A season to forget for Ole Miss will have an ending to remember, regardless of what happens from here. The Rebels stunned Alabama in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday, outlasting the Crimson Tide 80-79 for their third win in three days.
Ole Miss needs two more victories to reach the NCAA Tournament. But after knocking off three projected at-large teams in three days, the Rebels shouldn’t be counted out. After all, they haven’t trailed at any point so far during what’s becoming the top Cinderella story of conference tournament week.
One season after reaching the Sweet 16, Ole Miss cratered by losing 12 of its last 13 regular-season games. The precipitous slide left coach Chris Beard’s club as the No. 15 seed for the SEC Tournament. They are still just 15-19 after Friday’s win, but after beginning the week with 300-to-1 odds of winning the SEC Tournament, hope is alive.
Can the Rebels keep their run going on Saturday? They will have no choice if they want to reach the Big Dance. Either way, it’s been a fun ride in Nashville for a team that most had left for dead entering the week.
Here is the rundown of other Bracketology-oriented winners and losers from Friday’s action.
Loser: Oklahoma suffers agonizing defeat
The Soomners came up just short of solidifying itself on the right side of the bubble in CBS Sports Bracketology on Friday night before suffering a heartbreaking 82-79 loss against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Following the loss, the Sooners have slipped back to the First Four Out and have been replaced by SMU. The Mustangs are now the last at-large team in the projected field, according to CBS Sports Bracketology. A 37-point barrage and some clutch shot-making from Darius Acuff was too much for OU to overcome in what amounted to a potential season-defining spot. The Sooners’ final fate will be left to the selection committee.
Winner: Atlantic 10 stalwarts advance
The Atlantic 10’s top two seeds were each tested in quarterfinal action, but Saint Louis and VCU both found ways to survive and advance. The top-seeded Billikens rallied from a 21-point deficit to edge George Washington 88-81 behind 22 points from Robbie Avila, who scored 15 in a big second half for a Saint Louis team that struggled through a 3-3 finish to the regular season.
VCU trailed Duquesne by seven in the first half before stabilizing for a 71-66 victory. The win kept the Rams’ at-large hopes ablaze for another day as they will remain among the “Last Four In” within CBS Sports Bracketology. The A10’s hopes of being a two-bid league are alive and well.
Loser: Auburn’s hopes get slimmer
VCU hanging around on the right side of the bubble was bad news for Auburn, which will likely need the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West to be one-bid leagues. The Tigers (17-16) can do nothing but sit, hope and pray after losing to Tennessee on Thursday in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. They are firmly on the wrong side of the bubble in CBS Sports Bracketology, and they didn’t get the help they needed from VCU.
Loser: Illinois drops from No. 2 seed
Illinois dropped from the No. 2 seed line in CBS Sports Bracketology with its 91-88 overtime loss against Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Illini are now 0-4 in overtime games since the start of February. If the inverse were true, this team would be in the mix for the final No. 1 seed. But great predictive metrics can only get you so far, and the Illini (24-8) won’t have a case for a No. 2 seed on Selection Sunday. In fact, with selection metrics in the mid-teens, Illinois should now be pleased if it gets a No. 3 seed.
Wisconsin’s Nick Boyd, John Blackwell make case for best backcourt in America in comeback vs. Illinois
Isaac Trotter
Winner: Purdue is back in the No. 2 seed mix
Purdue is now the final No. 2 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology — for the time being — after thrashing Nebraska 74-58 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The Boilermakers desperately needed the authoritative victory after dropping four of six games to close the regular season. To actually end up as a No. 2 seed, the Boilermakers may still need another victory. Iowa State is lurking in the mix for a No. 2 seed and owns a head-to-head win over Purdue, which could be an influential factor if they are scrubbed side by side.
Loser: Seton Hall bows out
Seton Hall’s at-large aspirations were bleak entering the day. But they were officially extinguished in a 78-68 loss to St. John’s in the Big East Tournament semifinals. Though the Pirates have 21 wins, they have just one victory over a projected at-large team (NC State), and they will arrive at Selection Sunday well outside the top 50 in the all-important Wins Above Bubble metric. This was a great defensive team that merely lacked the offensive firepower to break through for needle-moving wins.
Winner: Arizona pulls off the comeback
Arizona fell behind 14-2 out of the gate and trailed by eight in the second half. But the Wildcats rallied for a thrilling 82-80 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals on Jaden Bradley’s buzzer beater. The victory keeps Arizona alive in the race for the No. 1 overall seed in the Big Dance, as they will play for a “double title” on Saturday after winning the Big 12’s regular-season title by two games. Bradley made the final shot, but Anthony Dell’Orso also played the role of hero with four 3-pointers in the second half as he finished with a team-high 26 points on 10 of 14 shooting.
Loser: Tennessee fades against Vanderbilt
One day after using a 20-0 run in the second half to roar back and beat Auburn, Tennessee ended up on the wrong side of a similar equation in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Vanderbilt used a 10-0 run to flip the script on the Volunteers and earn a 75-68 win over its in-state rival. Vandy remains firmly on the No. 4 seed line in CBS Sports Bracketology, and the Commodores aren’t done yet, as losses from Alabama and Nebraska may have opened a narrow path to the No. 3 seed line.
Winner: Florida looks inevitable
Florida endured its worst 3-point shooting performance of the season and still kept Kentucky at arm’s length in a 71-63 SEC Tournament quarterfinal victory. The Gators needed the win to keep their grasp on the final No. 1 seed in CBS Sports Bracketology, and the outcome was scarcely in doubt. The reigning national champions own the nation’s second-longest winning streak at 12 games — trailing only High Point at 14 — and are two wins away from repeating as SEC Tournament champions. A national title repeat appears to be squarely within the realm of possibility, too.
Ice-cold shooting barely phased red-hot Florida vs. Kentucky; is a Gators repeat national title inevitable?
David Cobb
