Mississippi State barely held on to its top-25 spot while Ole Miss remained out of the field of ranked opponents in the latest poll from the Associated Press.
The Bulldogs (20-9, 8-8 SEC) came in at No. 25 after a so-so week. Chris Jans and company were clobbered by Alabama on the road in a 38-point midweek shortcoming before bouncing back on Saturday, defeating LSU 81-69 at home. Sophomore sensation Josh Hubbard led the winning effort with 30 points to help his team earn an eighth conference win and essentially rubberstamp a spot in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile, the Rebels (20-9, 9-7 SEC) did not re-appear in the rankings, despite receiving 13 top 25 votes. Ole Miss found itself in the midst of a three-game losing streak, one highlighted by a 30-point loss to the nation’s top team, Auburn. Chris Beard’s squad managed to avoid disaster on Saturday by emerging victorious in a hard-fought battle against Oklahoma. Sean Pedulla’s 26 points and go-ahead three-pointer late in the game fueled the Rebels to an 87-84 win at home.
Though the Bulldogs are higher on the totem poll in the AP poll, the Rebels are currently in a better position in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Mississippi State sits at No. 30 in the net while Ole Miss holds the No. 28 spot.
We have officially reached the month of March, which means the most wonderful time of year for college basketball fans is near. And for the first time in six years, Mississippi State and Ole Miss are expected to be a part of the Big Dance at the same time. Recent projections from ESPN have the Bulldogs and Rebels as No. 7 seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
But before then, the two teams have business to take care of — and an opportunity to elevate, or lower, their projected March Madness placement. For a Mississippi State group poised to make a third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, a Tuesday night home matchup versus Texas and a Saturday road test at Arkansas are on the regular season docket.
Ole Miss, anticipated to make the Big Dance for the first time since 2019, will take on No. 5 Tennessee for its home finale on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s road battle at No. 7 Florida. Then, the SEC Tournament will take place, setting up Selection Sunday — a bracketologist’s Super Bowl.
As always, Mississippi State and Ole Miss men’s basketball games are aired by various television providers and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations. The full top 25 can be viewed below:
- Auburn
- Duke
- Houston
- Tennessee
- Florida
- St. John’s
- Alabama
- Michigan State
- Texas Tech
- Iowa State
- Clemson
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- Louisville
- Missouri
- Memphis
- Michigan
- Purdue
- Kentucky
- Marquette
- Saint Mary’s
- Texas A&M
- BYU
- Arizona
- Mississippi State
