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BRACKET WATCH: Ole Miss set to open the season trending for another NCAA Tournament run

11by: Jake Thompson6 hours agoJakeThompsonOn3
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Ole Miss guard Kezza Giffa. Mandatory credit: Ole Miss athletics

The Ole Miss basketball programs are set to open the 2025-26 season next Monday and start the run for another postseason spent in the NCAA Tournament.

For the men’s team it is aiming for a second-straight bid to the Field of 68 while the women’s team is looking for its fourth straight appearance. Both teams are coming off Sweet 16 appearances this past March.

Tuesday saw the release of ESPN’s preseason ‘Bracketology’ projections, putting both Rebel squads in their respective tournaments.

Chris Beard is in his third season at Ole Miss and after getting the program’s second ever Sweet 16 berth the Rebels are ready to even further next March.

Joe Lunardi projects the Rebels as the 9 Seed in the Midwest Region (Chicago) to start the season. They would play 8 Seed Baylor in St. Louis for a first round meeting if these projections came true. Purdue is the 1 Seed of the Midwest and would face the First Four winner of Norfolk State and Long Island University.

Ole Miss put the bow on its preseason preparation on Sunday in a loss to Saint Mary’s in exhibition action inside the SJB Pavilion.

“Saint Mary’s is a really good basketball team and this is not a surprise. They have been to the NCAA Tournament four years in a row and have won their first round game each year. They have a Hall of Fame coach,” Beard said on Sunday. “We scheduled this game on purpose. We knew what we were getting into.

“We got handled on the glass, out-rebounded by 20. That’s hard to overcome. The defensive game plan on their best two players did nothing to take away their strengths. I was not happy with the results, but we needed this. We needed some things to be exposed so we can work on them.”

The Rebels host Southeastern Louisiana on November 3 at 7 p.m. CT to open up the season.

For the Ole Miss women’s team it heading into a season where hosting NCAA Tournament games is a realistic goal.

Yolett McMphee-McCuin is entering her eighth season as the Rebels head coach. They are starting the season ranked No. 12 for the second time in the last three seasons.

Ole Miss beat Southern Arkansas by 60 points in Sunday’s exhibition action to close the book on its preseason camp.

ESPN’s Charlie Creme released his preseason ‘Bracketology’ for the women’s tournament on Tuesday, too. He has the Rebels projected as the 3 Seed in Region 3 Forth Worth. The top four seeds in each region host first and second round games.

Ole Miss would play 14 Seed Central Arkansas in Creme’s projections. A second round game in Oxford could be against the winner of 6 Seed Michigan State and 11 Seed South Dakota State.

The Rebels host Norfolk State at 11 a.m. CT on November 3 to open the season.

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