A brisk Tuesday night delivered an early-season rivalry tilt between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Memphis Tigers, with the Sandy and John Black Pavilion serving as the site for another chapter in the longstanding rivalry between the two. Just last season, the Tigers dominated the Rebels 87-70, handing the eventual Sweet 16 Rebels one of the worst losses of the season. It’s a rivalry that Memphis leads in the overall record, with a 30-16 margin, dating back to the 1910 season. 

Both the Tigers and Rebels entered the matchup seeking to establish an identity following a learning experience in the preseason and wins over lesser opponents to start the regular season. At this point in the season, the oddsmakers in Vegas gave the Rebels the nod by listing Ole Miss as a double-digit favorite over Memphis. 

Memphis started out strong, but as the first half rolled out, the Rebels of Ole Miss built a 42-33 lead to close out the half and took a lead to the locker room. Memphis’s biggest lead of the first half was five, while the Rebels had a nine-point halftime lead over the Tigers. 

Ashton Hardaway for Memphis and Llias Kamardine for Ole Miss led the way in scoring for both teams, combining for 27 points. Hardaway finished his first half with 11, while Kamardine had 16. 

Memphis and Ole Miss exchanged blows to open the first half, but it was the Rebels holding steady with an eight-point 48-40 lead over the Tigers at the under-16 second half media timeout with 15:40 remaining in the game. Ole Miss would extend the lead to 60-49 at the under-12 second half media timeout, forcing Coach Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers into a corner needing an answer in the next four minutes. Ole Miss would hold the lead at 11 with a 70-59 lead over the Tigers with 6:24 to play. At the final media timeout of the second half, Memphis had cut the lead to eight with 3:58 remaining in the game, and it was the Rebels on top, 72-64. With a comeback hanging on by a thread, Memphis called a timeout with 2:10 remaining as the Rebels hit a jumpshot to extend the lead back to seven. With 37.2 left on the clock, Memphis had cut the Ole Miss lead to 79-75. 

Despite a valiant comeback effort by the Tigers, the hole was too deep to overcome as the Rebels earned a massive rivalry win over the Memphis Tigers. 

Llias Kamardine led the game in scoring with 25 points. 

Both Ole Miss and Memphis will return home for their next games. Ole Miss will head next door on Friday night as they welcome Cal State Bakersfield to the Tad Pad for the final game ever inside the friendly confines of the Tad Pad. For Coach Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers, a home game on Sunday as they welcome former Head Coach Josh Pastner and the UNLV Runnin Rebels to the FedEx Forum. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Basketball on X