkansas makes the trek to Oxford. Ole Miss and Arkansas last met in a thriller in the first round of the 2014 SEC Tournament, a game that Ole Miss won 63-62 on a last second tip-in.
Ole Miss hits the road for its next two contests and will make consecutive television appearances. The Rebels will face Kentucky (Jan. 4) on the SEC Network and Florida (Jan. 8) on Fox Sport Net before hosting Alabama (Jan. 11) and Georgia (Jan. 15). To close the month, the Rebels head to Texas A&M (Jan. 18), for a SEC Network game and will host Mississippi State (Jan. 22) in a game also on the SEC Network. Ole Miss closes the month with a trip to LSU for a televised contest on Jan. 29.
The Rebels welcome 2014 SEC regular-season champion, South Carolina (Feb. 1) in a game that will be on ESPNU before traveling to Nashville to take on former Rebel Kim Rosemond and Vanderbilt (Feb. 5). Ole Miss will host 2014 SEC Tournament champion, Tennessee (Feb. 12) before traveling to Mizzou (Feb. 15) and Auburn (Feb. 19). The Ole Miss and Auburn matchup will be televised on Fox Sports Net
Ole Miss will play Kentucky on Feb. 23 in a Monday night matchup on the SEC Network before closing out the home slate against LSU on Feb. 26. Ole Miss concludes the regular season with a match up with Mississippi State in Starkville on March 1 that will  be televised on Fox Sports Net.
“The SEC Network takes our league to even greater heights,” said Insell. “Our fans will now be able to watch every Ole Miss game on the network or on the internet through the WATCHESPN app. It opens up many doors in terms of exposure for all the teams in our league and I know we all will feel the benefit from it as we continue to grow our programs. Having the opportunity to play a Monday night prime time home game on the network is a great step for our program as we continue to push forward towards the top of the SEC.”
The 2015 SEC Tournament will be held March 4-8 at the Arena at Verizon Center in Little Rock, Ark.
In total, Ole Miss will make a minimum of nine television appearances with the option of additional non-conference games being selected for television. Additionally, all Ole Miss home games not selected for television will be produced for SEC Network +, and will be available on WATCHESPN and SECSports.com.
ESPN2 and ESPNU will broadcast a combined 16 conference contests, the SEC Network will televise 44 and Fox Sports Net will produce 16. The SEC’s games on ESPN platforms are exclusively branded as the “SEC on ESPN.”  There will be a package of televised non-conference games that will be announced by each individual institution.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) and the SEC Network will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. Fox Sports Net events will be available via these avenues outside the SEC Footprint only.
AT&T U-verse® TV, Bright House Networks, Charter, Comcast Xfinity TV, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DISH, Google Fiber, LUS Fiber, PTC Communications, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable, NCTC, NRTC, NTTC, Verizon FiOS and Wilkes Telephone will carry the SEC Network nationwide. Hundreds of additional live events from various sports will be offered exclusively as SEC Network+ events on WatchESPN and SECNetwork.com through AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DISH, Google Fiber, Suddenlink, NCTC, NRTC, NTTC and Verizon FiOS authentication.
Women’s basketball season tickets are available for purchase and are just $50. For additional ticket information, go to OleMissTix.com or call the Ole Miss Ticket Office at 1-888-REB-TKTS (732-8587.)
For all Ole Miss women’s basketball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWBB, Facebook at Ole Miss WBB and on Instagram at Ole Miss_WBB.   Fans can also follow Ole Miss women’s basketball head coach Matt Insell on Twitter at @minsell
–Ole Miss Sports Information