SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season
By Matt Melton
10. Ole Miss Rebels
The lone team across the conference beginning a new era this season, Ole Miss sits at No. 10 in our 2023-24 SEC basketball preseason power rankings entering year one of the Chris Beard era.
Ole Miss is coming off one of their worst seasons in recent years, as the Rebels finished with a 12-21 overall record, as well as a 3-15 mark in SEC play. This would be Ole Miss’ worst overall record since the 2017-18 campaign (12-20), with the Rebels 3-win total in SEC play the lowest since the same amount in 1994-95.
A team that averaged 67.5 PPG last season, while also allowing 69.1 PPG to opponents, the biggest loss for Ole Miss from a year ago is likely that of Amaree Abram, who averaged 8 PPG a year ago as a freshman. The Rebels will also have to replace a few other prominent names, a group that includes the likes of Daeshun Ruffin, Myles Burns, Robert Allen, and Jayveous McKinnis.
Beard will now inherit a team that returns their top two scorers in Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield, along with another notable name in TJ Caldwell. Joining that group will be others that include Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan, Oklahoma State transfer Moussa Cisse, Western Kentucky transfer Jamarion Sharp, Arizona State transfer Austin Nunez, Georgetown transfer Brandon Murray, among others.
Ole Miss will open the 2023-24 season November 6 at home against Alabama State.