Can Ole Miss women's basketball go on another historic postseason run?
While Chris Beard is still in the early stages of his rebuild of the Ole Miss men’s basketball program things are moving full steam ahead for Yolett McPhee-McCuin and the women’s program.
With March welcoming the final month of McCuin’s sixth season at Ole Miss it also begins a third straight postseason run, starting Friday with the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Rebels earned the No. 3 Seed in this week’s conference tournament and a double-bye into the quarterfinals where they will take on No. 11 Seed Florida. The matchup, set for approximately 7:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network, will be the third time the two teams have played this year with Ole Miss sweeping the regular season series, including an overtime victory in Gainesville on February 15.
Ole Miss (22-7) closed out the regular season with six straight wins to secure 12 SEC wins in the regular season for the first time in program history. The success has all but punched the Rebels ticket to the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year and it is the first time since 1994-96 the team has gone dancing three consecutive seasons.
Last year saw the Rebels make a run to the Sweet 16 after knocking off No. 1 Seed Stanford in Palo Alto, California. The dream season ended in Seattle with a loss to Louisville. After getting knocked out in the first round two years ago, Ole Miss is on an upward trajectory when it comes to March.
“It hasn’t always been easy. Every year we’ve just gotten better and better,” Ole Miss guard Snudda Collins said after last Sunday’s win over Arkansas. “Team 49, we’re rolling. We’re going with a head of steam right now.”
Ole Miss is never lacking for confidence, especially with Coach Yo at the helm. This week in Greenville can be a telling moment of her tenure in Oxford.
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Getting the 3 Seed means the Rebels avoid playing South Carolina in the semifinals for a third straight year. This time, if they can get past the Gators on Friday, it will be a semifinal showdown with 2-Seed LSU on Saturday and a team they played close in the SJB Pavilion before losing to the Tigers in overtime back in January.
This week is all about NCAA Tournament seeding for Ole Miss and nothing more.
Sure, winning the whole thing and claiming a SEC Tournament championship for the first time in program history is a goal. But for the Rebels it is trying to get as high a seed as possible for the big dance in two weeks.
Currently Ole Miss is a the 7 Seed in Albany 1 Region in Charlie Creme’s latest projections released on Friday. The Rebels are projected for the Los Angeles quadrant with 2-Seed Southern California and Creme has them playing 10-Seed Miami in the first round.
A perceived weak SEC behind No. 1 South Carolina (29-0) and No. 8 LSU (26-4) has kept Ole Miss on the 7-8 Seed bubble despite finishing third in the conference. The highest finish in the league since the 1991-92 season when they won it going 11-0 has not made much of a dent in creeping towards a top five seed.
But a run in Greenville that ends with cutting down the nets and hoisting up a SEC Tournament trophy could change that perception come Selection Sunday on March 17.
