Ole Miss will look to rebound from its second loss of the season when it hosts San Diego on Wednesday night.
The Rebels fell 71-57 to Cincinnati in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game, with Kermit Davis’ team struggling from the 3-point line in making just 3 of 21 attempts.
As for the Toreros, they’re off to a 5-1 start in Sam Scholl’s first season on the job.
Let’s run through what to watch for in this game.
Game Details
- Ole Miss (3-2) vs. San Diego (5-1)
- Location: The Pavilion – Oxford, MS
- Game Date: Nov. 28
- Game Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
- Watch: SEC Network+
Players to Watch
Breein Tyree (Ole Miss)
Tyree has emerged as the Rebels’ top scorer this season, as he’s posted 10 points or more in every game thus far.
The 6-2 junior is averaging 16.6 points in 32.4 minutes per contest, and his 28-point effort gave Ole Miss a huge boost in the recent win over Baylor.
Isaiah Pineiro (San Diego)
It’s pretty clear that the 6-7 senior will be a huge focal point for the Rebels defensively, with Pineiro off to a terrific start in contributing 22.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
He has scored at least 25 points in four of San Diego’s six games, and another excellent performance in this one would give Scholl’s group a great shot at scoring the upset win.
Key Stats
There are a lot of similarities between these two teams, but one glaring advantage favors the Toreros.
San Diego ranks sixth nationally in experience, which makes sense considering the Toreros’ starting lineup features four seniors who each average at least 32.0 minutes per game.
That has allowed San Diego to fare well against other power conference opponents, as it has a 70-64 win over Colorado and a close 66-63 loss at Washington on its current resume.
Something else that the Toreros have succeed at is defending shots on the perimeter in holding opponents to just 24.7 percent from 3-point range.
Ole Miss isn’t a team that relies a ton on success from beyond the arc (182nd nationally at 33.0 percent), and it may be tough to find good looks against this type of opponent.
Game Outlook
- Spread: Ole Miss -5.5
- Over/Under: 144
- KenPom Projection: Ole Miss, 67 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Ole Miss, 66.8 percent chance to win
San Diego is a team that’s been tested early on against quality Pac-12 opponents, and that should be useful entering this matchup.
I love the toughness that the Rebels have shown this season, especially in the road trip to Butler and the aforementioned win over Baylor.
But Ole Miss is still going to run into some problems with consistency, and this doesn’t feel like the greatest matchup due to San Diego’s impressive play through six games.
With the Toreros on a hot streak, it just feels like this sets up well for them to earn the upset victory on the road.
Season Predictions Record (straight up): 65-14
Game Prediction: San Diego 70, Ole Miss 69
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