After moving to 6-0 with wins over Troy and previously unbeaten New Mexico, Ole Miss received four votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and Rebel point guard Chris Warren was named the Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Freshman of the Week, both were announced Monday.
Ole Miss is one of five SEC schools receiving votes in the media poll this week, including No. 10 Tennessee, No. 23 Vanderbilt, Arkansas (61 votes) and Florida (13 votes). The last time the Rebels received votes was Jan. 16, 2006, when Ole Miss was the third of six SEC vote getters with seven.
The Rebels, who rank second in the nation in scoring with 94.5 points per game, were last ranked in the top 25 in the final polls of 2000-01, when they appeared as high as No. 9 in the USA Today/ESPN rankings.
Warren, who has started all six games at the point this year, averaged team highs of 19.5 points and 7.5 assists in the two contests. The speedy rookie set career highs with 23 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double in the 102-76 win over Troy. He hit 5-of-9 from behind the arc and directed a 25-0 run at the beginning of the second half to put the game out of reach. He also contributed 16 points, five assists and three steals, with just two turnovers, in a game-high 35 minutes of action in the 85-77 victory over UNM.
The Orlando, Fla., native tops the SEC and ranks in the top 10 nationally with 7.0 assists per game and leads Ole Miss with 14.8 points per contest.
He is the first Rebel to earn a weekly honor from the conference this season and the first since Bam Doyne was SEC Player of the Week on Nov. 27 last year.
After six straight home games to open the season, Ole Miss is preparing for its first road contest of the year. The Rebels will face UCF in Orlando on Saturday with a 6 p.m. CT tip-off.
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