Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Ole Miss Rebels

The Cardinals host the Rebels for the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Nov 29, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; Oklahoma Sooners guard Jeremiah Fears (0) dribbles as Louisville Cardinals guard Chucky Hepburn (24) defends during the first half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Ole Miss Rebels (6-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Louisville Cardinals (5-2, 0-0 ACC)

- Tipoff: Tuesday, December 3 at 9:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -5.0
- All-Time Series: Ole Miss Leads 2-1
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 77-68 on Dec. 18, 2008 (US Bank Arena - Cincinnati, Oh.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Chucky Hepburn (6-2, 190, Sr.)
• G J'Vonne Hadley (6-6, 215, 5th)
• G/F Terrence Edwards Jr. (6-6, 205, 5th)
• F Noah Waterman (6-11, 230, 6th)
• C James Scott (6-11, 220, So.)

Ole Miss

• G Jaylen Murray (5-11, 165, Sr.)
• G Sean Pedulla (6-1, 195, Sr.)
• G Matthew Murrell (6-4, 205, Sr.)
• G Dre Davis (6-6, 215, Sr.)
• F Malik Dia (6-9, 250, Jr.)

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Rebels, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape, Predictions: Louisville vs. Ole Miss

Additional Coverage

• Watch: Louisville HC Pat Kelsey Recaps Battle 4 Atlantis, Previews Ole Miss
• Louisville Rallying Around Kasean Pryor Following Season-Ending Injury
• Pat Kelsey Provides Injury Updates on Aboubacar Traore, Koren Johnson

Game Notes

Louisville

• As of Dec. 2, UofL is 30th in the NCAA NET Rankings. Louisville has already played three Quad 1 teams; Ole Miss will be the fourth the Cardinals have played as the Rebels sit at 55.
• The Cardinals received 27 votes in the Dec. 2 AP Poll.
• Senior guard Chucky Hepburn was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday after his stellar performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
• Louisville is 98-87 all-time against the current SEC membership. The Cardinals’ only two losses this season came at the hands of SEC teams.
• Fifth-year senior forward Kasean Pryor tore his ACL and will be out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
• Louisville’s 89-61 victory over No. 14/15 Indiana on Wednesday was Louisville’s first win over a ranked team since beating No. 19/20 Virginia Tech 73-71 on Jan. 6, 2021. It’s the highest ranked opponent the Cards have beat since beating No. 3 Duke 79-73 on Jan. 18, 2020.
• In the win over Indiana, UofL’s Chucky Hepburn logged 16 points, 10 assists and seven steals. He’s the first DI player with at least those marks since Markquis Nowell of Kansas State did it against West Virginia with 23 points on Dec. 31, 2022.
• As of Dec. 1, Louisville is eighth in the country in three point attempts per game (31.9), 10th in turnovers forced per game (17.86), and 28th in the country in turnover margin (4.6).
• Against Winthrop on Nov. 22, Louisville logged 10 blocks, including seven in the first half. Sophomore James Scott blocked five on his own. The 10 total, seven in a half and Scott’s five were all the first time those feats happened for the Cardinals since March 7, 2018 against Florida State.
• Louisville will play six ranked teams all before January 2.
• Louisville has 11 players who were on teams that played in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The roster in total has made 14 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances at their previous schools, playing in 20 NCAA Tournament games across their careers.
• Louisville took its second trip to the Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis Nov. 27-29. The Cardinals opened the trip with a resounding 89-61 victory over No. 14/15 Indiana. Against Indiana, Louisville’s 23 assists were its most since having 23 in a 90-66 win against Syracuse on Feb. 19, 2020. It’s 15 steals were the most since logging 15 in a 77-54 win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 8, 2018. Next, UofL beat West Virginia 79-70 in its first overtime game of the season. It was UofL’s largest margin of victory in an overtime game since beating North Carolina 78-68 on Jan. 31, 2015, and the biggest overtime win away from home since beating West Virginia 82-71 in double overtime on March 8, 2007, in the Big East Tournament. Louisville eventually fell in the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship 69-64 against undefeated Oklahoma.
• Louisville’s 48-point season-opening victory over Morehead State on Nov. 4 was Louisville’s largest margin of victory since a 104-54 win vs. Southern on Nov. 13, 2018, and largest in a season opener since a 92-38 win vs. South Alabama on Nov. 18, 2001.
• Louisville’s 48 first-half points against Bellarmine on Nov. 19 were the most since leading Eastern Kentucky 50-32 at halftime on Dec. 14, 2019.
• In its season opener against Morehead State on Nov. 4, the Cardinals held the Eagles to a 23.1% clip from the floor. It’s the lowest field goal percentage of any Louisville opponent since Nov. 13, 2015 when the Cards held Samford to 21.0%.
• Chucky Hepburn was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday, Dec. 2 after his dominant performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis. It’s Louisville’s first Player of the Week accolade since Feb. 20, 2023. Over the three contests, Hepburn averaged 20 points per game, shooting 62.5% from the field, netting 20 of 32 attempts. He added a 77.8% clip from the charity stripe and totaled 16 assists against just nine turnovers.
• Chucky Hepburn is the first Cardinal since Russ Smith (2011-12) to log three games of six or more steals in a single season. He grabbed six against No. 12 Tennessee and West Virginia and seven against No. 14/15 Indiana.
• In his Louisville debut, fifth-year senior Kasean Pryor logged a doubledouble of 18 points and 12 rebounds against Morehead State on Nov. 4. He is one of seven Cardinals since 1965 to produce a double-double in their first time on the court in a Louisville uniform
• The Cardinals are one of the more experienced teams in the country this season. Between the 17-man roster, the average amount of years in college basketball is 3.0 years with just two underclassmen on the roster. The Cards have 12 players designated as seniors this season, tied with Western Kentucky for the most on any team in men’s DI college basketball.
• Louisville has just two underclassmen in freshman Khani Rooths and sophomore James Scott. Louisville is one of just 11 schools in DI that has two or fewer underclassmen on their roster, and the only Power Four school in that list.

