College basketball: Ole Miss earns ranking in preseason AP poll
Murrell, Bulldogs’ Hubbard named all-SEC Second Team
The Associated Press unveiled their preseason college basketball poll on Monday, ranking Ole Miss No. 24 in the nation to begin the 2024-25 season.
It’s a highly anticipated season for the Rebels, as Chris Beard’s team boasts a strong combination of returners, transfers, and first-year players. The roster leads the SEC and ranks fourth among power-five programs in returning minutes per game, with 10 seniors on the team. Five players own over 1,000 career points, with seven having scored over 900.
This marks just the second time in program history Ole Miss earned a preseason ranking from the AP, with the other coming at the start of the 1997-98 season when the Rebels peaked at No. 10 in the nation and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
In year one under Chris Beard, Ole Miss was ranked by the AP in four polls, peaking at No. 22.
Ole Miss is one of nine teams from the SEC on the AP Preseason Poll, joined by No. 2 Alabama, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Texas, No. 21 Florida, and No. 23 Kentucky.
MURRELL, HUBBARD NAMED PRESEASON ALL-SEC
Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell and Josh Hubbard were selected by the media to the preseason all-SEC Second Team, the conference announced on Monday.
This is the third consecutive year Murrell was selected to an all-conference preseason team. Last season, Murrell led Ole Miss in scoring for the third-straight season, averaging 16.2 points per contest while shooting 46.4% from the field, the eighth-best mark in the SEC. He wrapped the 2023-24 campaign with 1,444 career points in an Ole Miss uniform, the 16th-most in program history. His 218 makes from three in his career are currently the fifth-most in the school record books.
Hubbard is coming off one of the nation’s most electric seasons by a true freshman last season. He garnered All-SEC Second-Team status, won the SEC’s Freshman of the Week honor five times and was the first freshman to secure the Bailey Howell Trophy, which is awarded to the state of Mississippi’s top collegiate player.
