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Hardwood Rebels To Face Kansas State in Big 12/SEC Challenge in 2016
Coach Andy Kennedy and the Rebels will face Kansas State in the SEC / Big 12 Challenge.
Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss will travel to Kansas State for the second time in three seasons, as the matchups for the Big 12/SEC Challenge Presented by Sonic were announced Thursday.
The Rebels will travel to Manhattan, Kansas, on Jan. 30 to face the Wildcats, who posted a 15-17 mark and an 8-10 record in the Big 12 last season. Ole Miss and Kansas State faced off in the inaugural Big 12/SEC Challenge two years ago, with the Wildcats winning 61-58 in Manhattan. The two teams met three times from 2001-09 with the Rebels claiming all three contests, including a 67-65 win in Manhattan in 2001. Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy is 1-1 versus the Wildcats with an 86-74 win in Puerto Rico in 2009.
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 participating in the 2016 Challenge will also play in the 2017 event.
Fourteen participating teams earned postseason berths in 2015 and nine of the 10 games will feature at least one team that participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
The first two years of the challenge were played over several days in November and December but the 2016 event will be consolidated to one single day in January. A bye in the league schedule for participating teams was created to accommodate the new format. The four SEC teams not participating will play each other in conference games the same day.
Eight of the 10 games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 and two games will air on ESPNU. All 10 games will also be available via WatchESPN. ESPN’s College GameDay Covered by State Farm – the Saturday morning and evening roadshow that discusses the top storylines of the college basketball season – will originate from one of the Challenge games, to be announced at a later date.
The Rebels also announced yesterday a non-conference matchup with UMass in the Naismith Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase Dec. 5 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
2016 Big 12/SEC Challenge Presented by Sonic (January 30, 2016):
- Texas Tech at Arkansas
- Oklahoma State at Auburn
- West Virginia at Florida
- Georgia at Baylor
- Kentucky at Kansas
- Oklahoma at LSU
- Ole Miss at Kansas State
- Tennessee at TCU
- Iowa State at Texas A&M
- Vanderbilt at Texas
Courtesy Ole Miss Sports Information
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | W, 26-14 |
| Thu, Jan 2 |  | vs Duke (Gator Bowl) | 6:30 PM • ESPN |