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NCAA Tournament: Ole Miss miss out on being an initial Top 16 Overall Seed in first reveal

11by: Jake Thompson02/15/25JakeThompsonOn3
NCAA Basketball: Mississippi at South Carolina
Feb 12, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Mississippi Rebels guard Matthew Murrell (11) drives around South Carolina Gamecocks guard Zachary Davis (2) in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The Ole Miss men’s basketball program has constantly lived on the bubble when it comes to the NCAA Tournament and its selection chances, but those days are gone.

On Saturday the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee unveiled its current Top 16 overall seed list with a month to go before March embraces the madness. The Rebels were left out, meaning they are at best a 5 Seed in the eyes of committee with six games remaining in the regular season to change their minds.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Ole Miss as a 5 Seed and the 19th overall seed in his update on Saturday ahead of the Top 16 announcement and slate of games. Jerry Palm of CBS Sports had the Rebels as a 4 Seed in his latest ‘Bracketology’ update this week.

This is a far cry from wondering how many more wins need to happen or how long a stay Ole Miss needs to have in Nashville for the SEC Tournament. An abacus is no longer needed, unless one wants to use it to try and calculate a better seed scenario.

In his second season with the Rebels Chris Beard has turned the team into a strong tournament contender and firmly in the top half of the 68-team field. Their NET ranking continues to be strong, as well.

Entering Saturday’s games Ole Miss is No. 21 in the NET with a 5-6 record in Quad 1 games and a 5-0 record in Quad 2 games. The Rebels (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) host No. 22 Mississippi State (17-7, 5-6) at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday with the Bulldogs coming to Oxford 30th in the NET, making the game a Quad 1 opportunity.

Auburn earns the overall No. 1 Seed and slotted in the South Region (Atlanta). Alabama is the No. 2 overall Seed and were placed in the Midwest Region (Indianapolis) while Florida is the No. 4 overall Seed and put in the West Region (San Francisco). Duke is the No. 3 overall Seed and put in the East Region (Newark)

Below are the teams making up the NCAA Selection Committee’s initial seed list.

  1. Auburn (22-2)
  2. Alabama (21-3)
  3. Duke (20-3)
  4. Florida (20-3)
  5. Tennessee (20-4)
  6. Texas A&M (18-5)
  7. Purdue (19-5)
  8. Houston (19-4)
  9. Iowa State (18-5)
  10. Kentucky (16-7)
  11. Wisconsin (19-5)
  12. Arizona (17-6)
  13. Texas Tech (18-5)
  14. Michigan (18-5)
  15. Kansas (16-7)
  16. St. John’s (21-3)

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