CHICAGO (WSCR) The DePaul Blue Demons will take on the Mississippi Rebels at Allstate Arena on December 1, as part of the Big East/SEC Challenge, the university announced on Thursday.

This will be only the third ever meeting between the schools, with each team winning one of the first two matchups. DePaul won the first game on Mar. 25, 1983 in the NIT and Ole Miss knocked off the Blue Demons on Dec. 20, 2007 at the San Juan Shootout.

Ole Miss ended their season with a 20-14 record, after getting eliminated in the first round of the NIT.

The Blue Demons will welcome seven newcomers that join a core of returnees led by Big East Rookie of the Year Cleveland Melvin. Melvin led DePaul with 14.3 points per game last season and broke Mark Aguirre’s freshman field percentage record by shooting .522 from the field.

The six-player freshmen class includes Macari Brooks (Richton Park, Ill.), Montray Clemons (Baltimore, Md.), Jamee Crockett (Crete, Ill.), Shane Larkin (Orlando, Fla.), Charles McKinney (Evanston, Ill.) and Derrell Robertson (Mendenhall, Miss.).

The three-day Big East/SEC Challenge includes matchups between St. John’s and Kentucky, Florida and Syracuse, and Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

2011 BIG EAST/SEC Challenge Schedule:
Thursday, Dec. 1
St. John’s at Kentucky
Providence at South Carolina
Georgetown at Alabama
Mississippi at DePaul

Friday, Dec. 2
Cincinnati at Georgia
Florida at Syracuse
Auburn at Seton Hall
Vanderbilt at Louisville

Saturday, Dec. 3
Arkansas at Connecticut
LSU at Rutgers
Pittsburgh at Tennessee
West Virginia at Mississippi State