Bracket Watch: Ole Miss men's team is back on the wrong side of the bubble
The bubble life it is for the Ole Miss men’s basketball team, which seems to be a tradition in the years it is a NCAA Tournament contender.
Even though it has been five years since the Rebels put on their dancing shoes there is still a shot Chris Beard can end the drought in his first season as the head coach. But there is plenty of work to be done, starting Saturday against No. 20 South Carolina.
The latest ‘Bracketology’ projections for both the men’s and women’s tournaments have been released by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and Charlie Creme. One presently has bad news for one Ole Miss team and another continues to solidify a third tournament appearance for the other team.
Lunardi’s newest update has the Ole Miss men’s team on the outside looking in after losing at Mississippi State on Wednesday. The Rebels (19-7, 6-7 Southeastern Conference) are currently second team among the First Four Out behind Wake Forest.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports continues to be kinder to Ole Miss and its postseason outlook, placing them in the First Four in Dayton and playing Utah for the right to advance and be the 11-Seed in the East Region and then playing the Flyers in a first round matchup in Brooklyn.
Metrics continue to be an obstacle for the Rebels when it comes to their résumé. Currently sitting at 68 in Friday’s NET rankings update with a 4-7 record against Quad 1 and 2 teams and no long having impressive wins. Memphis and North Carolina State have taken care of neutralizing those non-conference victories. A 3-6 road record, all in SEC play, is also hindering Ole Miss’ postseason chances.
Currently 14-1 at home is doing all the heavy lifting and if the Rebels could avenge their road loss to the Gamecocks earlier this month it could go a long way heading into the final two weeks of the regular season and No. 11 Alabama up next on Wednesday.
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For the Ole Miss women’s team it not about getting into the NCAA Tournament but all about seeding the rest of the way.
Thursday’s rout of Georgia inside the SJB Pavilion handed the Rebels its third straight victory and current possession of third place in the SEC, ensuring a third consecutive season with a winning record in conference play.
After stumbling at No. 1 South Carolina and then at home to Texas A&M, Ole Miss (19-7, 9-4) has righted the ship and close to clinching a double-bye in next month’s SEC Tournament. All of this to say the latest NCAA Tournament projections are status quo for Coach Yo and company.
Creme’s latest update on Friday continues to keep the Rebels as an 8-Seed but he moved them to the Portland 4 Region. Going by his projections Ole Miss would play 9-Seed Princeton in the Austin quadrant and paired with 1-Seed Texas for a potential second round matchup.
There is plenty of basketball left for the Rebels, whose next two games are against the third and second worst teams in the SEC, starting on Monday at Missouri (11-5, 2-11) and then traveling to Kentucky (11-16, 4-9) on Thursday. Though the Wildcats are coming off an impressive road win at Mississippi State and look to be fixing things at the right moment.
