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Ole Miss basketball releases the 2016-17 out of conference schedule

By Randy Morgan

Jan 7, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Opening tip off between the Mississippi Rebels and the Alabama Crimson Tide at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mississippi Rebels defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 74-66. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Opening tip off between the Mississippi Rebels and the Alabama Crimson Tide at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mississippi Rebels defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 74-66. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Ole Miss basketball team released their 2016-17 schedule for out of conference play. Head Coach Andy Kennedy and squad look for a good start to the season with this schedule.

Ole Miss basketball has been a solid 20-win team for the past decade, but has always had a low strength of schedule in out-of-conference play. A lot of that was due to the arena they were playing in. Teams didn’t want to risk lowering their RPI and SOS by playing Ole Miss basketball as well. But now that the Rebels are sporting the Pavilion, the team has started recruiting and scheduling even better.

This year the Rebels will face three teams that had top 100 RPI’s in 2015-16. Baylor (27), Middle Tennessee (74), and Virginia Tech (80) are all in the top-100 RPI’s for 2015-16. Baylor, a matchup made possible due to the Big-12/SEC challenge, is the highlight game for the Rebels.

The rest of the schedule, outside of a few teams, is still a decent schedule. The Rebels face a few teams that they faced last season as well. Bradley, UMASS, and Memphis are all a rematch of games last season, all games that the Rebels won.

Ole Miss is hoping the strong OOC schedule will help thrust them into the NCAA tournament discussion this year. The Rebels have yet to release their conference schedule.

Ole Miss is replacing a few stars on the team this season, most notably G Stefan Moody. Outside of Moody, the Rebels are also looking to replace F Tomasz Gielo, F Anthony Perez, and G Martavious Newby.

This Rebel team does have a few young guns on the team that could grow into stars, including transfer G Deandre Burnett. Combine Burnett with G Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey and the Rebel offense should be firing at all cylinders.

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Looking at the schedule, I like to separate the teams into different levels. Level I teams being top-100 RPI teams and/or ’16 tournament teams. Level II being solid teams, top-175 RPI’s. Level III being schedule fillers, teams with RPI’s below 175.

So here is a look at the 2015-16 OOC schedule for Ole Miss.

Level I – Baylor, Middle Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Creighton

These teams are all solid opponents for the Rebels. Baylor and Middle Tennessee all made the NCAA tournament last season. Baylor was upset in the first round by 12 seed Yale, and 15 seed Middle Tennessee shocked the world and upset 2 seed Michigan State.

Baylor does lose three of their top five scorers from last season. Al Freeman and Johnathan Motley are the two players returning that the Rebels will need to stop. Baylor, who is 3-0 in the history of the Big-12/SEC tournament, hopes to give the Rebels their fourth loss in four games in the Big-12/SEC challenge.

Middle Tennessee returns a Mississippi kid to their 2016-17 roster. G Edward Simpson from Ocean Springs, MS is one of the top returning scorers for the Blue Raiders. Middle Tennessee returns their top two scorers from last season as well, Giddy Potts and Reggie Upshaw.

Virginia Tech returns their whole 2015-16 team outside of senior Shane Henry, who average 1.8 points a game. The Hokies host the Rebels on December 11th.

Creighton is a team the Rebels have the possibility to play in the 2016 Paradise Jam tournament. Creighton faced the Rebels in the Emerald Coast Classic in 2014, a matchup the Rebels would win 75-68. The Rebels hope for another victory like that this season.

Level II – NC State, Memphis, Montana, Murray State, and UMASS

These five teams are all within the top-175 in RPI, with NC State leading the pack at 120. These five teams have a chance to move their way up into the top-100 at some point in the season. But these are games that Ole Miss has to win. You can afford to lose one, but do not lose two if you want to make a tournament bid.

Ole Miss faced Memphis last season, taking a victory from the Tigers in the FedEx Forum.

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Level III – UT-Martin, Bradley, and South Alabama

Simply put, you can not lose these games. Losing one of these games will make your resume putrid for the NCAA tournament. The Rebels should easily handle these three teams, but if they don’t, it could be a long season in Oxford.

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