Ole Miss Prepares for Matchup Against Memphis on the Hardwood

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

The Ole Miss Rebels play host to the Memphis Tigers on Saturday morning. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN 2.

Ole Miss (5-2) is coming off a 75-51 victory over Rider on Tuesday night.

“We had almost four guys in double-figure rebounds,” coach Kermit Davis said. “A total of 57 rebounds was a good number. Now we turn our attention to Memphis.”

Davis added that the Tigers are hard-playing and talented on the court.

Memphis (5-2) is coming into Oxford on a two-game losing streak.

“They got beat by a really talented Iowa State (78-59) team and got beaten on the road at an SEC school (Georgia 82-79),” Davis said.

The Rebels are looking to face the Tigers in front of a sold-out crowd inside the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.

“We played two years ago to a sell-out crowd in the FedEx Forum,” Davis said. “Those are the games that you want to play in and it is a good rivalry game.”

The Tigers are averaging 78.6 points per contest through the first seven games of the season. Memphis is led on the court by freshman Emoni Bates who averages 12.1 a night.

“Memphis is a really talented team,” Davis said. “Got good returning players with a good blend of veteran guys that won a championship (NIT) last year.”

Two more players score in double figures this season Jalen Duren and DeAndre Williams with 11.1 and 10.0 respectively.

The Pavilion will be packed with both fan bases at the game.

“There is no greater venue in the country than the Pavilion when the student body is rocking,” Davis said. “It’s going to be fun.”