Mississippi State dropped to No. 24 and Ole Miss was knocked out of the latest top 25 by the Associated Press as both teams continue to weather a Southeastern Conference gauntlet.
The Bulldogs (19-8, 7-7 SEC) boosted their NCAA Tournament résumé after dominating a top-10 Texas A&M squad 70-54 in Humphrey Coliseum last Tuesday. Sophomore sensation Josh Hubbard led the winning effort with 25 points. But the pendulum swung in the opposite direction on Saturday as a struggling Oklahoma team proved strong at home, ousting the Bulldogs 93-87.
Chris Jans and company will return to the hardwood on Tuesday with a chance at revenge against now-No. 4 Alabama. The game will tip off from Coleman Coliseum at 8 p.m. CT
The Rebels (19-8, 8-6 SEC) were booted from the rankings after notching a second consecutive conference loss. After enjoying a midweek off, Chris Beard’s crew started slow and played from behind for the majority of Saturday’s contest at Vanderbilt. Despite taking the lead three times in the second half, Ole Miss ultimately fell short 77-72. Malik Dia showed out against his first collegiate institution, recording 22 points and seven rebounds on the stat sheet.
Ole Miss’ road ahead does not ease up as a matchup at No. 1 Auburn is next on the docket. The Rebels and Tigers will square off inside Neville Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. As always, Ole Miss and Mississippi State games are aired on various television networks and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
As the coveted March Madness season nears, fans of the Bulldogs and Rebels will have a high likelihood of watching their favorite team vie for a national title. Experts, in near consensus, have both teams listed as NCAA Tournament locks. The latest NET rankings indicate such with Ole Miss ranking No. 26 and Mississippi State coming in at No. 28.
In ESPN college basketball analyst Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology, the Bulldogs are projected to be a 5-seed while the Rebels are listed as a 6-seed in upcoming the 68-team field.
The full AP top 25 can be found below:
- Auburn
- Duke
- Florida
- Houston
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- St. John’s
- Michigan State
- Iowa State
- Texas Tech
- Wisconsin
- Texas A&M
- Clemson
- Missouri
- Michigan
- Maryland
- Kentucky
- Memphis
- Louisville
- Purdue
- Marquette
- Arizona
- Saint Mary’s
- Mississippi State
- BYU
