Nine teams in the SEC are ranked, with six of them appearing in the top 15 of the AP Top 25 poll this week.
No. 19 Ole Miss is one of those teams, and it will try to keep up its good start when it visits Biloxi, Mississippi, on Saturday afternoon to play Southern Miss.
With an 8-1 record, the Rebels are off to a terrific start for the second consecutive season under coach Chris Beard. Only a two-point loss to Purdue separates Ole Miss from being undefeated this season, after they won their first 13 games before struggling in conference play last season.
In the 16-team SEC, 14 teams average at least 80 points per game, including the Rebels (83.3 points per game). Ole Miss has scored at least 80 six times so far, displaying its prolific offense in a 96-85 overtime win over BYU on Nov. 28 and its 86-63 rout of Louisville on Dec. 3.
The win over Louisville is among four wins by at least 20, and the Rebels are aided by the fourth-best 3-point offense in the league at 36.6 percent. Ole Miss made 15 of 36 3s in the Purdue loss and combined to hit 16 of 43 in blowout wins over Louisville and Lindenwood.
After the Lindenwood game, Beard remarked, “Our offense is diverse.” “Our players are good. From a coaching perspective, I believe we just look for clues during the game to determine what will give our team the best chance to win.
Despite lacking a top-20 scorer in the SEC, the Rebels are off to a scorching start. Four players on the roster average at least 12.6 points per game.
Leading the team with an average of 14.0, Sean Pedulla scored 19 points on Saturday. Beard is also hoping to see more from Jaylen Murray, who averages 13.1 and has shot 10 of 26 in three games since exploding for 28 against BYU.
Southern Miss (4-5) lost 86-58 against Tulane on Tuesday, exposing their defense, which gives up 78.7 points, the most in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Golden Eagles are 1-5 when they let opponents shoot at least 49 percent, and they gave up 49.2 percent of the shots.
Southern Miss is led by Denijay Harris, who scores 15.0 points per contest. After scoring 44 points and pulling down 28 rebounds in his first two games, he was restricted to 12 versus Tulane.
Christian Watson, Neftali Alvarez, and Harris have all started games thus far. However, Alvarez only played four minutes on Tuesday because of an injury that could prevent him from playing on Saturday.
Despite shooting 7 for 25 in his last three games, Watson is averaging 10.3 points.
The Golden Eagles are facing a ranked team for the first time since getting a 10-point win on Jan. 6 over James Madison, which was ranked No. 19 at the time. Southern Miss is attempting to earn a win over a ranked team on a neutral court for the first time since beating Marquette on Jan. 14, 2004.
The Rebels lead the all-time series 13-7.
–Field Level Media
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