The Ole Miss men’s basketball team wrapped up its final regular season game against the Missouri Tigers, and the Rebels made Missouri work extra hard to obtain the double bye in the SEC Tournament. This was a very competitive matchup, more so than the last meeting between these two teams, and Missouri came up with yet another close win.
Missouri was 7-0 this season in games decided by five or fewer points, and the Tigers finished the regular season 8-0 in such games as they held off Ole Miss at home.
Ole Miss and Missouri traded baskets for most of the first half until the Tigers went on a massive run to extend their lead to double digits. From then on, Ole Miss had to fight from behind. The Rebels made a small run just before halftime to cut the deficit to five, setting them up for an explosive start to the second half.
Ole Miss opened the second half with a quick three-pointer from Jaemyn Brakefield and a mid-range shot from James White to bring the game to 41-41. Ole Miss and Missouri battled through more than 10 lead changes in the second half, which provided some high-intensity, entertaining basketball.
However, Missouri ended the game on a run that propelled them to a win.
The Tigers had a lot on the line entering this game. After Tennessee dropped one to Auburn, Missouri had an opportunity to move up into the top four of the SEC standings with a win against Ole Miss. A spot in the SEC Tournament was not the only thing the Tigers were fighting for, though.
Bracketology had Missouri as a No. 5 seed, which would be an astounding accomplishment for first-year head coach Dennis Gates. With a loss to Ole Miss, Missouri’s projected seeding would have plummeted.
For the Rebels, this game perfectly encapsulated this season as a whole. Ole Miss has caused so many upset alerts, but seldom did the Rebels complete said upset. This team is more talented than any box score or record will show, and as the conference tournament begins, some teams would prefer to stay away from the Rebels.
Every SEC loss that Ole Miss suffered this year was by single digits, except for Alabama and Florida. But, besides those two games, the Rebels were competitive until the final whistle. If they can replicate the effort from those games, in addition to recent improvements to the offense, the Rebels can be a consistent upset threat.
It is the time of the season when inter-conference opponents who have no shot at making March Madness unless they win their conference try to ruin another team’s season. Ole Miss is set up greatly for this opportunity.
In round one, Ole Miss will play South Carolina, who the Rebels split with during the regular season. The game will be on Wednesday, March 8 at 6:00 p.m. CST. All games in this tournament will be in Nashville.
