Ole Miss Coach Kermit Davis Offers Unique Perspective on NIL, Transfer Portal in College Basketball
OXFORD, Miss. -- It wasn't easy for the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday night, but they came away with a 70-58 home win over the Chattanooga Mocs to improve to 3-0 on the season.
That is a trend that has been seen early in the 2022-23 college basketball season: so-called "mid-major" teams competing in close games or even knocking off "major" programs. The Rebels have now picked up wins over the Alcorn State Braves, Florida Atlantic Owls and Chattanooga to start its season, and those first two teams have already picked up wins elsewhere over big programs.
"I don't know that I have ever seen college basketball so even at all levels," Davis said in his opening statement after Tuesday's win. "Seems like players are good at these mid-major teams. Alcorn goes to Wichita and wins, FAU goes to Florida and wins, and that team right there played its tail off tonight."
With that in mind, what has led to this early trend in college basketball? Is it simply early-season rust from these bigger programs? Are Florida Atlantic and Alcorn picking up heads of steam? Davis gave his own opinion on Tuesday night, one that comes back to the transfer portal.
"Everybody thought that the transfer portal and NIL were just going to separate college basketball," Davis said. "We all forgot that those teams can get transfers too, and they may be hungrier. The balance early on is unbelievable, and that's good for college basketball fans."
The Rebels picked up three impact transfers themselves out of the portal this offseason, but while the focus on much of the NIL market (at least in the SEC) has been on football, perhaps it is having a unique affect on basketball at the same time.
You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.
Hey Rebel Fans! Want to see the Ole Miss in action? Get your Ole Miss game tickets from SI Tickets here!
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rebels? Click Here.
