College basketball is back for Ole Miss, and Chris Beard opens the season with a roster that looks almost nothing like the one from a year ago. The Rebels get started tonight against Alcorn State at 7:30 p.m. CT at the SJB Pavilion, with the game set to air on SEC Network+.
Ole Miss enters as a heavy favorite, laying 30.5 points according to oddsmakers. That number sounds steep at first glance, but Alcorn State’s 2023-24 results explain why the line is so wide. The Braves opened last season 1-12, took a 79-43 loss at Ole Miss in Oxford, and finished with fewer than 10 wins overall.
Beard has essentially rebuilt the Rebels from scratch, and only one of the top four scorers from that meeting with Alcorn is back. That returnee is Patton Pinkins, who should be one of the team’s important pieces this season.
Another familiar name is Ilias Kamardine, the 6’5” guard who flashed real ability last year but needed time to adjust after spending most of his career in French leagues. If he makes another jump in consistency, that could matter a lot for Ole Miss over the course of the season.
The new faces are worth watching too. Budd Clark dropped 18 points in the Rebels’ exhibition against UAB, and Santiago Trouet, Ben Henshall, Corey Stephenson, and Roman Siulepa all finished that game in double figures. Ole Miss also brought in a pair of seven-footers in Micah Handlogten and Stephen Cicic, both of whom arrive with plenty of experience.
For Beard and his staff, this opener is as much about sorting out combinations as it is about the final score. The Rebels should have a chance to cruise, and the early part of the schedule gives them time to figure out which groups fit best before a major trip to the Maui Invitational.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Heads To Georgia With One Defensive Problem Looming
Ole Miss left Auburn with a 45-15 win that looked comfortable on the scoreboard, but the tape gave the Rebels a few reasons for concern. The defense had trouble getting off the field on third down and had a hard time keeping Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown from extending drives, even in a game that eventually tilted heavily in Ole Miss favor.
Those issues become a lot more pressing with Georgia next on the schedule, because the Bulldogs bring a different kind of test and a quarterback in Gunner Stockton who can punish lapses if the Rebels repeat the same mistakes. For a team with College Football Playoff hopes, the margin for error shrinks fast, and Ole Miss will need a cleaner defensive showing if it wants to leave Athens with its season momentum intact. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Opened The Chris Beard Era With A Statement
The Chris Beard era opened with the kind of pace and pressure Ole Miss has been trying to build around, as the Rebels rolled past Alcorn State in their season opener. Adam Clark set the tone with 17 points, Santiago Trouet added 15 off the bench, and the offense got plenty of easy looks from a defense that was active from the jump.
Ole Miss forced 26 turnovers and turned them into 39 points, a clear sign that the Rebels want to make opponents uncomfortable before they can get settled. The margin also reflected how well Ole Miss controlled the paint and the open floor, two areas that should tell a lot about how quickly Beards imprint is taking hold. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Just Framed Georgias Biggest Ole Miss Problem
Kirby Smart spent part of the buildup to Georgias Week 10 trip to Ole Miss pointing directly at the problem the Rebels can present with Trinidad Chambliss. The Bulldogs coach praised the quarterbacks decision-making, accuracy and athleticism, and said Chambliss brings the kind of anticipation and experience that can make a defense work all night long. It is the sort of scouting report that usually sounds routine until it comes from a coach who has spent years preparing for every wrinkle a spread offense can throw at him.
For Ole Miss, the timing of that attention matters because this is the stage where Chambliss can turn a tough matchup into a defining one. Georgia knows what it is facing, and the Rebels know the spotlight will be on their quarterback when the game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Smarts comments only sharpen the sense that Ole Miss has a real chance to stress a defense if Chambliss stays poised and keeps making the right reads. [Read more 🡒]