Middle Tennessee started the game on a 16-1 run and never looked back in a 77-62 road victory over Mississippi on Wednesday night in Oxford, Miss.

The Blue Raiders (7-1) led 48-19 at the half thanks to a dominating performance from the outside and opportunistic defense that stifled the Rebels. Middle Tennessee made 9 of 11 3-point attempts, with guard Giddy Potts going 4 of 5.

The first 20 minutes were a nightmare 20 minutes for Ole Miss (5-2). The Rebels had 14 turnovers at the break, went 6 of 20 from the floor and allowed the Blue Raiders to shoot 57.6 percent from the field.

Ole Miss started the second half on an 11-2 run and eventually cut the Middle Tennessee lead to nine on a 3-pointer by guard Cullen Neal with 4:38 left.

A layup by Ole Miss guard Deandre Burnett cut the deficit to 68-59 with 4:21 to go, but two free throws by forward JaCorey Williams and a three-point play by guard Tyrik Dixon pushed the margin back to 14 and the Rebels never pulled within single digits again.

Potts led Middle Tennessee with 20 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Forward Reggie Upshaw just missed a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The Blue Raiders cooled off after halftime, missing all five of their 3-point attempts after the break but turned the ball over just seven times and went 10 of 12 from the free throw line to secure the win.

Burnett finished with 15 points for Ole Miss but went 2 of 10 from the field. Most of his damage came from the free throw line, where he knocked down all 10 of his attempts. The rest of the team went 9 of 17 at the line to help torpedo its comeback bid.