Tipoff, TV Network Set for SEC/Big 12 Matchup at Oklahoma State

Ole Miss men’s basketball has received its tipoff time and TV network for its SEC/Big 12 Challenge contest at Oklahoma State, with the Rebels and Cowboys playing on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. CT on Jan. 28, 2023.

Ole Miss now has television designations and tipoff times for most of its 2022-23 schedule. As of now, the Rebels will play on national TV at least 23 times throughout the season. Times and TV assignments for the remaining non-conference games will be announced at a later date.

The Rebels and Cowboys have met thrice before – all at neutral sites – with their most recent meeting coming at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Nov. 29, 2019 as part of the NIT Tipoff Championship.

This is the eighth total appearance for Ole Miss in the Challenge since it began in 2012-13, with the Rebels most recently capturing their first win in the series with a 67-56 victory over Kansas State at home this past January 29. In that game, star freshman Daeshun Ruffin led the way with a superb second-half effort, scoring 13 of his 17 total points in the back half in addition to a career-high seven rebounds to help the Rebels win the rebounding battle, 43-33. The Ole Miss defense piled on, holding K-State to just 30.2 percent shooting overall and 30.6 percent from three. For his efforts in three games that week, Ruffin was named the first Ole Miss SEC Freshman of the Week since the 2011-12 season.

All 10 of the Big 12’s teams and 10 of the SEC’s 14 member institutions will participate in this year’s event. Each of the 10 SEC teams that participated in the 2022 Challenge will be part of the 2023 event. The SEC won the ninth annual Big 12/SEC Challenge by winning six of the 10 games on Jan. 29, 2022. It was the second year in a row that the SEC won the Challenge. The SEC has lost the Challenge just one time in the last six years.

This will be the eighth year that a bye in the league schedule for participating teams was created to accommodate the single-day format. The first two years of the Challenge were played over several days in November and December, but the last eight events have been consolidated to one single day in January.

Ole Miss enters year five under head coach Kermit Davis, and will feature two of the most exciting guards in the SEC – junior Matthew Murrell and sophomore Daeshun Ruffin. This summer, the Rebels shined in Nassau as part of its foreign trip, where Ole Miss went 3-0 thanks to the superb play of sophomore guard James White, who averaged 23.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and shot 64 percent overall while in The Bahamas.

Ole Miss will also sport eight brand new additions for the 2022-23 campaign. The Rebels added ESPN’s 12th-ranked high school signing class for 2022-23 with top-100 signees No. 81 Malique Ewin (Forward, 6-10, 220, Lawrenceville, Georgia/Berkmar HS), No. 97 TJ Caldwell (Guard, 6-4, 190, Dallas, Texas/Faith Family Academy (Oak Cliff)), No. 98 Amaree Abram (Guard, 6-4, 190, Port Arthur, Texas/Southern California Academy) and fellow four-star high school signee Robert Cowherd (Guard, 6-5, 195, Grayson, Georgia/Southern California Academy).

Additionally, Ole Miss has added four transfers for the 2022-23 season: Jackson State graduate transfer Jayveous McKinnis (Forward, 6-7, 225, Brandon, Mississippi); Loyola New Orleans transfer Myles Burns (Forward, 6-6, 210, Houston, Texas); Louisiana transfer Theo Akwuba (Forward, 6-11, 225, Montgomery, Alabama); and Buffalo transfer Josh Mballa(Forward, 6-7, 220, Bordeaux, France).

Season tickets for the 2022-23 season are on sale now.

2023 SEC/Big 12 Challenge (All Times Central)

11 AM – Auburn at West Virginia – ESPN / ESPN2

1 PM – Alabama at Oklahoma – ESPN / ESPN2 / ESPNU

1 PM – Texas Tech at LSU – ESPN / ESPN2 / ESPNU

1 PM – Iowa State at Missouri – ESPN / ESPN2 / ESPNU

3 or 5 PM – Texas at Tennessee – ESPN

3 or 5 PM – Arkansas at Baylor – ESPN

3 PM – TCU at Mississippi State – ESPN2

5 PM – Florida at Kansas State – ESPN2

7 PM – Kansas at Kentucky – ESPN

7 PM – Ole Miss at Oklahoma State – ESPN2

Ole Miss All-Time Series vs. Oklahoma State (0-3)

Jan. 15, 1948 – L, 52-34 – Neutral site (Memphis, Tenn.)

Dec. 28, 1953 – L, 59-42 – Neutral site (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

Nov. 29, 2019 – L, 78-37 – Neutral site (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Ole Miss in SEC/Big 12 Challenge, All-Time (1-6)

Dec. 5, 2013 – at Kansas State – L, 61-58
Dec. 4, 2014 – vs. TCU – L, 66-54
Jan. 30, 2016 – vs. Kansas State – L, 69-64
Jan. 28, 2017 – vs. #5 Baylor – L, 78-75
Jan. 27, 2018 – at Texas – L, 85-72
Jan. 26, 2019 – vs. #24 Iowa State – L, 87-73

Jan. 29, 2022 – vs. Kansas State – W, 67-56

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports