OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss men’s basketball starts the regular season Monday night at home, hosting Alcorn State in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on the Rebels home floor, the SJB Pavilion in Oxford.
The Rebels have never lost to Alcorn State. They are 6-0 in the series, 5-0 of those wins in Oxford, and the average margin across those six games is 25.3 points. The most recent meeting, on Dec. 29, 2025, ended 79-43 in Oxford.
Coach Chris Beard, now in his fourth season, is making a public push to fill the building. He said season-ticket sales are again close to a record and asked ticket holders who cannot come to hand their seats to friends, family or co-workers so the stands are full.
Students get in free with a valid student ID. The program has reserved 1,500 seats for students, wrapping both baselines plus one entire sideline, and doors open two hours before tipoff on a first-come basis. Beard said the program also reworked lounges, food choices, parking and traffic plans this offseason.
On the floor, the Rebels bring in a roster built around transfers and international players, including four who averaged at least 10 points a game last season: Corey Stephenson at 18.0, Budd Clark at 12.7, Dasear Haskins at 11.1 and Roman Siulepa at 10.0.
Clark led Ole Miss with 18 points and seven assists in its exhibition against UAB, one of the tune-ups before Monday’s opener. In an earlier preseason test against Alabama, Stephenson led the way with 25 points.
Beard said he wants Rebel fans in every seat on opening night and beyond, and he pointed to premium seats still on sale for the early January SEC home dates with Georgia and Texas, which fall before students return from winter break.
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