TEAM FACTS
No. 23/25 Ole Miss Rebels (4-1, 0-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Yolett McPhee-McCuin • 6th Season at Ole Miss (83-76) • 11th Season in Career (177-139)
Michigan Wolverines (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Kim Barnes Arico • 12th Season at Michigan (245-119) • 28th Season in Career (515-325)
ON THE AIR
Television/Online: ESPN2
Play by Play: Kevin Fitzgerald
Analyst: Andraya Carter
Radio: 105.1 FM
Play by Play: Graham Doty
SERIES NOTES
OLE MISS VS. MICHIGAN
With a trophy on the line, Ole Miss meets Michigan for the first time in the history between the two schools for the 2023 Battle4Atlantis title.
REBELS VS. THE BIG TEN
All-time against schools from the Big Ten, Ole Miss holds a record of 17-12. The last time the Rebels took on a school from the conference was against Purdue in 2018 at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. This is the second time under McPhee-McCuin Ole Miss matches up with a school from the conference.
TEAM NOTES
FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE QUE
Ever since cracking the starting lineup mid-way through last season, Marquesha Davis has blossomed as one of Ole Miss’ rising stars.
Her calm demeanor has proven to be a key factor for the Rebels, averaging 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in her Ole Miss career.
Against Arizona, Davis put on a season-best performance with 17 points. In five games this year, Davis is averaging 12.4 points per contest.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE, MADI’S CAUSING TROUBLE
Notching her 24th career double-double against Arizona with 10 points and 11 rebounds, Madison Scott now sits ninth at Ole Miss in the category.
Her performance against the Wildcats was her second consecutive double-double after recording 21 points and 14 rebounds against Howard. This is the first time since December of 2022 that Scot has recorded a double-double in back-to-back games.
WE DEFEND LIKE NO OTHER
An intense defensive battle against Arizona once again proved how dangerous the Ole Miss defense is, only allowing 47 points against a potent Wildcat offense.
For the second time this season Ole Miss held its opponent to under 50-points. The Rebels have now held its last two Pac-12 opponents to under 50-points in scoring, keeping Stanford to 49 last year in the NCAA Tournament.
Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Ole Miss has now held seven Power Five opponents under 50 points.
HOMECOMING QUEENS
No strangers to the Bahamas, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and freshman Rhema Collins are back in their native country.
McPhee-McCuin, a native of Freeport, has established herself as a Bahamian legend due to her playing and now coaching career. She was the first female from the Bahamas to sign a letter of intent to play Division I basketball.
Her lore only grew greater as her coaching career bloomed as an assistant to Jacksonville and now at Ole Miss. At the national level, she has served a stint for the women’s national team as its head coach and last summer became the first woman in Bahamian history to coach at the men’s national level serving as an assistant with the Bahamas Men’s Senior National Team during World Cup qualifiers.
Collins is the second Bahamian to play at Ole Miss under McPhee-McCuin, joining Valerie Nesbitt (2021). A native of Nassau, Collins prepped at The Webb School in Tennessee prior to joining the Rebels this past summer.
MTE TIME
Under McPhee-McCuin, Ole Miss has found success in early season multi-team events and claimed a tournament win at the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational Powered by Cal in November of 2021
Ole Miss overpowered San Diego State and Cal in Berkeley to claim its first tournament title since the Rebels won the 2014 Nugget Classic in Denver.
SHOTS UP AND ON POINT
While the Rebels were smoothly spreading the ball around against Temple, Ole Miss was draining its shots at a high percentage. 51.8% on the game to be exact.
A big first quarter in which the Rebs shot 10-15 from the field for a clip of 66.7%, aided the team to record its highest field goal percentage against a non-conference opponent since Ole Miss shot 53.7% at Cincinnati in December of 2021.
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
Against Oklahoma and Temple, five players scored in double-figures for Ole Miss in a rare occurrence for the program.
The Rebels last had five players in double-digit scoring once during the 2021-22 season, happening against Mississippi State and Texas A&M.
FLOOR GENERAL
KK Deans has asserted herself as one of the strongest point guards out there, dropping an assist in 38 games straight, dating back to the 2021-22 season at West Virginia. So far this season, she has had five or more assists in three games this season.
The graduate guard has accumulated 365 assists in her career, ranking 47th nationally among active players in Division I.
HOME SWEET HOME
Rebel nation has turned the SJB Pavilion into an intimidating environment for visiting teams, especially in the non-conference slate.
Ole Miss has won 21 of its last 23 games at home against non-conference visitors, dating back to the 2020 season.
DYNAMIC DUO
Now in year four together, Snudda Collins and Madison Scott feed off one another with the pair contributing to each other’s success on the court.
When both Collins and Scott finish in double-figure scoring, the Rebels are bound to win at a record of 16-1.
THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS
The motto of “We Defend” has not gone anywhere in the Rebel program, with Ole Miss once again reinforcing the message against Queens.
Outrebounding the Royals 55 to 28 for a rebounding margin of +27, set the tone that this team is not to be messed with off the glass.
The margin of +27 set the largest in a single-game under McPhee-McCuin and the most in a game since 2018.
It was the ninth game under McPhee-McCuin in which Ole Miss has outrebounded its opponent by 20 rebounds or more.
