OXFORD — It’s been a minute since Ole Miss sold out a non-conference game in December, but the undefeated Rebels and first-year coach Chris Beard have excited their fanbase for both the present and the future.

The Rebels (6-0) will get their toughest test of the young season Saturday at 1 p.m. when Penny Hardaway and Memphis (5-1) head to Oxford. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

“His teams have identities,” Beard said of Hardaway. “He’s obviously a great recruiter. He’s shown the ability each year at Memphis, players change but identity sort of remains the same. This year’s team is no different.

“I would argue when they’re playing the way I’m sure they want to play, when they’re playing well, I think they’re as good as anybody in college basketball. I think that’s been proven this early season. …He definitely has the pieces, in terms of guard play and interior play, and they have a defensive identity. On offense, they’re hard to guard. They have some of the best one-on-one players in college basketball and real speed at the point guard position.”

Memphis already boasts wins over Missouri, Michigan and Arkansas. The Tigers have had a week-long layoff since a 16-point loss to Villanova.

“We’ll have to play our best 40 minutes of the season to this point to have some success in this game,” Beard said. “It should be great college basketball. It’s two good teams, in my opinion.”

Ole Miss should benefit from the addition of former Memphis and Oklahoma State center Moussa Cisse, who received NCAA clearance to play for the Rebels on Tuesday, about an hour before Ole Miss’ 20-point win over North Carolina State. Cisse was the AAC Freshman of the Year at Memphis and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at Oklahoma State. Ole Miss is 233rd nationally in rebounding differential, and Cisse should help that tremendously.

“This isn’t magic,” Beard said. “It’s not like we’re going to snap our fingers and Moussa comes out there and everything’s alive and well. It’ll be a process getting him back into the fold.

“Teammates like him. He’s a likable guy. People like to be around him. He’s one of the most popular guys in our locker room. He also has the backbone to tell you how he feels. He’s also not afraid to say something tough to somebody that might need to hear it.”

As the Commercial-Appeal’s Jason Munz pointed out recently, Ole Miss has been vulnerable at the 3-point line. Opponents are scoring 34.1 percent of their points from behind the 3-point line versus the Rebels this season. The Rebels are allowing opponents to make 30.6 percent of their 3-point attempts (109th nationally). Memphis is hitting 37.2 percent of its 3-pointers.

Ashton Hardaway is shooting 46.7 percent, and David Jones (the Tigers' leading scorer and rebounder) is hitting 44.4 percent of his 36 tries from 3.