Ole Miss trying to separate itself from the SEC 'pack' with another important road trip
Two and a half weeks ago the Ole Miss women’s basketball team was leaving Starkville with a loss and sitting 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference standings.
The defeat sent the Rebels into the middle of the conference and a feeling that the season was taking a downward turn. Since January 14 Ole Miss has rattled off three consecutive wins and now find themselves in a tie for second place and two games back of undefeated No. 1 South Carolina.
Ole Miss (15-5, 5-2 SEC) is currently tied with Tennessee Sunday’s win over the Lady Volunteers gave the Rebels the tiebreaker. This sets up another critical week on the road in the SEC with games at a resurgent Vanderbilt (17-4, 4-3) on Thursday and then a trip to Columbia to take on the Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0) on Sunday.
“With Vandy on the road and South Carolina, all of us are kind of in the same pack together,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said on Tuesday. “Right now for the next 48 hours we’re in second place but that will be short-lived because so much more basketball to go.”
Outside of South Carolina sitting at 7-0 in the SEC the second through 11th place teams are within two games of each other. With the calendar flipping to February and the Rebels hitting the halfway point of conference play this week there is little room for error.
A pair of wins or even a split this week could provide Ole Miss a little cushion from a quick drop to the bottom half of the conference. A pair of losses could have the Rebels looking back up at a SEC with a lot of parity this season.
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“You got to fight and I think every team in the SEC is fighting,” McCuin said. “You can’t relax because next thing you know you’re fighting for fifth or sixth place. …I think when it comes to parity (it’s) the transfer portal. There will be a lot of basketball teams that play their (best) basketball a little later. I expect it for us.”
This week’s road trip features opponents and arenas that are historically not kind to Ole Miss.
When the Rebels play at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville the Commodores hold a 20-4 edge in the series. Vanderbilt leads the overall series, 35-19.
Ole Miss has won the last two meetings, including a 57-47 win in Nashville on February 20, 2022.
“It has always been a tough place (to play),” McCuin said of playing at Vanderbilt’s home arena. “I think I’ve only had one win at Vandy. I think if you look at the numbers we’ve not had a lot of wins at Vandy, historically. It’s just a really tough place to play. The benches are on opposite ends and you’re kind of out there together.”
Against South Carolina, the Gamecocks lead the overall series 30-17 and holds a 15-4 edge when games are played in Columbia. The Rebels have lost the last 18 games in the series, including last season’s overtime loss in Oxford.
