Things looked bleak at the start of SEC play for Chris Beard and his Rebels squad sitting barely above .500 and 0-2 in conference earlier this month.
But a three game win streak over SEC opponents Missouri,
Georgia and Mississippi State has given life to this season for Ole Miss (11-7, 3-2 SEC). There is still a lot of games to be won to get back into the postseason conversation, but the team has at least given its resume a shot in the arm. A week ago the team was barely in the NET top 100, which as a refresher is the main grading system for Selection Sunday, and now Ole Miss sits at No. 79 nationally.
The big metric going against the Rebels right now is a 1-5 record against Quad 1 opponents. Essentially it is losing almost every time it plays a tournament team save the thrilling overtime buzzer beater in Athens against Georgia.
The good and bad news for Beard and Co. is there are basically nothing but Quad 1 opportunities left on the schedule, so if the Rebels can somehow find a way above .500 in SEC play, it should at the very least be on the bubble for the NCAA tournament.
This has been a team that took time to find itself but has begun to gel. Ilias Kamardine has been a fairly consistent force at point guard, and the emergence of freshman Patton Pinkins has given this team a needed spark. Pinkins scored the go-ahead basket in both the Georgia and MSU wins in the final seconds just in case you have not paid attention.
Here’s what is ahead for the Rebels in the next two weeks:
- Auburn, Jan. 20 – NET No. 36
- at Kentucky, Jan. 24 – NET No. 28
- Vanderbilt, Jan. 31 – NET No. 13
If the Rebels could find its way to winning two of these three, it would vastly improve its chances of postseason play, and its not completely far-fetched to happen either. Auburn and Kentucky have been up and down in terms of consistency, and Vanderbilt seems to have lost its mojo in the last week or so after its best start in years. The X factor now in play though is the students being back in town to really give Ole Miss its home court advantage back.
Auburn and Vanderbilt both tip off long after the sun sets in Oxford, so it should make for a rowdy crowd with spring semester just barely getting off the ground. Home wins are crucial at this point to reviving the season and honestly what else are you doing other than waiting for Ole Miss baseball? Get your ass to the Pavilion.
