Ole Miss will advance to the next round of the SEC Tournament after a thrilling finish to Thursday’s matchup against a short-handed Arkansas team. In typical Rebel fashion this year, Chris Beard’s crew nearly sent fans into cardiac arrest, but managed to come away with the win late.
With just under eight seconds on the clock, Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile was sent to the free-throw line with a chance to break an 80-80 stalemate against Ole Miss. The veteran missed not one, but both shots at the stripe, gifting the Rebels an opportunity to come away victorious. Sean Pedulla, who had not been successful from deep all afternoon, converted on the timeliest of three-pointers to lead his team to victory.
SEAN PEDULLA SENDS US TO THE QUARTERFINALS!@PedullaSean x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/XZYuaqSkzC
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 13, 2025
“We actually came here to win this tournament, not just get to the third round,” Beard said on the SEC Network immediately after the victory. “We’re working towards a championship here.”
The Rebels (22-10, 10-8 SEC) came into the matchup as the No. 8 seed, having enjoyed the day off in the conference tournament’s Wednesday debut in Nashville. Arkansas (20-13, 8-10 SEC), on the other hand, landed as the No. 9 seed and had to endure a hard-fought battle against Vanderbilt in the first round.
As March continues, Ole Miss is playing for seeding ahead of the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years. Recent expert projections have the Rebels as a No. 7 seed in the Big Dance. That seeding could improve if the red and blue go on an SEC Tournament run.
Game Recap
Ole Miss big man Malik Dia opened things up like a man on a mission. The Belmont transfer hit four of the Rebels’ first five shots to take an 11-4 lead with 15:54 on the clock. Arkansas missed its first four shots and had a bad pass turnover to fuel the early surge by Ole Miss.
The Razorbacks then came to life offensively by attacking the paint. After substituting into the game, Arkansas forward Jonas Aidoo made his presence known down low. Aidoo led his squad on a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to one point with 12:38 remaining in the half.
A couple of two-point buckets and a successful three-point shot from Jaylen Murray later, Ole Miss had extended its buffer to nine points with just over eight minutes to play. Another three from Murray elevated the Rebels’ lead to 15 points. Ole Miss maintained a double-digit advantage until Arkansas closed out the half on a 7-0 run. At the intermission, Ole Miss led 42-34 and had a one-board rebounding advantage.
Arkansas carried the momentum into the second half, outscoring Ole Miss 10-4 in the first four-and-a-half minutes to get within one possession on the scoreboard. A timely triple from Davon Barnes ended a near-four-minute scoring drought for Ole Miss. Nonetheless, the pendulum remained on the Razorbacks’ side of things.
Aidoo, still feeling it down low, scored four consecutive points to minimize the Rebels’ lead to one point. Just over one minute later, Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile knocked down a three-pointer to give the Razorbacks their first lead since the 12:13 mark of the first half.
John Calipari’s crew used the next three minutes to take advantage of a dismal offensive showing by the higher-seeded foe. Arkansas claimed an eight-point lead — its largest of the night — and looked to be running the Rebels out of Bridgestone Arena early in the back end of the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Just when it seemed like the game was about to slip away from Ole Miss’ grasp, a shot from behind the arc was good from an unexpected hero in freshman Eduardo Klafke. Scoring then became contagious for a crew that had gravely lacked buckets in prior minutes. Matthew Murrell rang up a three-ball and the Rebels landed five free throws to reclaim the lead with 6:09 remaining in regulation.
Ole Miss caught a major break at the 4:44 mark when Aidoo was whistled for his fifth foul, sidelining him for the rest of the contest. A jumper by Murrell extended the Rebels’ advantage to six points, but just as it seemed like Ole Miss had taken control of the game, Arkansas came storming back.
Brazile knocked down a deep shot to garner momentum as the Rebels began to cool offensively once again. The Razorbacks found a friendly whistle down the stretch and leaned on free throws to take a one-point lead with 1:23 on the clock.
A struggling Sean Pedulla attempted to lift himself and his team out of a rut with a three. The look was no good, but Dia was able to secure an offensive board. Pedulla got the ball back and committed a costly turnover.
D.J. Wagner punished the Rebels with a jumper to put the Razorbacks up by three. Ole Miss forward Dre Davis landed a layup while being fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to knot things up 80-80 with 20 seconds left.
After a missed shot by Billy Richmond III, Arkansas was bailed out by a loose-ball foul called on Dia, sending Brazile to the line to shoot two. Pedulla, who was 0-6 from three-point range, hit his first deep shot of the day to carry his team to victory.
Impact Players
Malik Dia had a game-best 19 points while also hauling in eight rebounds for Ole Miss in the victory. Jaylen Murray was right behind him on the scoreboard with 17 while also recording five assists. Matthew Murrell logged 12 points and Dre Davis had eight boards.
Jonas Aidoo, prior to fouling out, had 17 points and eight rebounds. Brazile had the lone double-double of the matchup, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 boards. Billy Richmond III complimented Arkansas’ balanced scoring effort with 15 points.
Deciding Factor
In a game decided by one possession, Ole Miss won by shooting the ball just a little bit better and taking more shots. The Rebels were 47% from the field while the Razorbacks hit 46% of their shots. Ole Miss also made one more three-pointer than its conference counterpart.
Chris Beard’s Rebels won the turnover battle and had more points in the paint, but otherwise, Arkansas had many other advantages.
The Razorbacks made more free throws than the Rebels attempted. Arkansas won the rebounding battle by six and had nearly double the points from bench players than Ole Miss.
Next Up
Ole Miss will continue its run in the conference tournament against No. 1 seed Auburn. The Rebels are 0-2 versus the Tigers this season, with the last matchup being a 30-point shortcoming for the red and blue. Friday’s contest will be aired on ESPN and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
