# 2020–21 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team represented the University of Mississippi in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, their 111th basketball season. The Rebels were led by third-year head coach, Kermit Davis. The Rebels played their games at The Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi as members of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 16-12, 10-8 to finish in 6th place. They defeated South Carolina in the second round in the SEC Tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to LSU. They received an invitation to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Louisiana Tech.

## Previous season

The Rebels finished the 2019–20 season 15–17, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in twelfth place. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Georgia.

## Offseason
### Departures

Ole Miss Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Blake Hinson | 0 | G/F | 6'7" | 229 | Sophomore | Deltona, FL | Transferred to Iowa State |
| Breein Tyree | 4 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Somerset, NJ | Graduated |
| Carlos Curry | 10 | F | 6'11" | 235 | RS Freshman | Albany, GA | Transferred to Northwest Mississippi CC |
| Franco Miller Jr. | 11 | G | 6'2" | 202 | RS Freshman | Freeport, Bahamas | Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast |
| Bryce Williams | 13 | G | 6'2" | 178 | Junior | Tampa, FL | Transferred to Oklahoma State |

### 2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Matthew Murrell #8 SG | Memphis, TN | IMG Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 9, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| 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 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019. ||||||

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Romello White | 0 | F | 6'8" | 235 | RS Senior | Atlanta, GA | Arizona State |
| Dimencio Vaughn | 14 | G/F | 6'5" | 215 | RS Senior | New York, NY | Rider |
| Robert Allen | 21 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Junior | Orlando, FL | Samford |

## Preseason
### SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on November 12, 2020.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team |
| 1 | Tennessee |
| 2 | Kentucky |
| 3 | LSU |
| 4 | Florida |
| 5 | Alabama |
| 6 | Arkansas |
| 7 | Auburn |
| 8 | South Carolina |
| 9 | Ole Miss |
| 10 | Missouri |
| 11 | Texas A&M |
| 12 | Mississippi State |
| 13 | Georgia |
| 14 | Vanderbilt |

