The Ole Miss Rebels take on the BYU Cougars in La Jolla, CA, as part of the Rady Children's Invitational. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
BYU is favored by 2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -140. The total is set at 153.5 points.
Here’s my Ole Miss vs. BYU predictions and college basketball picks for November 28, 2024.
Ole Miss vs BYU Odds
| Ole Miss Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -110 | 153.5 -110o / -110u | +120 |
| BYU Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -110 | 153.5 -110o / -110u | -140 |
- Ole Miss vs BYU spread: BYU -2.5
- Ole Miss vs BYU over/under: 153.5 points
- Ole Miss vs BYU moneyline: BYU -140, Ole Miss +120
- Ole Miss vs BYU best bet: BYU -3.5
My Ole Miss vs BYU best bet is on BYU -3.5, with the best odds currently available at Caesars. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
My Ole Miss vs BYU Betting Preview
Ole Miss is 5-0 and played just one team inside the KenPom top 110 (Colorado State).
Don't let the record deceive you, though. Ole Miss nearly dropped a couple of games that could have damaged its NCAA Tournament resume.
Surprisingly, the Rebels rank just 79th in defensive efficiency despite forcing the fourth-most turnovers in the sport.
So, how does a team attack this Ole Miss defense? Run-and-gun. That's a problem because opponents shoot 34% from 3 while they attempt 3s on 43% of their field goals.
Ole Miss coach Chris Beard relies on a pair of point guards for scoring — Sean Pedulla and returning floor general Jaylen Murray. That pair combines for 26 points per game and are the team's top two scorers.
Something is a bit awry from a roster construction standpoint. It feels like Ole Miss has too many players who do the exact same thing.
Instead of adding a pure sharpshooting wing to benefit from the two point guards, Beard brought in burly-built wings Dre Davis and Davon Barnes, who play a similar style as Matthew Murrell. All three wings shoot below 32% from 3, leaving a clear void in the Rebs' lineup.
They can overwhelm poor defense teams with straight line drives, but I have zero faith in Ole Miss' shooting, unless it's Pedulla and Murray.
The Cougars have had a very weak schedule heading into the Rady Children's Invitational, but for any team to be a great team, it's imperative to win its games by margin.
The only fairly close call for the Cougars this season was against UC Riverside, which has a star guard in Barrington Hargress. Still, BYU led by 15 midway through the second half before the Highlanders chipped away late.
While Mark Pope is gone, new head coach Kevin Young runs a similar scheme. BYU has a run-and-gun offensive attack, deploying a fast tempo with a 3-point barrage. The Cougars attempt 3s 48% of the time and shoot 38% from distance.
While they are a good shooting team, it also helps open the lane for drives, and the Cougars are capitalizing by posting a nation's-best 66% from inside the arc.
Another strength for the Cougars' offense is its passing ability. The Cougars record an assist on 59% of their made field goals, and it will get even better with Dallin Hall healthy. The veteran guard for BYU missed the first four games of the year, but that was probably a good thing.
It allowed future lottery pick Egor Demin to get comfortable as BYU's primary ball-handler. The Russian teenager leads the team with 15.2 points and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 54% from 3.
However, he hasn't faced a physical defense yet, and he will get a new test from a veteran defensive coach in this one. The 6-foot-7 guard is known for his passing wizardry, but he can really score, as well.
Young also inherited two other key perimeter players — do-it-all guard Richie Saunders and experienced shooter Trevin Knell. Saunders is probably the best defender on BYU's roster and is the team's second-leading scorer.
Coach Young has an 11-man rotation with legitimately good, proven college players. That allows the team to stay fresh with the constant up-and-down tempo.
Another huge combo for BYU, both literally and metaphorically, is centers Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore. The pair of veterans bigs shoot over 70% from the field and secure eight-plus rebounds per night.
I'll roll with the Cougars against the spread.
BYU is the better team and should light up Ole Miss' shaky perimeter defense.
Plus, the matchup makes sense, as Ole Miss struggles against teams that like to run-and-gun (which is exactly what the Cougars are down for).
