Desperation City: Texas and Ole Miss Battle for NCAA Tournament Lives
The SEC Men's Basketball Tournament kicks off Wednesday, and the opening-round matchup between No. 10 seed Texas and No. 15 seed Ole Miss is dripping with NCAA Tournament implications. Both squads limp into Nashville on losing skids, turning their approximately 6 p.m. CT contest into a must-win to keep their March Madness aspirations alive.
Texas (18-13, 9-9 SEC) enters as a 5.5-point favorite despite dropping four of its last five games to close the regular season. The Longhorns are fighting to stay on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble and can ill-afford a one-and-done showing in the conference tournament. When these two teams met in Austin in early February, Texas secured a 79-68 victory, dominating the paint with a 32-16 scoring advantage and capitalizing on second-chance opportunities. A repeat of that physical dominance will be crucial for the Longhorns to advance.
A win for Texas would set up a potential second-round clash with No. 7 seed Georgia, a team they split the season series with. However, a loss to a struggling Ole Miss team that has dropped 12 of its last 13 games could be a catastrophic blow to their at-large hopes. The Rebels will need to find a way to counter the Longhorns' interior strength and offensive efficiency, which ranks ninth nationally according to KenPom metrics.
QUICK HITS
- Auburn Draws Mississippi State in Opener: The No. 12 seed Auburn Tigers will face No. 13 Mississippi State on Wednesday to begin their SEC Tournament run. The Bulldogs got the better of the Tigers in their lone regular-season meeting, a 91-85 shootout in Starkville. The winner will advance to face No. 5 seed Tennessee on Thursday.
- Harris-Miranda's Perfect Senior Night: Florida Gators gymnast Selena Harris-Miranda had a storybook ending to her home career, scoring a perfect 10.0 on the balance beam on Senior Night. Her heroics helped No. 4 Florida defeat No. 2 LSU in a tightly contested 198.450-198.325 dual meet. Following the performance, Harris-Miranda was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week after posting the nation's highest all-around score of the weekend (39.85).
- Sooners Gymnasts Earn Weekly Honors: Oklahoma men's gymnastics, soon to be officially competing in the SEC, continued its dominant season. Senior Ignacio Yockers was named the MPSF Gymnast of the Week, while sophomore Francisco Velez Belendez earned Specialist of the Week honors.
- Vandy Baseball Hosts Sycamores: The Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team is in action Tuesday night, hosting a midweek contest against Indiana State. The game serves as a final tune-up before the Commodores open SEC play this weekend with a crucial home series against the LSU Tigers.
PORTAL WATCH
There has been no new transfer portal activity reported across the SEC in the last 12 hours.
RECRUITING BUZZ
There have been no new commitments announced for SEC programs in the last 12 hours.
GAMES TO WATCH
- Vanderbilt Baseball vs. Indiana State - Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. CT (SECN+)
- SEC Men's Basketball Tournament - First Round (Wednesday):
- No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 13 Mississippi State - Approx. 2:00 p.m. CT (SECN)
- No. 10 Texas vs. No. 15 Ole Miss - Approx. 6:00 p.m. CT (SECN)