Ole Miss as a 'bid stealer'
Ole Miss — sitting 15-19 overall — is being called a 'bid stealer' and is reportedly two wins away from an NCAA Tournament berth, a narrative gaining traction from insiders like Jon Rothstein on social today [].
Ole Miss opened its SEC Tournament run by toppling Texas 76-66 on March 11 in Nashville (ESPN espn.com), a victory in which Malik Dia poured in 23 points to jumpstart the upset streak (Yahoo Sports sports.yahoo.com). The Rebels followed with a 76-72 win over No. 7 Georgia on March 12, paced by AJ Storr’s 19 points and Malik Dia’s 17 to erase a Bulldogs comeback attempt (CBS Sports cbssports.com). On March 13 Ole Miss edged No. 2 Alabama 80-79 to reach the SEC semifinals, with AJ Storr scoring 17 off the bench and Ilias Kamardine delivering 16 points while Patton Pinkins made a late defensive stop (ESPN espn.com). The Rebels are scheduled to face Arkansas in the SEC semifinals Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN (5News/SEC schedule 5newsonline.com), a run that made them the lowest seed ever to reach the SEC semifinals according to multiple outlets and that bracketologists say has reshaped projection chatter this week (Sporting News/Associated Press/CBS Sports sportingnews.com).
