Ole Miss Guard Dre Davis Gives Insight Into Rebel Basketball's 'Bye Week'

The Ole Miss Rebels are in the midst of a full week off from game action, and Dre Davis discussed their progress on Wednesday.

Feb 15, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Josh Hubbard (12) drives to the basket as Mississippi Rebels guard Dre Davis (14) defends during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Last Saturday did not go as planned for the Ole Miss Rebels as they fell to in-state rival Mississippi State at home by a final score of 81-71.

That loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Rebels, and there was a focus on intensity and aggressiveness in postgame comments from players to the media. Ole Miss did not have a midweek game this week, instead focusing its attention on preparing for Vanderbilt this weekend.

How has this "bye week" affected the Rebels? Guard Dre Davis gave some insight on the matter on Wednesday.

"I definitely think there's been attention to our effort and intensity," Davis said. "Huge emphasis on finding our swagger again and competitive nature. I feel like there's been a change in moving in the right direction."

The Rebels have been able to prepare to face Vanderbilt on Saturday, but there has also been a lot of self-scouting as the regular season winds down. One area of focus has been on the rebounding game, an area of play that Ole Miss has struggled with all season.

"We've just got to be better, at the end of the day," Davis said. "We've got to understand that if we can win the rebound battle, we're going to win the game. That's an avenue to win. We've just got to be better and keep that as our main focus because, obviously, we know it's a weakness, and we've got to get better at it."

Ole Miss will take on the Commodores at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, and the game will be televised on SEC Network. The Rebels will then travel to Auburn the following Wednesday before returning home to host Oklahoma the next Saturday.