Ole Miss’ season opener went the way one might expect for a team featuring eight transfers.
The Rebels got off to a slow start and looked like a group still learning about each other, but things got better as the game went along.
Ole Miss defeated visiting Southeastern Louisiana 88-58 on Monday night and will try to build on that outcome when it plays UL Monroe on Friday night in Oxford, Miss.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted to,” Rebels coach Chris Beard said. “We have lots to clean up, but we showed a lot of poise.”
Malik Dia led the Rebels with 20 points, and AJ Storr added 18. James Scott grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
Ole Miss, which was picked eighth in the SEC preseason media poll and received votes in the AP preseason poll, didn’t take its first lead on Monday until nearly 12 minutes had expired.
“We have a lot of new players that are learning to play with each other,” Beard said. “We’ve got a lot of depth and we’re still trying to figure out our rotations.”
The Rebels learn some things on the fly, finishing the first half on a 24-8 run to take a 45-29 halftime lead and coasting in the second half.
Ole Miss enjoyed a 44-26 edge in rebounding, which is an advantage it might be able to duplicate against the Warhawks (0-1).
UL Monroe got outrebounded 44-18 and gave up 31 second-chance points in a 102-82 road loss against Northern Illinois in the MAC/SBC Challenge on Monday.
The Warhawks had an early 15-4 lead, but they trailed 45-38 at halftime and saw the deficit expand in the second half. They have just three returning players from last season. Newcomer Krystian Lewis, a transfer from Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, paced UL Monroe with 22 points.
“There’s going to be some trial and error,” first-year head coach Phil Cunningham said. “Our talent is inexperienced and it’s unproven. We’re all new to each other. A lot are new to college basketball. Every day is a learning process for them.”
UL Monroe was picked to finish last among 14 teams in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll.
“We have a mystery roster,” Cunningham said, “but our window of improvement is really, really big. The question is how quickly we can put it all together.”
