Ole Miss Claims Dominating Win Over Illinois in Charity Exhibition Game

Ole Miss men's basketball put on an impressive show on Sunday against Illinois.

Ole Miss guards Matthew Murrell (11) and Jaylen Murray (5) in Sunday's exhibition win over Illinois. / Ole Miss Athletics

The No. 24 Ole Miss Rebels start their regular season next week, but they participated in some preseason action on Sunday, taking down the Illinois Fighting Illini 91-74 at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford.

Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead in the first half that it never relinquished, and some potent offense paired with a suffocating defense made it possible. The Rebels led the Illini 51-35 at halftime, and despite a few runs by Illinois, Ole Miss never seemed to be in danger of losing its lead.

Four Rebels finished the game with a double-digit point total, led by transfer forward Malik Dia with 20 and forward Jaemyn Brakefield with 15. Guards Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis also found themselves in that category with 11 apiece.

Defensively, Ole Miss forced 22 turnovers compared to committing just nine on offense, a key factor in the Rebels' preseason win. Although the Rebels were outrebounded 44-32 on Sunday, they shot 49 percent from the field and 52 percent from three while leading the entire game from the 19:45 mark of the first half.

The real action for Ole Miss gets underway next Monday against Long Island, but this is a promising start for Chris Beard's second year at the helm in Oxford. Illinois was an Elite Eight team a season ago, and it was ranked No. 23 in KenPom entering this week.

Tip-off between Ole Miss and Long Island next Monday in Oxford is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network+.