Ole Miss Rebels Men’s Basketball Set to Take on Louisville Cardinals in SEC/ACC Challenge

OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss Rebels received some hoops news on Wednesday, as ESPN unveiled the matchups for the 2024 SEC/ACC Challenge, and Chris Beard’s squad will be taking on the Louisville Cardinals. Per Ole Miss, the Rebels will travel to Kentucky to battle Louisville on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Game time and TV will be announced at a later date.

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Louisville, with the Rebels holding a 2-1 record over the Cardinals. The most recent matchup between the two teams came in 2008, and the Rebels lost 77-68. The first meeting between Ole Miss and Louisville came in 1997, and the Rebels won 74-70 before beating the Cardinals again in 1998 by a score of 88-69. A total of 18 points from Keith Carter and a double-double from Ansu Sesay helped No. 16 Ole Miss take down Louisville in 1997.

After earning 20 wins in his first year with Ole Miss, Beard hit the NCAA Transfer Portal to bring in enough firepower to try and make an appearance in March Madness. The Rebels have not appeared in the tournament since 2019.

Louisville is entering a new era of basketball in 2024, as the program hired Pat Kelsey in March. Kelsey won nearly 70 percent of his games over 12 seasons at the College of Charleston and Winthrop.