Cameron Larkin
One of the two SEC Tournament play-in games featured the Ole Miss Rebels and the South Carolina Gamecocks, and this third matchup between these two teams did not disappoint. The teams split in the regular season; Ole Miss won at South Carolina and lost at home, so this neutral site game in Nashville would decide who would win the season series.
A strong first half from the Rebels propelled them to a 30-29 once halftime lead, but the game started just about how anyone would expect a game between the No. 12 and No. 13 seeds to go. Most of the first 10 possessions ended in either a turnover or a missed shot; at under the 16-minute break, the score was 4-4.
The pace picked up after the rough start as Ole Miss capitalized on a plethora of Myles Burns steals to open things up offensively. Burns was undoubtedly the best player on the floor during the first half. The former Loyola New Orleans standout forward posted five points, the important stat being that he hit a three-pointer while grabbing five steals.
The second half began, and fans could not have asked for a more entertaining final 20 minutes of play. Both of these teams were playing with seasons on the line; win and move on or lose and go home.
Everything was on the line, and both teams lived up to the moment. However, Ole Miss came out on top.
Amaree Abram, Jaemyn Brakefield and James White led the Rebels in scoring, being the only Ole Miss players in double figures.
Abram put together his best game since the ESPN Invitational earlier this season. The freshman came off the bench and put up 20 points on 63% shooting from behind the arc.
His three-point shooting is something the Rebels have missed all season long, but what better time than the SEC Tournament to pull out a career shooting night?
Ole Miss needed every bit of offensive and defensive production it could get, and the team did just enough on each end to move on; this was a true all-around effort from the 13-seeded Rebels.
With this win, the Rebels move on to play theNo. 5-seeded Tennessee Volunteers. This win also makes interim head coach Win Case the first interim to win an SEC Tournament game in the last 15 years.
Ole Miss played Tennessee extremely well earlier in the season. The Rebels were up six points at halftime and ended up losing by four points.
Tennessee ended its regular season with a loss to Auburn, but the game was not the biggest loss of the day. The Vols got news the next day that star point guard Zakai Zeigler would be out for the season, which could have huge implications in Tuesday’s matchup.
The game will take place on Thursday, March 9, at 2 p.m. CST in Nashville. The game will air on the SEC Network.
