Oct. 23, 2024 06:13 AM EST

No. 24 Ole Miss Opens Beard's Second Season Armed With Murrell And Only Second Preseason Ranking

By The Associated Press
FILE - South Carolina guard Myles Stute (10) drives against Mississippi guard Matthew Murrell (11) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Feb. 6, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr., File) Artie Walker Jr., ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - South Carolina guard Myles Stute (10) drives against Mississippi guard Matthew Murrell (11) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Feb. 6, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr., File)
Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard moves between interviews during the Southeastern Conference NCAA college basketball Media Day in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary Cosby Jr., Tuscaloosa News)
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Mississippi (20-12, 7-11 SEC)

The 24th-ranked Rebels open Chris Beard's second season with high expectations. They're ranked in the preseason for just the second time in program history and first since the 1997-98 team that rose to No. 10 nationally. Led by high-scoring guard Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss is trying to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. One key will be improving defensively after allowing 73.9 points per game to rank 244th nationally.

Players to watch

Murrell (fifth year, G, 16.2 ppg, 78 3-pointers). The dangerous long-range shooter opens the season with 1,444 career points and has raised his scoring average every season.

Jaylen Murray (13.8 ppg, 4.0 apg). His 72 3s ranked second on the team. Finished the regular season ranked fourth in the SEC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.40

Jaemyn Brakefield (12.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Has started the past three years since transferring following one season at Duke, where he was a highly rated recruit.

Departures and arrivals

Ole Miss's biggest loss was No. 2 scorer Allen Flanigan (14.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg). Beard's most notable import in a strong transfer class was two-year Virginia Tech starter Sean Pedulla. Pedulla averaged 16.4 points last season and ranked third in the ACC with 148 assists. He has made 154 career 3-pointers. Four other players who averaged at least 13.5 points a game elsewhere last season also arrive: Mikeal Brown-Jones (UNC-Greensboro), Malik Dia (Belmont), Dre Davis (Seton Hall) and Devon Barnes (Sam Houston).

Top games

Opens against Long Island on Nov. 4. The Rebels have nonconference games against BYU (Nov. 28) and at Louisville (Dec. 3) and Memphis (Dec. 28).

Facts and figures

The Rebels lead the SEC and rank fourth among Power Four teams in returning minutes per game, having a roster that includes 10 seniors and five players with 1,000 career points. Beard received a new contract in March after a season when the Rebels won their first 13 games. They ended losing six of their last seven.

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