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POLL POSITION: Ole Miss returns to the Top 20 after surviving at LSU

11by:Jake Thompson•02/10/25•

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NCAA Basketball: Mississippi at Louisiana State
Feb 8, 2025; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Mississippi Rebels guard Jaylen Murray (5) dribbles against LSU Tigers guard Cam Carter (5) during the second half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

For 37 minutes it appeared the Ole Miss men’s basketball team was heading towards a devastating road loss at one of the bottom two teams in the Southeastern Conference.

But then the final three minutes saw the Rebels rally down 11 points and escape Baton Rouge with a 72-70 win over LSU to cap a 2-0 week after knocking off a ranked Kentucky last Tuesday.

With that the latest polls were once again favorable to Ole Miss on Monday. In the Associated Press the Rebels (18-6, 7-4 SEC) moved up six spots back inside the Top 20 to No. 19. They moved back into the Coaches Poll this week to No. 23 after dropping out last week.

Ole Miss has been ranked all but one week of the entire 2024-25 season, continuing to build momentum towards a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

This week presents another SEC road win opportunity for the Rebels starting on Wednesday at South Carolina (10-13, 0-10) at 6 p.m. CT. on the SEC Network. Then on Saturday there is a chance to get another win over a ranked opponent, hosting No. 22 Mississippi State (17-6, 5-5) at 5 p.m. CT with a TV designation to be announced later this week.

Everything continues to trend upward for Ole Miss with a NET ranking of 22 and a 5-6 record against Quad 1 opponents plus a 13-0 record against Quad 2-4 opponents. Jerry Palm of CBS Sports updated his ‘Bracketology’ on Monday, moving the Rebels to the 4 Seed of the West Region (San Francisco), playing in Seattle for the first and second rounds.

Below is the entire Associated Press Top 25 rankings:

  1. Auburn (21-2)
  2. Alabama (20-3)
  3. Florida (20-3)
  4. Duke (20-3)
  5. Tennessee (20-4)
  6. Houston (19-4)
  7. Purdue (19-5)
  8. Texas A&M (18-5)
  9. St. John’s (21-3)
  10. Iowa State (18-5)
  11. Michigan State (19-4)
  12. Texas Tech (18-5)
  13. Arizona (17-6)
  14. Memphis (20-4)
  15. Kentucky (16-7)
  16. Wisconsin (19-5)
  17. Kansas (19-5)
  18. Marquette (18-6)
  19. Ole Miss (18-6)
  20. Michigan (18-5)
  21. Missouri (17-6)
  22. Mississippi State (17-6)
  23. Clemson (19-5)
  24. Creighton (18-6)
  25. Maryland (18-6)

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