DIME DROPPIN’ AND NOT STOPPIN’
Sharing is truly caring and against Queens, Ole Miss dished out 24 assists on 34 made field goals. Within the first quarter alone, the Rebels issued an assist on each of their six made shots.
KK Deans led the Rebels with six helpers, followed by Zakiya Stephenson with five. Eight Rebels contributed to the assist account, with Ole Miss issuing the most assists in the first game of a season under McPhee-McCuin.
GOING DEEP
Running 11 players deep against Queens, proved that the Rebel bench will be a key factor throughout the year.
Boosted by Collins with 17 points, the Ole Miss bench accounted for 46 points against the Royals. Four Rebels added five or more points as well.
PAINT PARTY ANYONE?
The Rebels sure made themselves comfortable on the interior against Queens, racking up 50 points in the paint.
Anchored by the presence of Rita Igbokwe, Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Scott, the Rebels look to continue its damage in the paint as the season progresses.
STEADY GOING SLIM
After choosing to return to the Rebels this off-season and utilize her sixth season of eligibility, Tyia Singleton is now one of the most tenured players in Division I women’s basketball.
Singleton has appeared in 126 games in her collegiate career, making 75 starts. She sits tied for 17th nationally in active games played.
ON TO THE NEXT
Following an electrifying NCAA Tournament run to the Sweet 16 which captivated the country with its upset of No. 1 seeded Stanford on its home court, head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and Co. are looking to what’s next in the 2023-24 season.
The Rebels are primed and poised to compete to earn its third consecutive appearance to the NCAA Tournament and its 20th in program history.
GUESS WHO’S BACK?
In spite of the losses of leaders in Angel Baker and Myah Taylor, the Rebels bring back a strong core of starters in Marquesha Davis, Madison Scott and Tyia Singleton as well as extra depth coming off the bench with Snudda Collins, Elauna Eaton, Rita Igbokwe and Ayanna Thompson.
WHAT’S BACK FOR 2023-24?
• Points: 1,521 of 2,334 (65.1%)
• Rebounds: 1,091 of 1,421 (76.8%)
• Assists: 169 of 419 (40.3%)
• Blocks: 155 of 174 (89.0%)
• 3-Pointers: 101 of 164 (61.5%) – Snudda Collins accounted for 55 of 164 (33.5%)
RANKED AND REARING TO GO
In putting the nation on notice, Ole Miss entered the season with its highest preseason rankings in both the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll since 1995.
In the AP Poll, Ole Miss came in at No. 12 to also earn its highest ranking in the Poll since 1992 and the fifth highest to start a season. The Rebels begin the season ranked for the 17th time in school history.
After ending last season at No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Rebels start this season at No. 16 for their highest slot in the poll since No. 15 in 1995.
NO. 4 BUT WANTING MORE
In both the SEC Coaches and the Media Polls, Ole Miss was chosen to finish No. 4 in the conference for the third consecutive year in a row.
Yet another finish in the top-five of the SEC, would give the rebels its third straight finish as one of the best in the SEC for the first time since 1985-1988.
MILESTONE WATCH
SNUDDA COLLINS
• 147 career made three’s – needs 18 more to crack top-five in Ole Miss history.
KK DEANS
• 1300 career-points – 180 to 1,500.
MADISON SCOTT
• 986 career-points – would become 29th player to score 1,000 points at Ole Miss.
• 24 career double-doubles – currently sits at No. 9 at Ole Miss.
KENNEDY TODD-WILLIAMS
• 953 career-points – 32 away from 1,000.
MY OH MADI
The development of Madison Scott since her arrival on campus has been undeniable, with the McDonald’s All-American out of Bishop McNamara proving her progress each season.
Year three proved to be the best yet, with the rising senior earning Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive accolades as a junior. Totaling a team leading 11 double-doubles in 2022-23, Scott was also the Rebels’ most efficient shooter with a team leading .510 field goal percentage.
Scott enters year four in Oxford touted as one of the best in the conference, earning First Team All-SEC acclaim by the league’s coaches and a spot on the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List as one of the nation’s top forwards.
THE YO EFFECT
Now entering year six into Yolett McPhee-McCuin‘s guidance at the helm of the Rebels, she is already responsible for two of the program’s best starts in the last 30 seasons.
Through the first 18 games:
• 1991-92: 17-1
• 1994-95: 15-3
• 2021-22: 16-2
• 2022-23: 16-2
OFF THE LINE
Three-point defense has been a point of emphasis during the Coach Yo era, with 104 of 148 opponents being held to five or fewer.
1st Season (2018-19)
17-of-32 (53.1%)
2nd Season (2019-20)
21-of-30 (70.0%)
3rd Season (2020-21)
14-of-22 (63.6 %)
4th Season (2021-22)
22-of-31 (70.9%)
5th Season (2022-23)
29-34 (85.2%)
6th Season (2023-24)
4-5 (80.0%)
WHAT’S NEXT?
Ole Miss returns to Oxford for two games, hosting Little Rock on Saturday (Nov. 25) at 3 p.m. before welcoming Louisville in a 2023 Sweet 16 rematch in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at 8:15 p.m.
