17. Mississippi (11-1)
Many talented teams are going to represent the SEC in the NCAA Tournament this season and Ole Miss certainly looks like one of them right now. Chris Beard had a similarly hot start last year before fading during league play and it’s fair to wonder if that’ll happen again. These Rebels have had great moments, winning by double-digits against BYU, Louisville, and several other teams, but they also leave us befuddled at times too.
They took care of business back on Tuesday, winning 74-61 over Southern for their tenth win of the season. Jaylen Murray had 18 points, Jaemyn Brakefield added 15 off the bench, and the Rebels did enough to win. Saturday was another game that seemed a bit closer than expected at times, though Ole Miss pulled away for an 80-62 win against Queens. Sean Pedulla led the way this time with 25 points and 4 steals.
We’re not going to lose faith in Ole Miss based on these types of results, though remember that this team only beat Grambling by two points and had some struggles early in the season. This team doesn’t lack talent and showed they have the offensive firepower to hang with good teams, but will we see that night after night in the SEC? That question gets to wait another week, though a road game at Memphis next week will be quite the test.