Rebels Meeting SLU for Holiday Game in Jackson

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Breein Tyree setting up a play. Photo courtesy of Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics.

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team returns to action on Wednesday night as they host the Southeastern Louisiana Lions at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. This is the first time the Rebels have played in the location in 11 seasons. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on the SEC Network +.

Ole Miss (6-2) is coming off of an 81-74 win over Illinois State over the weekend. The Rebels had three players score in double figures with Breein Tyree leading the way with 22 points, senior Terence Davis adding 20 and Bruce Stevens with 11.

This season, the Rebels lead the conference in shooting from the free throw line at 80.1 percent. Tyree leads the SEC from the line shooting 84 percent.

Southeastern Louisiana enters the midweek matchup with a 4-4 record following back-to-back victories over Louisiana College (86-71) and Tulane (62-61). It’s been 11 days since the Lions beat the Green Wave to tip off the month of December. Three starters are back from last season’s team that went 22-12, including 15-3 in Southland Conference play to capture the regular season league title. SLU averages 61.5 ppg with nearly half of those points coming from two Lions.

Senior forward Moses Greenwood leads the way with 15.8 ppg, while fellow classmate Marlain Veal is close behind at 14.4 ppg. The duo also paces the team in rebounds with Greenwood averaging 8.0 boards per game and Veal pulling down 5.1 per game. Southeastern Louisiana is coached by Jay Ladner, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the program.

Ole Miss leads the all-time series with Southeastern Louisiana 17-0. Wednesday’s game will be the first neutral site battle in the series, as the Rebels hold a 15-0 advantage in Oxford along with winning a pair of games in Hammond. Ole Miss has outscored SLU by an average of 70.4-56.5 for the series. Twelve of the 17 matchups have been decided by double figures, but the last two meetings were single-digit victories by the Rebels.

The last time the Rebels played in Jackson they defeated Winthrop 76-71 in December of 2007 en route to ending the season in the NIT Final Four. 

Tickets for this game are $5. Fans can watch the action on SEC Network + or listen to the call on the Ole Miss Radio Network.