Ole Miss

• The Rebels lead all of college basketball with a turnover margin of +8.6 and an NCAA-best 8.1 turnovers per game while forcing over twice as many at 16.7 per game, 17th in the nation.
• Senior Jaylen Murray ranks eighth in the NCAA with an assist-TO ratio of 5.7. He has dished out five or more assists in each of the last five games, and ranks second in the SEC with an average of 4.9 per contest.
• Chris Beard holds one of the highest career winning percentages in college basketball, ranking 15th among active head coaches with 10 or more years of experience and 26th overall at 70.3%.
• Guard Matthew Murrell continues to climb the career points leaderboard in the Ole Miss record book. Currently with 1,524 points, he ranks 13th in program history just behind Don Kessinger at 1,553.
• Recording an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.35 in his first season with Ole Miss, senior Jaylen Murray has taken his point guard play to an even higher level, beginning the 2024-25 year with 34 assists to just six turnovers. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.7 ranks eighth in the nation, and has helped Ole Miss record a team ratio of 1.95, the eighth-highest figure in the country.
• Through the first seven games, Jaylen Murray has gone 24-25 from the free throw line for a percentage of 96.0, 10th-best in all of college basketball. Entering the game with Purdue, Murray had not missed a shot from the charity stripe, and was one of six players in all of college basketball to remain perfect.
• A staple of success for head coach Chris Beard has always been his team’s defensive play, and it’s been evident on this year’s Ole Miss roster to start the season. With a turnover margin of +8.6 through six games, the Rebels lead all of college basketball, forcing 16.7 per game (No. 17 in the NCAA) while committing just 8.1 to lead the NCAA.
• The 2024-25 Ole Miss basketball roster boasts some serious career statistics. Six players have scored over 1,000 points in their collegiate career, including Matthew Murrell (1,524), Sean Pedulla (1,321), Dre Davis (1,210), Jaemyn Brakefield (1,181), Jaylen Murray (1,097), and Mikeal Brown-Jones (1,061). Davon Barnes (964) is on the cusp of hitting that mark as well
• This year’s roster possesses a mountain of shooting talent, notably from beyond the three-point arc. With over 900 career three-pointers made among the 2024-25 roster, the Rebels look to light it up from deep on offense this season.
• Featuring 10 seniors on the roster, Ole Miss returned the fourth-highest minutes-per game figure among all “power-five” programs in the nation at 284.3, and the most in the SEC. In total, Ole Miss players have played in over 900 career collegiate games with over 500 starts
• The Ole Miss roster features five returners from last season, including three starters. Last year’s leading scorer Matthew Murrell (16.2 PPG, 78 3PM) is joined by fellow starters from 2023-24 in Jaemyn Brakefield (12.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG) and Jaylen Murray (13.8 PPG, 72 3PM). Guards Robert Cowherd (10 GP), and Cam Brent (6 GP) round out the group of returners.
• The Ole Miss roster has four first-year collegiate players, in freshmen John Bol, Zach Day and Eduardo Klafke, as well as senior Max Smith.
• The first season of Ole Miss Basketball under head coach Chris Beard was a good one, as the Rebels got off to one of the best starts in all of college basketball. Winning their first 13 games to begin the 2023-24 schedule, Ole Miss was one of three teams to remain undefeated through 13 competitions, and tied the program record for longest win streak.
• Senior guard Matthew Murrell enters his fifth season with Ole Miss and continues to put his name up and down the program record book. The Memphis native currently ranks 13th in school history in career points with 1,524, and fifth in both threepoint shots made (227), and three-point attempts (643).
• Measuring in at five feet and four inches tall, Ole Miss senior guard Cam Brent is currently the shortest student-athlete on any men’s college basketball roster. Standing at seven feet two inches, freshman forward John Bol is tied for the 10th-tallest in all of college hoops. Brent and Bol’s height differential of 10 inches is the largest in the NCAA.

(Photo of Chucky Hepburn: Kevin Jairaj - Imagn Images)

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