Memphis welcomed the Ole Miss Rebels to the FedEx Forum on Saturday afternoon for the annual matchup between two heated rivals. These two bitter rivals hate each other, and the environment inside the forum leading up to tip-off felt like a Final Four. On Saturday afternoon, Memphis fans wore their to white, giving the Tigers a raucous home-court advantage.

Memphis opened a thirteen-point lead over the Rebels at the under-8 media timeout in the first half, but the lead evaporated as the Rebels adjusted and cut it to 38-36 at the break.

As the second half gave way, the Tigers raced out to a 54-43 lead with 14:48 remaining in the game. Memphis extended the lead over Ole Miss with free throws following a flagrant two and ejection from Mikel Jones-Brown, leaving the Rebels a man short for the remainder of the game. At the under-12 media timeout, Memphis led Ole Miss 60-45; one could feel the tide turning as the Tigers smelled blood in the water, and the Rebels failed to respond to the Memphis barrage appropriately. At the under-8 media timeout with 7:12, Memphis held on to a 71-60 lead over the Rebels. With 3:42 on the clock, Ole Miss Head Coach Chris Beard called a timeout after another monster put-back dunk from Dain Dainja to extend the Memphis lead to 81-67. Memphis would close out the Rebels 87-70 for the final non-conference win of the season.

Colby Rogers led the way in scoring for the Memphis Tigers with 28 points.

Ole Miss will return to Oxford next Saturday morning to welcome the Georgia Bulldogs to the Pavillion for the Southeastern Conference opener.

Memphis will travel to Florida Atlantic on Thursday night for the American Athletic Conference season opener.