Ole Miss basketball: Two home games and POWDER BLUE JERSEYS

Finally, it’s full on, red blooded, American, college basketball season.

It’s been going on for a few weeks, but the Ole Miss Rebels are starting to catch up on the number of games played after a later start this season. The Rebels stand at 3-2 on the season with a whopping 26 games left to play including 18 Southeastern Conference opponents.

Each week, we’re going to dive in feet first and recap the previous week’s action and give a forward spin on the upcoming games. We’re not all basketball junkies like yaboi OMTB, so you can hit this up to get a basic fill of what you need to know.

Hey, we beat Nicholls St. and Baylor last week!

The win over Nicholls St. was expected, and the margin of 20 points was pretty evident to anyone who watched more than a few minutes of this game. It could have absolutely been a win with a greater margin, but there was a little lackadaisical effort at times once the Rebels were up 15 or more.

The Baylor win is the most marquee at this time with a 78-70 notch on our victory belt. The Bears 5-2 record is mostly compiled over less than competitive teams, but they have games upcoming against Wichita St. and Arizona which would provide strength of schedule boosts to their resume in hand helping the Rebels. Breein Tyree gave Terence Davis a night off by leading the Rebels in scoring with 28 points.

But, we lost to Cincinnati by 14.

Devontae Shuler as we touted in our preseason hype post is getting a proper introduction to the rest of the country. He had his best scoring night of his collegiate career against Cincinnati with 24 points, but the bigs of the Bearcats were clearly more seasoned and talented in this one. Cincy guard Jarron Cumberland, who won the Emerald Coast Classic most outstanding player award, threw down 25 points in its win over Ole Miss.

Now we got San Diego on Wednesday and a POWDER BLUE OUT on Saturday for ULM.

San Diego (insert very dated Ron Burgandy joke here) will come into Oxford with a chip on its shoulder just so you’re absolutely aware.

The Toreros have already taken down Colorado this season, and they came only three points shy of upsetting Washington on the road. Certainly, this is the longest road trip they have had this season, so there is that to account for, however, San Diego can 100 percent come in and beat the Rebels Wednesday.

USD is led by senior Isaiah Pineiro who averages 22 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 40 percent from three point range. Two senior guards, Olin Carter III and Isaiah Wright, are also chipping in double digits in points per game.

Ole Miss is only favored by 5.5 points according to odds makers. Home court advantage is a huge factor in college basketball, so personally while I’d stay away from the betting line, I believe the Rebels will come away with a close win.

The Rebels will have Louisiana Monroe on Saturday for the unveiling of the basketball team’s POWDER BLUE uniforms. Everyone is encouraged to wear powder blue, eat powder blue cotton candy, and name babies “Powder Blue” on this day.

The Warhawks will come in at 3-3 with losses to #17 Texas and #9 Michigan State, and two of their wins have come against Mississippi schools in Millsaps (94-52) and Jackson St. (75-66). This is a game that Ole Miss should be expected to win every year, and it should be seen somewhat as a chance for head coach Kermit Davis to continue tinkering with his line-up.

Ole Miss sits at 3-2 for the year with seven games left before Southeastern Conference play. If the Rebels can get through December unscathed, then fans could reasonably ratchet up expectations for a competitive SEC season.

But, proceed with caution.