It is March Madness and that means anything can happen in this crazy world of college basketball. Ole Miss is no exception to this craziness. Despite being 4-10 in SEC regular season play, the Rebels came to play when it came SEC Tournament time. Coming in at an 11th seed, many SEC fans did not see how the Rebels would make it past the first game against sixth seed Arkansas, but to many fans’ surprise, the Rebels advanced. When it comes time to decide on teams for the NCAA it will be a tough decision. Don’t Count Ole Miss Out of The NCAA Tournament.
Huge Win Over Ranked Arkansas
On Thursday, the Rebels showed the Razorbacks what March in college basketball is all about. The Rebels did not back down against the nationally-ranked Razorbacks. Arkansas entered the tournament confident as the SEC’s leading scoring offensive team. But Ole Miss was able to shut down their offense to win the ball game. Leading the Rebels was transfer junior, Shakira Austin. Austin had 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks to help her team to victory. Donnetta Johnson had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Ole Miss played strong defense and played strong offensively to take down Arkansas by a score of 69-60, knocking them out of the SEC tournament.
REBS WIN‼️‼️@OleMissWBB upsets Arkansas and is heading to the #SECWBB Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/mGn5MCMayP
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 5, 2021
Tough Fought Loss Against Tennessee
On Friday night, the last game of the day, the Rebels geared up to play the Vols. Attending this game after three games prior, this game felt long and tensions were high. Both of these teams played physically and played to the very end. For Tennessee, one unstoppable player was senior Rennia Davis. Despite Davis’s 33 points and 14 rebounds; the Rebels still held their own and shut the team down except for Davis and junior Rae Burrell who had 18 points.
Ole Miss played as a team on both ends of the floor and leading the way once again was Johnson and Austin. This Tennessee team is hard to guard and score on as they are both tall and athletic. The game was neck and neck most of the way. But fell short primarily in the fourth quarter after Austin injured her hip. The Rebels SEC tournament run was sadly cut short by a score of 77-72, after a tough fought game.
WHAT A GAME!!@LadyVol_Hoops holds on to advance 👏#GBO x #SECWBB pic.twitter.com/ZUJsO9U8vd
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) March 6, 2021
Why Should Ole Miss Make The Tournament?
A team like Ole Miss deserves a shot in the NCAA tournament. March Madness means anything can happen and that includes putting Ole Miss in the NCAA tournament. The Rebels have been coached well this year by Coach Yo and their win over Arkansas shows that they can make a run in the NCAA tournament. Even with a loss to Tennesee who is ranked and has huge wins; they were close and competed for the whole game.
The Rebels have the fire that every team needs in March and this would help them advance if they were to be put in the NCAA Tournament. This team definitely deserves a chance after how the game went against Tennesee and if given the chance the Rebels won’t back down in the NCAA tournament and will come to play. That being said: Don’t Count Ole Miss Out of The NCAA Tournament.
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