## Schedule and results

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the start of the season was pushed back from the scheduled start of November 10. On September 16, 2020, the NCAA announced that November 25 would be the new start date.
On November 17, the school announced that head coach Kermit Davis had tested positive for coronavirus. On November 23, the school announced that the first four scheduled games would be canceled.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 27, 2020* | | Arkansas State Justin Reed Ole Miss Classic | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | The Pavilion at Ole Miss Oxford, MS |
| December 5, 2020* | | Memphis | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | The Pavilion at Ole Miss Oxford, MS |
| December 10, 2020* 7:00 pm, SECN | | Jackson State | W 80–45 | 1–0 | 23 – Shuler | 6 – White | 4 – Rodriguez | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (1,804) Oxford, MS |
| December 12, 2020* 4:00 pm, SECN Alt. | | UNC Wilmington | W 78–58 | 2–0 | 20 – White | 12 – Rodriguez | 6 – Shuler | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| December 14, 2020* 7:00 pm, SECN | | Central Arkansas | W 68–54 | 3–0 | 20 – Shuler | 9 – White | 4 – Tied | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| December 16, 2020* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Middle Tennessee | W 70–51 | 4–0 | 16 – White | 7 – Buffen | 2 – Tied | Murphy Center (100) Murfreesboro, TN |
| December 19, 2020* 1:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Dayton | L 62–65 | 4–1 | 12 – Tied | 14 – Rodriguez | 3 – White | UD Arena (300) Dayton, OH |
| December 22, 2020* 4:00 pm, SECN+ | | UT Martin | W 90–43 | 5–1 | 16 – Tied | 9 – Rodriguez | 8 – Shuler | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (875) Oxford, MS |
| December 29, 2020 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Alabama | L 64–82 | 5–2 (0–1) | 20 – White | 11 – White | 3 – Rodriguez | Coleman Coliseum (2,055) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 2, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Wichita State American/SEC Alliance | L 79–83 | 5–3 | 20 – Shuler | 7 – White | 4 – Tied | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (860) Oxford, MS |
| January 6, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN | | Auburn | W 72–61 | 6–3 (1–1) | 13 – Sy | 10 – Crowley | 10 – Shuler | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (853) Oxford, MS |
| January 9, 2021 5:00 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | The Pavilion at Ole Miss Oxford, MS |
| January 9, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN | | LSU | L 61–75 | 6–4 (1–2) | 10 – Crowley | 5 – Rodriguez | 4 – Shuler | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| January 12, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Florida | L 63–72 | 6–5 (1–3) | 19 – Shuler | 5 – Buffen | 3 – Shuler | O'Connell Center (2,254) Gainesville, FL |
| January 16, 2021 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | Georgia | L 74–78 | 6–6 (1–4) | 24 – Shuler | 6 – Buffen | 8 – Shuler | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (870) Oxford, MS |
| January 19, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | W 64–46 | 7–6 (2–4) | 22 – Shuler | 8 – Rodriguez | 5 – Buffen | Humphrey Coliseum (1,000) Starkville, MS |
| January 23, 2021 2:30 pm, SECN | | Texas A&M | W 61–50 | 8–6 (3–4) | 21 – Joiner | 7 – Joiner | 4 – Shuler | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| January 27, 2021 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | L 59–74 | 8–7 (3–5) | 19 – Shuler | 8 – White | 2 – Tied | Bud Walton Arena (4,400) Fayetteville, AR |
| January 30, 2021 5:00 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | L 61–71 | 8–8 (3–6) | 14 – Joiner | 6 – Allen | 2 – Tied | Stegeman Coliseum (1,638) Athens, GA |
| February 2, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 11 Tennessee | W 52–50 | 9–8 (4–6) | 15 – Shuler | 7 – Shuler | 4 – Rodriguez | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| February 6, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Auburn | W 86–84 $^{OT}$ | 10–8 (5–6) | 30 – White | 10 – White | 4 – Shuler | Auburn Arena (1,824) Auburn, AL |
| February 10, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN | | No. 10 Missouri | W 80–59 | 11–8 (6–6) | 21 – Joiner | 6 – Tied | 4 – Tied | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| February 13, 2021 5:00 pm, SECN | | at South Carolina | W 81–74 | 12–8 (7–6) | 31 – Shuler | 7 – Shuler | 4 – Shuler | Colonial Life Arena (3,250) Columbia, SC |
| February 18, 2021 4:00 pm, SECN | | LSU | Canceled due to weather concerns. | Canceled due to weather concerns. | Canceled due to weather concerns. | Canceled due to weather concerns. | Canceled due to weather concerns. | The Pavilion at Ole Miss Oxford, MS |
| February 20, 2021 5:00 pm, SECN | | Mississippi State | L 56–66 | 12–9 (7–7) | 13 – Buffen | 6 – Buffen | 3 – Buffen | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| February 23, 2021 8:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 24 Missouri | W 60–53 | 13–9 (8–7) | 14 – Shuler | 8 – White | 3 – Tied | Mizzou Arena (2,995) Columbia, MO |
| February 27, 2021 2:30 pm, SECN | | at Vanderbilt | L 70–75 | 13–10 (8–8) | 25 – Shuler | 8 – White | 2 – Tied | Memorial Gymnasium (253) Nashville, TN |
| March 2, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN | | Kentucky | W 70–62 | 14–10 (9–8) | 17 – Shuler | 10 – Tied | 7 – Shuler | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (895) Oxford, MS |
| March 6, 2021 6:00 pm, SECN | | Vanderbilt | W 56–46 | 15–10 (10–8) | 15 – Joiner | 8 – Rodriguez | 3 – Joiner | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (2,017) Oxford, MS |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN | (6) | vs. (11) South Carolina Second round | W 76–59 | 16–10 | 18 – Joiner | 9 – Buffen | 5 – Shuler | Bridgestone Arena (1,809) Nashville, TN |
| March 12, 2021 8:30 pm, SECN | (6) | vs. (3) LSU Quarterfinals | L 73–76 | 16–11 | 26 – Joiner | 12 – White | 3 – Shuler | Bridgestone Arena (2,155) Nashville, TN |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 19, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (4) Louisiana Tech First round – Ole Miss bracket | L 61–70 | 16–12 | 22 – Joiner | 10 – Rodriguez | 5 – Joiner | Comerica Center (543) Frisco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||