# 2023–24 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team represented the University of Mississippi during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rebels were led by first-year head coach, Chris Beard. The Rebels played their home games at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss in University, Mississippi, just outside Oxford, as members of the Southeastern Conference. The team posted their first 20-win season in five years but did not participate in any postseason tournaments, failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and subsequently declining an invitation to compete in the National Invitation Tournament.

## Previous season

The Rebels finished the 2022–23 season 12–21, 3–15 in SEC play to finish in 13th place. They lost in the second round of the SEC tournament to Tennessee after defeating South Carolina in the first round. Head coach Kermit Davis was fired with five games remaining on the schedule after a 74–79 record in five seasons at Ole Miss. Win Case served as interim for the remaining five games. Former Texas head coach Chris Beard was hired on March 13, 2023. Beard was placed on leave by Texas following his December 12, 2022 arrest for assault against a family member for strangulation after an alleged altercation with his fiancée. He was later fired on January 5, 2023. Charges were dropped on February 15 by the district attorney due to case evidence and the wishes of his fiancée not to prosecute.

## Offseason
### Departures

Ole Miss Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jayveous McKinnis | 00 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Brandon, MS | Graduated |
| Amaree Abram | 1 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Freshman | Port Arthur, TX | Transferred to Georgia Tech |
| Myles Burns | 3 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| James White | 5 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Sophomore | Conyers, GA | Transferred to UAB |
| Theo Akwuba | 10 | F | 6'11" | 225 | Senior | Montgomery, AL | Graduated |
| Malique Ewin | 12 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Freshman | Lawrenceville, GA | Transferred to South Plains College |
| Tye Fagan | 14 | G | 6'3" | 198 | Senior | Logtown, GA | Graduated |
| Robert Allen | 21 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Senior | Orlando, FL | Transferred to North Texas |
| Daeshun Ruffin | 24 | G | 5'9" | 160 | Sophomore | Jackson, MS | Transferred to Jackson State |
| Josh Mballa | 33 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | Bordeaux, France | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Brandon Murray | 0 | G | 6'5" | 225 | Junior | Germantown, MD | Georgetown |
| Austin Nunez | 1 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Sophomore | Garden Ridge, TX | Arizona State |
| Jamarion Sharp | 3 | C | 7'5" | 235 | Senior | Hopkinsville, KY | Western Kentucky |
| Jaylen Murray | 5 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Junior | Bronx, NY | Saint Peter's |
| Allen Flanigan | 7 | G | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Little Rock, AR | Auburn |
| Moussa Cissé | 33 | F | 7'1" | 216 | Senior | Conakry, Guinea | Oklahoma State |

