Ole Miss delivered a thrilling senior night performance at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion, upsetting No. 4 Tennessee 78-76 on Wednesday. The victory is the second Top 5 upset this season and the fifth Top 25 win for Ole Miss.
The Rebels have 10 SEC wins for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
The Rebels honored seniors Jaylen Murray, Matthew Murrell, Ja’Von Hakim Benson, Jaemyn Brakefield, Mikeal Brown-Jones, Dre Davis, Davon Barnes, Cam Brent and Sean Pedulla.
First half
Both teams shot 44% from three in the first half, as five different Ole Miss Rebels hit a three-pointer. Tennessee shot slightly better from three, as they made one more than Ole Miss making six.
The Rebels shot 75% from the free throw line, going 5-7.
At the half, forward Malik Dia led the team in scoring, with 12 points and three rebounds while shooting 71% percent from the floor. Brown-Jones added five points off the bench, as Dia got into early foul trouble.
Murray added five points and hit a huge three to help cut down the lead.
The Rebels started out slow, rallying as much as nine with 6:28 to go. Ole Miss took the lead only once in the first half when Brown-Jones shot a free throw to push the Rebels up 31-30.
Ole Miss trailed Tennessee 41-36 at halftime.
Second half
Brakefield had a breakthrough night for the Rebels, scoring 19 points in the second half of play, including the game-winning touch putback layup with 7.5 seconds left in the game. Davis recorded his third double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and adding a season-high 10 rebounds.
Ole Miss jumped out to a 6-0 run, outscoring Tennessee as they cut the lead to two points within the first five minutes of the half.
Brakefield shined as an interior presence and a great rebounder, scoring eight straight for Ole Miss to tie it up at 68 a piece with four minutes left.
Pedulla went for a three-pointer with 12 seconds left. After a few missed bounces on the rim, Davis hauled in an offensive rebound effort, and Brakefield capitalized on the bucket to push the Rebels ahead 78-76 heading into their final timeout.
The Rebels did not make a three-pointer in the second half but still outscored Tennessee 42-35. Ole Miss was a paint dominant team, which was surprising as they do not score often inside.
The Volunteers were a projected No. 1 seed heading into the SEC Tournament and now will likely fall to a No. 2 seed following their loss.
The Rebels were projected as a No.7 seed before this game, but now they will likely move up to a No. 6 seed.
Who’s next?
Ole Miss will travel to Gainesville, Fla., for their final game of the regular season against No. 5 Florida on Saturday, March 8. Tip off is set for 5 p.m. and can be streamed on SEC Network.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article has been edited to fix a factual accuracy.
