20. Mississippi (9-1)
Every game matters in college basketball, and frankly this Ole Miss team had us scratching our heads earlier in the season. They barely beat Grambling State and had a few issues, but pulled out great wins over BYU and Louisville and took Purdue to the limit a few weeks ago. Chris Beard’s squad looks even better in his second season and they’re hoping to prove that they belong in the national conversation.
They weren’t going to establish that proof this past week, but they did avoid any kind of disaster with another strong performance. The Rebels went down to Biloxi and got a 77-46 easy win over in-state opponent Southern Miss, giving them their third-straight win. Sean Pedulla played well with 18 points while Davon Barnes added 9 points and 11 rebounds in a team victory.
The SEC is absolutely loaded with talented teams, but why can’t Ole Miss be one of the ones to stand out? The Rebels have had a very efficient stretch on offense in recent weeks and the frontcourt is getting the job as well. There remain questions about the defense, but time will tell just how strong this team from Mississippi will be. An easy week lies ahead with Southern and Queens coming to town but then the schedule gets tough for the rest of the year.