Ole Miss basketball: Butler and Cincinnati are rolling

In this weekly feature, we’ll look at the previous opponents of the Ole Miss Rebels basketball team for the 2018-2019 season to see how they are trending in an effort to track the quality of wins the Rebels are compiling.

The last seven days of Ole Miss basketball offered up two more wins to the Rebels’ resume for postseason play.

But what have our opponents been up to?

One of the biggest upsets in the last week involved a team the Rebels won’t play until February - Tennessee. The Vols beat previously No. 1 ranked Gonzaga which will undoubtedly raise the profile for the Southeastern Conference.

The non-conference slate for the Rebels has generated a 7-2 record so far with only three games left before SEC play. First, we’ll look at the resume for our losses - neither of which look terrible at all.

Cincinnati Bearcats (9-1); KenPom: 29

Notable wins: 71-57 vs Ole Miss (KP: 60); 62-47 vs Xavier (KP: 61)

Worst loss: 64-56 vs Ohio State (KP: 19)

Upcoming games: @ No. 18 Mississippi State, UCLA

Butler Bulldogs (7-2); KenPom: 26

Notable win: 61-54 vs Florida (KP: 22)

Worst loss: 64-52 vs Saint Louis (KP: 75)

Upcoming games: No. 25 Indiana, Presbyterian

The Bearcats toppled Xavier this week for a solid win to improve to 9-1, but now they must travel to Starkville this weekend for a tough road game with a chance to really bolster its strength of schedule.

Butler most recently has beaten Brown and Northern Illinois, tuning up for a game against in-state IU this weekend. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index puts that game at 52 percent in favor of the Bulldogs.

Moving on to the win column for Ole Miss, here’s the latest on our conquered foes and how they are helping or hurting our postseason cause.

San Diego Toreros (8-3); KenPom: 89

Notable win: 70-64 vs Colorado (KP: 62)

Worst loss: 93-86 vs Ole Miss (KP: 60)

Upcoming games: Northern Colorado, Washington St.

Baylor Bears (5-3); KP: 69 (NICE)

Notable win: 63-57 vs South Dakota (KP: 174)

Worst loss: 72-69 vs Texas Southern (KP: 224)

Upcoming games: Arizona, No. 18 Oregon

Illinois St. Redbirds (6-5); KP: 154

Notable win: 92-89 vs BYU (KP: 63)

Worst loss: 94-75 vs UIC (KP: 173)

Upcoming games: Cleveland St., Central Florida

Western Michigan Broncos (5-4); KP: 222

Notable win: 85-77 vs Oakland (KP: 242)

Worst loss: 71-66 vs USC Upstate (KP: 326)

Upcoming games: No. 5 Michigan, Dayton

Nicholls St. Colonels (5-4); KP: 273

Notable win: 62-61 vs Western Michigan (KP: 222)

Worst loss: 89-72 vs Washington St. (KP: 175)

Upcoming games: Boston University, Louisiana Monroe

Louisiana Monroe (4-4); KP: 219

Notable win: 72-67 vs Grambling St (KP: 297)

Worst loss: 79-73 vs Tennessee Tech (KP: 328)

Upcoming games: Stephen F Austin, Nicholls St.

Southeastern Louisiana (4-5); KP: 300

Notable win: 62-61 vs Tulane (KP:212)

Worst loss: 69-58 vs Miss. Valley St. (KP: 349)

Upcoming games: Cal. Baptist, Grambling St.

The Rebels grabbed a nice true road win over No. 154 Illinois St. who plays a pretty challenging schedule out of conference. Ole Miss also grabbed a neutral site win over SELA in Jackson on Wednesday by a 22-point margin, and according to the numbers, it should have probably been worse potentially.

Next up for Ole Miss on Sunday is a home game against No. 310 Chattanooga followed by a neutral site clash in Nashville, Tenn. versus No. 240 Middle Tennessee State.