Luke Dunavant
People may wonder what bracketology is. It is a term that refers to the theoretical odds of making the NCAA championship tournament for both the women’s and men’s basketball teams. The most popular one is Joe Lunardi’s bracketology for men’s teams and Charlie Creme’s bracketology for women’s teams. Lunardi made bracketology what it is today, and Creme later applied it to women’s basketball.
These predictions and standings are normally the most accurate predictions out there, so where do the Rebels stand?
Women’s Basketball
As for Ole Miss Women’s Basketball, it appears as if the team is comfortably in the tournament. They are currently projected to be the No. 8 seed in the Portland four division. They would hypothetically face Princeton, who is projected to be the No. 9 seed.
The Lady Rebels have had a strong season. If their upward trajectory continues, they could be serious contenders in the NCAA tournament.
They could move up to one of the top-five seeds if they win the SEC tournament — a tall order, as they would likely have to beat South Carolina. However, even a good showing could set the Lady Rebels up for success in the big dance.
Throughout the season, they have beaten many good teams such as Tennessee, Mississippi State, Georgia and Florida just to name a few. Their season has been a direct contrast to the men’s team, as the women’s team has won most of its games; most of its losses have been very close ones as well.
The Lady Rebels did the work early in the season to set themselves up with a cushion toward the latter portion of it. All of Ole Miss’ remaining games are against opponents in the bottom half of the SEC standings; this safety also leaves Ole Miss in third place in the conference with no real path to move up. It is up to the players and coaches to finish strong and put a championship-worthy cap on this season.
Men’s Basketball
Currently, the Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team stands in the category of “first four out.” This means that as of right now, the Rebels would be one of the first four teams left out of the big dance. This also means that to be eligible, they would have to win out and most likely win the SEC tournament. Ole Miss’ job gets much harder considering their most recent loss to South Carolina.
The Rebels have had a very up-and-down year of dramatic highs and lows. Ultimately, though, the team has lost a few key games that will probably end up keeping them out of the NCAA tournament. These games include blowout losses to Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn, Mississippi State and Kentucky. The Rebels have won games that everyone expected to win, such as wins against Texas A&M, Missouri, Florida and Arkansas. However, these wins hardly move the needle for the Rebels’ championship dreams.
It will be tough for them to make it, but not impossible. A lot needs to fall in Ole Miss’ favor for them to have an outside chance of sneaking into March Madness. This starts with winning their remaining games, including a daunting matchup with No. 13 Alabama, who just wiped the floor with Kentucky.
Sitting outside the field, Ole Miss now has little room for error moving forward. Success through this crucial stretch of the season, coupled with a better-than-expected performance in the SEC Tournament could elevate the Rebels back into the field, but we will have to wait and see how they respond as the regular season winds down.
Wrap up
The Lady Rebels have had a better season than the men’s team, something that many fans might not have expected. Both teams have a chance to be dangerous if they make the dance, but the odds of the men’s team entering the tournament are pretty grim. However, it is not out of the realm of possibility that we see both basketball programs in March Madness when all things are said and done.
