Breaking Down The Hoops Schedule

Ole Miss announced the 2011-12 men's basketball schedule today. Here on the blog, we have broken down the slate of opponents a little more.

Ten postseason teams from 2010-11:
Miami, 11/25 (NIT Quarterfinals)
Penn State, 12/4 (NCAA First Round)
Dayton, 12/30 (NIT First Round)
SMU, 1/3 (CIT)
Georgia, 1/21 (NCAA First Round)
Florida, 1/26 (NCAA Elite Eight)
Alabama, 2/4 & 3/3 (NIT Finals)
Vanderbilt, 2/16 (NCAA First Round)
Kentucky, 2/18 (NCAA Final Four)
Tennessee, 2/22 (NCAA First Round)

Nine 20-win teams from 2010-11:
Miami, 11/25 (21-15)
Southern Miss, 12/17 (22-10)
Dayton, 12/30 (22-14)
SMU, 1/3 (20-15)
Georgia, 1/21 (21-12)
Florida, 1/26 (29-8)
Alabama, 2/4 & 3/3 (25-12)
Vanderbilt, 2/16 (23-11)
Kentucky, 2/18 (29-9)

Other Tidbits:

- Ole Miss tips off the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam with a Nov. 18 matchup against Drake. The Rebels will then play Marquette or Winthrop in the second round. The other teams in the tournament are Drexel, Norfolk State, TCU and Virginia.

- The Rebels are playing a neutral-site game at the Desoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss. (vs. Middle Tennessee, 12/21), for the third time in the last five seasons. They beat Southern Miss there in 2007 and UTEP in 2009.

- The Rebels open SEC play on the road (at LSU, 1/7) for the 11th time in the last 14 years. Last year, they began the league slate at Florida.

- Ole Miss plays four teams from Louisiana, three from Mississippi and three from Tennessee.

- At least 18 contests will be televised live, including six national broadcasts:
at DePaul, 12/1 (ESPNU)
Florida, 1/26 (ESPN or ESPN2)
at Alabama, 2/4 (ESPN or ESPN2)
at Mississippi State, 2/9 (ESPN or ESPN2)
Vanderbilt, 2/16 (ESPN or ESPN2)
at Arkansas, 2/28 (ESPNU)

- Other TV dates are TBA.