MILWAUKEE —Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield have been at Ole Miss through some tough times.
They’ve had losing seasons, a fired coach, an interim coach, Wednesday night exits from the Southeastern Conference Tournament and games in front of a relatively empty SJB Pavilion.
On Thursday, however, the veteran Ole Miss players were practicing on the eve of the Rebels’ NCAA Tournament opener versus North Carolina in Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
“This being our first year in the tournament, we’re going to soak up all the information and we’re really going to take advantage of the opportunity,” Brakefield said. “With this being our first opportunity here in the past five years, we’re just really trying to take advantage of the opportunity,” Murrell said. “We’re trying to play as much basketball as we can for the next month.”
Back in Milwaukee for Pedulla: Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla played in the NCAA Tournament in Milwaukee in 2022. He was part of a Virginia Tech team that lost to Texas, a Longhorns team coached by now-Ole Miss coach Chris Beard.
“It was super ironic,” Pedulla said. “Whenever I was getting recruited by Beard in the portal, we kind of talked about how we played each other in the first round. We were watching the selection show, and I was like, ‘It’d be crazy if we got Milwaukee again,’ and it popped up. It’s definitely cool.”
Matchup chance for Dia: North Carolina has a starting front line of 6-foot-6 Drake Powell, 6-9 Jae’Lyn Withers and 6-8 Ven-Allen Lubin. That could represent a size advantage for Ole Miss’ 6-11 forward Malik Dia.
“Each and every game has different matchups and mismatches, and I think I’m going to have a good one in this game,” Dia said. “…I’ve done a lot of work on them and research and all of that stuff so I’m prepared and I’m ready.”
Dia is averaging 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game this season, though he’s been playing consistently well of late. Dia said early in the season, he was just trying to figure out how to fit into a new team. He said he changed his attitude a bit and then just trusted his work.
“I love the game of basketball,” Dia said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not touching a basketball. I’m always working, trying to get that extra step. I don’t want to just be a traditional big man. …Being here has elevated my defense a lot. I’m just staying positive and keep growing each and every day. March is the best time to do it.”
Murray reflecting on past tourney success: Jaylen Murray was part of St. Peter’s magical run from a No. 15 seed to the Elite Eight in 2022. He said he’s thought about those days some this week as he readies to play for Ole Miss in the tourney this weekend.
“It was one of the best times,” Murray said. “A lot of people see the highlights, the shots and the games, but one of the things I fully remember is how connected our team was, how we just came together.”
Murray said he believed no one would beat that team, but North Carolina ultimately did.
“It definitely is (ironic),” Murray said. “When I thought about it, I was like, ‘Who did we lose to?’ I remembered it was North Carolina. It’s going to be fun.”
Murray said tournament play requires discipline. Bad shots lead to points on the other end for the opponent. Fouls can become problems.
“You definitely have to stay poised,” Murray said.
Murray said playing in the tournament at Ole Miss is fulfilling and validates his decision to stay in Oxford a second year and not test the portal again.
“(Beard) always believed,” Murray said. “To be at this level and be successful at this level, he just believed in me a lot. When the season was over last year, we came up a little short, but I knew coming back with Coach Beard was going to be special.”
Tidbits: Beard said Mikeal Brown-Jones is not with the team in Milwaukee for “personal reasons.” Beard said he’s hopeful Ole Miss plays long enough this month for Brown-Jones to rejoin the team.
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