Bracket Watch: Ole Miss Men’s Hoops and the Road to the Tourney

OXFORD, Miss. – Coming on the heels of a 12-21 season last year that saw the Ole Miss men’s basketball team win just three conference games, year one under new head coach Chris Beard has seen the program move in a positive direction, as Ole Miss has already doubled its conference win total from last year and is still in the hunt for an NCAA tournament bid.

After going undefeated in conference play and getting off to one of the best starts in the history of the program, the Rebels faced new challenges with SEC play. Currently, they sit at 6-6 in the league with six crucial conference games remaining before the SEC tournament begins March 13 in Nashville.

So Where Are The Rebels Now?

That brings us to a big week for the Rebels. As of February 20th, the Rebels are projected by Joe Lunardi as the last team into the field of 68.   (That might not be a bad thing, as the last time an Ole Miss team was the last team into the field was 2022 baseball, and that turned out pretty well.) Andy Katz, meanwhile, has the Rebels as a 10 seed in the East region of the tourney, matched up with St. Mary’s, with the winner of that game moving on to play the winner of Kansas-Colgate.

Ole Miss currently ranks 65 in the NET rankings, one of the bigger systems used to determine tournament teams. They are 3-5 against those teams determined to be Quad 1, 2-1 against Quad 2, 7-0 against Quad 3, and 7-0 against Quad 4. What does that mean in laymen’s terms? The good news is it means that Ole Miss has no bad losses. They’ve beaten absolutely everyone they were supposed to beat. The bad news is, the Rebels have had five opportunities to beat ranked opponents (Auburn twice, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee.) They’ve lost all of those games. And while losing those games are not “bad” losses, the committee will certainly be looking at the results against the best of the best.

And that brings us to the remaining schedule.

Big Opportunities Ahead

Ole Miss might be on the bubble right now, but they have some great opportunities to change that emphatically coming up. Starting on Wednesday, February 21st in Starkville.

At Mississippi State

Ole Miss has already beaten their arch-rivals once in an incredible atmosphere at the SJB Pavilion.

3️⃣J 🔥@TJCaldwell9 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/TyYVefjJZ6

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 31, 2024

JUJU.
AGAIN.#HottyToddy x #BuildTheCulture pic.twitter.com/b1tGsfsuJO

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 31, 2024

Winning in Starkville, however, won’t be easy. “The Hump,” as Mississippi State’s arena is known, will be rocking. The Bulldogs will not only be looking for revenge for the earlier loss, but they will be looking to play themselves firmly into the field of 68.

Both the Rebels and Bulldogs have bounced on and off the bubble, and the ‘Dogs will be looking to boost their odds with a win over Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are a Q2 team, and a win for the Rebels would boost their chances at making the tournament and getting off the bubble with a high quality road win.

South Carolina

Ole Miss was down big in Columbia in the first meeting with the Gamecocks. But the resilient Rebs fought all the way back to make it a three-point game, The Rebels would fall 68-65 in the end, but Chris Beard made it known that he wasn’t pleased.

Coach Beard talks after the Rebels’ loss to the Gamecocks and also discusses the final no-call: ‘…There was absolutely contact.’ Here’s a transcript of everything he had to say after the game. https://t.co/X6Ohw4ZJuX

— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) February 7, 2024

The Gamecocks, who are currently ranked No. 20 and are 21-5 on the season, will provide a stiff test for the Rebels on February 24th at The Pavilion, and Ole Miss will no doubt be looking to avenge the heartbreaker from the beginning of the month. South Carolina sits squarely in Quad 1, and a victory over the Gamecocks could potentially guarantee Ole Miss a tournament spot, especially if it follows a win over Mississippi State.

Alabama

Ole Miss will finish February with No. 13 Alabama in Oxford. The Crimson Tide also sits squarely in Quad 1 and is coming off of an absolute beatdown of Texas A&M, defeating the Aggies 100-75. The Tide has back-to-back games against No. 24 Florida and No. 17 Kentucky before making he trip to Oxford,. The Rebels’ matchup against the Alabama could have absolutely huge implications for Ole Miss as the season comes to a close.

Looking Ahead

The Rebels’ matchup with Mississippi State will tip at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, and will be televised on ESPN2. Ole Miss will be looking to go 2-0 in the 2024 edition of Egg Bowl hoops. Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all your updates, and Hotty Toddy!

Austin Eldridge

Austin has more than ten years in sports media, including sports talk radio, play-by-play broadcasting and journalism. He has followed Ole Miss athletics for his entire life and has covered the Rebels and the rest of the SEC while working in the Memphis media market. Outside of sports media, Austin is a musician and outdoorsman. Before a serious accident forced him to be medically discharged, he was a multi-media journalist with the Mississippi National Guard.