Ole Miss Welcomes Texas A&M into Town for an SEC Showdown

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

The Pavilion at Ole Miss – Photo by Paul Keelaghan

The Ole Miss Rebels return to action on Wednesday as they host the Texas A&M Aggies inside of the Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Ole Miss looks to bounce back from a 81-75 loss at home to No. 22 Mississippi State on Saturday. The Rebels were led in scoring by junior Breein Tyree with 25 points.

Tyree is averaging 22.3 ppg over the last three games. He one of two SEC players to rank in the conference’s top 10 in scoring (2nd-17.8 ppg), free throw percentage (4th-82.6), field goal percentage (6th-48.3) and three-pointers made (2.1 per game).

Texas A&M enters Wednesday’s contest with an 8-12 record, including a 1-7 mark in SEC play. The Aggies are coming off a three-game homestand that included a win over Kansas State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge as well as losses to No. 19 LSU and No. 1 Tennessee. Sophomores TJ Starks (13.2 ppg) and Savion Flagg (12.4 ppg) lead Texas A&M in scoring.

Starks is the Aggies’ leader in assists (3.9 per game), while Flagg pulls down a team-best 7.9 rebounds per game. Baylor transfer Wendell Mitchell, who played one minute in The Pavilion when the Bears visited Oxford for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge (Jan. 28, 2017), averages 11.6 ppg and has recorded a team-high 28 steals.

Last season in College Station (Jan. 16, 2018), the Rebels lost to the Aggies 71-69 in heartbreaking fashion. A buzzer-beating three by Tyree rolled around the rim three times before coming out of the cylinder to give Texas A&M the victory.

Bruce Stevens scored 20 points and pulled down nine boards to pace the Rebels. Terence Davis added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a rare appearance off the bench. On 4 of 7 shooting with a pair of free throws, Tyree tallied 11 points. Texas A&M was led by the frontcourt pair of Tyler Davis and Robert Williams. Davis produced a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Williams was just shy of his own (18 points, nine rebounds).

Tomorrow’s game will be the ninth meeting between the Rebels and Aggies. Texas A&M is Ole Miss’ least common SEC opponent after the Aggies joined the SEC prior to the 2012-13 campaign.

After playing twice in Texas A&M’s inaugural SEC season, the squads have met only once in each of the following five seasons. The Aggies hold a 6-2 advantage, but the Rebels have won two of the three matchups in Oxford.

Fans that can’t make it out to the game can watch all the action on the SEC Network or listen to the call on the Ole Miss Radio Network and SiriusXM channel 190.