### 2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Rashaud Marshall C | Blytheville, AR | Blytheville High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 1, 2023 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Cameron Barnes PF | Duncanville, TX | Duncanville High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 1, 2023 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Jacob Gazzo PF | McComb, MS | Parklane Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Mar 31, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Ole Miss 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2022. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | Tusculum | W 85–44 | | – | – | – | SJB Pavilion Oxford, MS |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Alabama State | W 69–59 | 1–0 | 16 – Murrell | 12 – Flanigan | 4 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (6,141) Oxford, MS |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Eastern Washington | W 75–64 | 2–0 | 29 – Flanigan | 5 – Flanigan | 4 – Caldwell | SJB Pavilion (6,665) Oxford, MS |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Detroit Mercy | W 70–69 | 3–0 | 22 – J. Murray | 10 – Sharp | 7 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (6,331) Oxford, MS |
| November 17, 2023* 8:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Sam Houston Rob Evans Tad Pad game | W 70–67 | 4–0 | 23 – Flanigan | 7 – Flanigan | 4 – J. Murray | Tad Smith Coliseum (4,445) Oxford, MS |
| November 22, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple | W 77–76 | 5–0 | 26 – Flanigan | 8 – Flanigan | 7 – Flanigan | Liacouras Center (2,334) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 28, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | NC State ACC–SEC Challenge | W 72–52 | 6–0 | 25 – Brakefield | 10 – Flanigan | 4 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (7,465) Oxford, MS |
| December 2, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Memphis | W 80–77 | 7–0 | 22 – J. Murray | 6 – Tied | 9 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (9,416) Oxford, MS |
| December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | Mount St. Mary's | W 77–68 | 8–0 | 26 – J. Murray | 13 – Brakefield | 6 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (6,950) Oxford, MS |
| December 10, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UCF | W 70–68 | 9–0 | 18 – Flanigan | 7 – Tied | 4 – Nunez | Addition Financial Arena (6,067) Orlando, FL |
| December 16, 2023* 6:30 p.m., SECN | | vs. California Hall of Fame Series San Antonio | W 88–78 | 10–0 | 27 – Brakefield | 8 – Flanigan | 6 – Flanigan | Frost Bank Center (2,279) San Antonio, TX |
| December 19, 2023* 6:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | No. 25 | Troy | W 74–53 | 11–0 | 18 – Murrell | 7 – Tied | 9 – Flanigan | SJB Pavilion (7,981) Oxford, MS |
| December 23, 2023* 1:00 p.m. | No. 25 | vs. Southern Miss | W 89–72 | 12–0 | 26 – Murrell | 11 – Flanigan | 5 – Murrell | Mississippi Coast Coliseum Biloxi, MS |
| December 31, 2023* 3:00 p.m., SECN | No. 24 | Bryant | W 95–78 | 13–0 | 20 – Flanigan | 10 – Sharp | 4 – Tied | SJB Pavilion (7,934) Oxford, MS |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 5:00 p.m., SECN | No. 22 | at No. 5 Tennessee | L 64–90 | 13–1 (0–1) | 22 – Brakefield | 8 – J. Murray | 4 – Flanigan | Thompson–Boling Arena (21,932) Knoxville, TN |
| January 10, 2024 8:00 p.m., SECN | | Florida | W 103–85 | 14–1 (1–1) | 28 – Brakefield | 6 – Cisse | 8 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (7,570) Oxford, MS |
| January 13, 2024 12:00 p.m., SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 69–56 | 15–1 (2–1) | 24 – Murrell | 8 – Sharp | 8 – Flanigan | SJB Pavilion (8,404) Oxford, MS |
| January 17, 2024 6:00 p.m., SECN | No. 22 | at LSU | L 80–89 | 15–2 (2–2) | 23 – J. Murray | 9 – Brakefield | 3 – Brakefield | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,777) Baton Rouge, LA |
| January 20, 2024 7:30 p.m., SECN | No. 22 | at No. 13 Auburn | L 59–82 | 15–3 (2–3) | 10 – Flanigan | 8 – Sharp | 3 – J. Murray | Neville Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 24, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Arkansas | W 77–51 | 16–3 (3–3) | 21 – J. Murray | 11 – Flanigan | 3 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (8,207) Oxford, MS |
| January 27, 2024 7:30 p.m., SECN | | at Texas A&M | W 71–68 | 17–3 (4–3) | 16 – J. Murray | 8 – B. Murray | 5 – J. Murray | Reed Arena (12,610) College Station, TX |
| January 30, 2024 7:30 p.m., SECN | | Mississippi State | W 86–82 | 18–3 (5–3) | 21 – J. Murray | 5 – Cisse | 11 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (10,630) Oxford, MS |
| February 3, 2024 5:00 p.m., SECN | | No. 16 Auburn | L 77–91 | 18–4 (5–4) | 20 – Flanigan | 6 – B. Murray | 6 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (9,631) Oxford, MS |
| February 6, 2024 5:30 p.m., SECN | | at No. 15 South Carolina | L 65–68 | 18–5 (5–5) | 26 – Flanigan | 9 – Murrell | 5 – B. Murray | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| February 13, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 22 Kentucky | L 63–75 | 18–6 (5–6) | 16 – Tied | 6 – Murrell | 6 – Flanigan | Rupp Arena (20,064) Lexington, KY |
| February 17, 2024 7:30 p.m., SECN | | Missouri | W 79–76 | 19–6 (6–6) | 26 – Murrell | 10 – Flanigan | 5 – Brakefield | SJB Pavilion (8,598) Oxford, MS |
| February 21, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Mississippi State | L 71–83 | 19–7 (6–7) | 23 – Murrell | 10 – Sharp | 5 – J. Murray | Humphrey Coliseum (9,381) Starkville, MS |
| February 24, 2024 2:30 p.m., SECN | | No. 20 South Carolina | L 59–72 | 19–8 (6–8) | 13 – Cisse | 7 – Brakefield | 6 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (8,486) Oxford, MS |
| February 28, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 14 Alabama | L 88–103 | 19–9 (6–9) | 28 – Flanigan | 6 – Flanigan | 7 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (7,722) Oxford, MS |
| March 2, 2024 7:30 p.m., SECN | | at Missouri | W 84–78 | 20–9 (7–9) | 21 – Murrell | 7 – Sharp | 3 – Murrell | Mizzou Arena (11,021) Columbia, MO |
| March 5, 2024 6:00 p.m., SECN | | at Georgia | L 66–69 | 20–10 (7–10) | 19 – J. Murray | 6 – J. Murray | 3 – J. Murray | Stegeman Coliseum (6,219) Athens, GA |
| March 9, 2024 1:00 p.m., CBS | | Texas A&M | L 60–86 | 20–11 (7–11) | 21 – J. Murray | 4 – Brakefield | 3 – J. Murray | SJB Pavilion (7,819) Oxford, MS |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 6:00 p.m., SECN | (10) | vs. (7) Texas A&M Second round | L 71–80 | 20–12 | 23 – Brakefield | 7 – Tied | 5 – Tied | Bridgestone Arena (13,771) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 22 | RV | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | RV | 25 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 23т | 21 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | |