SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season
By Matt Melton
9. Ole Miss Rebels
Coming off a down 2021-22 season, Ole Miss enters year five of the Kermit Davis era ranked as the No. 9 team in our 2022-23 SEC Basketball power rankings.
As mentioned previously, the Rebels had a down 2021-22 season compared to previous years, finishing with a 13-19 overall record, as well as a 4-14 mark in SEC play. Looking at those win totals as well, the Rebels 13 total wins were the fewest since the 2017-18 season (12-20), while Ole Miss’s four conference wins were the fewest since the same amount in 2005-06.
Chasing their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season as well, Ole Miss is also coming off a year in which the Rebels ranked among the bottom of the conference in scoring, averaging only 68.1 PPG. As for if that number in particular will improve this season, it is certainly a possibility in Oxford, and a big reason as to why is the duo of Matthew Murrell and Daeshun Ruffin, two double-digit scorers who return this season in the Rebels backcourt.
Alongside those two, the Rebels are set to return a few other notable names such as Jaemyn Brakefield, Tye Fagan, and Robert Allen, while also having added impact freshmen such as Malique Ewin. Ole Miss also added two notable names to the frontcourt through the transfer portal in Josh Mballa and Jayveous McKinnis, each of which could start games in 2022-23.
Overall, the Rebels should be improved this season, and could be a potential sleeper team in the SEC led by one of the conference’s top backcourt duos in Murrell and Ruffin. Ole Miss should be in the mix for a return to the NCAA Tournament as well, and could be a team that finds themselves on the bubble come March.