Ole Miss jumps three spots in the NET despite loss at Mississippi State
No. 21 Ole Miss suffered its first SEC loss of the 2024-25 season Saturday at in-state rival Mississippi State.
The Rebels moved up in the NET anyway.
Ole Miss rolled into Starkville with a program-record No. 16 NET ranking. The Rebels rallied and took the No. 14 Bulldogs to overtime. However, they came up short in the extra period, 84-81.
Their already-stout NCAA Tournament resume didn’t take a hit. If anything, it only got stronger.
Ole Miss bumped up to No. 13 in the NET. All 16 SEC teams entering the weekend were Top 100 in the NET. Fourteen were inside the Top 50, seven in the Top 25 and four in the Top 10.
“It’s just a reminder for our team this is round five in the SEC,” second-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said after the loss. “This wasn’t the first time we’ve had some adversity this year. Played against a really good team.
“I hope what the reminder is for our players and what we’ll certainly emphasize our next practice is we’ve got to do what we say we’re going to do. Also known as discipline. You’re not going to make every shot in the game. You’re not going to get every game. But you’ve got to do, at some point, what you say you’re going to do.
“On a couple of our post defensive mistakes we just didn’t do what we set up to do. It’s been a strength of our team with our veteran players to be able to help the guys, adjustments. Tonight we just made some mistakes we just couldn’t overcome.”
Ole Miss next hosts No. 11 Texas A&M Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT.
The Rebels between January 22 and February 4 will bring to Oxford the Aggies, top-ranked Auburn, Texas and No. 8 Kentucky. The Wildcats on Saturday lost to No. 4 Alabama. Eighteen of college basketball’s Top 25 lost this week.
Ole Miss took down the Tide in Tuscaloosa last week for its first-ever SEC road win over a Top 5 program. Beard has more NCAA Tournament appearances over his individual coaching career than Ole Miss has in its 100-plus-year history.
The Rebels are vying for their 10th overall berth. They were recently projected as a 6-seed by ESPN. ESPN on Sunday placed Ole Miss at No. 23 in its own Top 25.
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“I think we’re really good,” Ole Miss forward Malik Dia said after Alabama. “The ceiling is Final Four, and we’re going to the Final Four. I’m believing it and I’m saying it.”
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Thirteen games remain in the regular season.
Ole Miss won 20 games last season for the first time in five years. However, the Rebels managed just three Quadrant 1 wins. They’ve already got five this season.
Significant Year 2 improvement has become commonplace for Beard-coached teams. Angelo State jumped from 19 wins to 28 and reached the round of 16 in Division II. Texas Tech was nine wins better and made the Elite Eight. Texas claimed wins over No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 7 Creighton and climbed as high as No. 2 in his second season.
The Rebels, likewise, are showing no signs of slowing down, even if they’re no longer perfect in the conference.
“When you get down to late in the game, winning time, it’s going to be the team that makes the least mistakes,” Beard said. “We missed a couple block-outs and our shot selection wasn’t where it needed to be late.
“Give Mississippi State the credit; they were the more aggressive team and played great today at home. Was a good college basketball game.”
