Joshua ClaytonA team that played like the most dangerous squad in the SEC last week is suddenly watching its chance at postseason basketball evaporate.
The Rebels’ tough loss to Missouri on Tuesday night likely marks the end of the team’s opportunity to ride the momentum and sneak into the tournament with an at-large bid.
It’s likely that the only way the Rebels can achieve a bid to the NCAA tournament would be an unlikely run through the SEC tournament which goes from March 11-15.
A run through the conference tournament — while already improbable — would be even tougher if the Rebels fail to achieve the first round bye before the end of the regular season. The bottom four seeds in the tournament must play a game on Wednesday to advance to the second round the next day.
The Rebels currently sit at 4-9 in the conference, just below Missouri in the bottom four of the SEC, and it’s likely they’ll need help along with some wins over Alabama, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Mississippi State to reach that No. 10 seed.
If Ole Miss is forced to play on Wednesday, they’ll need five consecutive wins to gain the automatic bid that comes with the conference tournament championship — which is not a good recipe for this team.
Only six players average over 20 minutes per game for head coach Kermit Davis in the Ole Miss rotation, so a multi-game streak against the top SEC teams on back-to-back days would require superhuman performances from Breein Tyree and Devontae Shuler, who average 33.5 and 32.9 minutes per game, respectively.
Ole Miss’s lack of depth has been a main reason for struggles all season, and it will be the reason they eventually burn out. The team is simply not built to win night in and night out in the conference.
Still, the Rebels have something to play for. Stranger things have happened in collegiate single elimination competitions, but the Rebels must regain the confidence from that three-game homestand where they put together convincing wins over South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State at home.
Tyree has to make a push for the SEC Player of the Year, which means six turnovers won’t cut it, no matter how many points he scores. Shuler can’t disappear for a whole game offensively. The rest of the team must contribute to scoring.
The Rebels will return to the Pavilion on Saturday for another crucial matchup against a solid Alabama team. The Crimson Tide are 6-6 in the lead but are coming off a close loss at Auburn and a win over an LSU squad that’s headed to the tournament.
Ole Miss’s fight back to the No. 10 seed won’t be easy, but the Rebels have shown that they are able to go on a run — especially with three of the final five games being at the Pavilion.
A team that played like the most dangerous squad in the SEC last week is suddenly watching its chance at postseason basketball evaporate.
The Rebels’ tough loss to Missouri on Tuesday night likely marks the end of the team’s opportunity to ride the momentum and sneak into the tournament with an at-large bid.
It’s likely that the only way the Rebels can achieve a bid to the NCAA tournament would be an unlikely run through the SEC tournament which goes from March 11-15.
A run through the conference tournament — while already improbable — would be even tougher if the Rebels fail to achieve the first round bye before the end of the regular season. The bottom four seeds in the tournament must play a game on Wednesday to advance to the second round the next day.
The Rebels currently sit at 4-9 in the conference, below Missouri and Arkansas in the bottom five of the SEC, and it’s likely they’ll need help along with some wins over Alabama, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Mississippi State to reach that No. 10 seed.
If Ole Miss is forced to play on Wednesday, the team will need five consecutive wins to gain the automatic bid that comes with the conference tournament championship — which is not a good recipe for this team.
Only six players average over 20 minutes per game for head coach Kermit Davis in the Ole Miss rotation, so a multi-game streak against the top SEC teams on back-to-back days would require superhuman performances from Breein Tyree and Devontae Shuler, who average 34.1 and 33.7 minutes per game, respectively.
Ole Miss’s lack of depth has been a main reason for struggles all season, and it will be the reason they eventually burn out. The team is simply not built to win night in and night out in the conference.
Still, the Rebels have something to play for. Stranger things have happened in collegiate single elimination competitions, but the Rebels must regain the confidence from that three-game homestand where they put together convincing wins over South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State at home.
Tyree has to make a push for the SEC Player of the Year, which means six turnovers won’t cut it, no matter how many points he scores. Shuler can’t disappear for a whole game offensively. The rest of the team must contribute to scoring.
The Rebels will return to the Pavilion on Saturday for another crucial matchup against a solid Alabama team. The Crimson Tide is 6-6 in the lead but is coming off a close loss at Auburn and a win over an LSU squad that’s headed to the tournament.
Ole Miss’s fight back to the No. 10 seed won’t be easy, but the Rebels have shown that they are able to go on a run — especially with three of the final five games being at the Pavilion.
Ole Miss’s fight back to the No. 10 seed won’t be easy, but the Rebels have shown that they are able to go on a run — especially with three of the final five games being at the Pavilion.
