OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss men’s basketball tips off a season in Oxford it hopes will wipe away a losing year when Alcorn State comes to the Sandy and John Black Pavilion for a 7:30 p.m. Central tipoff Monday.
Coach Chris Beard won 20 or more games in each of his first two years in Oxford, and the 2024-25 team made it to the NCAA Sweet 16. Last season fell apart, though, ending at 15-20 overall and 4-14 in the Southeastern Conference.
Beard rebuilt around nine new players and three returners. The holdovers include Ilias Kamardine, who put up 11.3 points a game a year ago. The headline addition is FIU transfer Corey Stephenson, who led his old team at 18.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while making close to 40 percent of his threes.
Outside shooting and rebounding are the two fixes Beard is chasing. The Rebels ranked 12th in the league from 3-point range at 33.2 percent and 15th on the glass last winter. League media picked them 13th in the preseason poll.
The new group split two exhibitions, falling 92-84 to Alabama before beating UAB 92-78 on Oct. 27 at home. Adam Clark scored 18 to lead the win over UAB, and six Rebels reached double figures.
The Braves are coming off a 9-23 finish, with a 7-11 mark in SWAC play, in Jake Morton’s first year as coach, and they were outrebounded in 15 of its 18 league games. Alcorn State was picked 10th in the SWAC.
Monday’s opener will be shown on SEC+ and carried on the Ole Miss Radio Network. Tickets are already on sale for a December trip to the coast, where the Rebels meet in-state rival Southern Miss at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi on Dec. 22, a Tuesday afternoon game set for 3 p.m.
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