Ole Miss: Cinderella on the verge
Ole Miss—sitting at 15‑19—now needs two wins to reach the NCAA tournament, which would make them a potential first‑ever sub‑.500 power‑conference team to earn an at‑large bid amid what Jon Rothstein called peak March anarchy [](https://x.com/i/status/2032633538986611033).
Ole Miss entered the SEC tournament as the No. 15 seed secure-www.cbssports.com and has rolled off three straight upsets in Nashville — knocking off Texas, then No. 7 Georgia, and then No. 2 Alabama. secure-www.cbssports.com Guard AJ Storr paced the run with 19 points against Georgia and 17 against Alabama, while Malik Dia scored 17 in the Georgia game and Ilias Kamardine had 16 in the Alabama win. secure-www.cbssports.com That surge comes after Ole Miss lost 12 of its final 13 regular‑season games, a collapse bracketologists contrasted with the Rebels’ conference‑tourney reversal after opening the week at roughly 300‑to‑1 odds to win the SEC. cbssports.com Game reports note Ole Miss hasn’t trailed at any point so far in the tournament, secure-www.cbssports.com and — per NCAA tournament rules — the SEC champion would receive an automatic bid to the NCAA field; Selection Sunday is scheduled for March 15, 2026. ncaa.com
