It was a lot of fun and games on Friday night when the Ole Miss Rebels upset the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Tournament. AJ Storr and Ilias Kamardine combined for 33 points, and the Rebels held off the Tide 80-79 in a wire-to-wire win in which Labaron Philon went for 28.
Ole Miss's winning has to stop, though. If they keep winning, the Auburn Tigers' already shaky NCAA Tournament hopes will be laid to rest on Selection Sunday. Of course, AU may already be done for the season, depending on what happens elsewhere in conference tournaments. Still, there's no chance of March if the University of Mississippi somehow steals a bid by winning the SEC Tournament.
CBS Sports' David Cobb's assessment of the situation is a bit unnerving, to say the least. CBS and TNT Sports own the media rights to the tournament, so if any talking head were to have a finger on the pulse, it's them.
"Ole Miss needs two more victories to reach the NCAA Tournament. But after knocking off three projected at-large teams in three days, the Rebels shouldn't be counted out. After all, they haven't trailed at any point so far during what's becoming the top Cinderella story of conference tournament week," Cobb wrote.
"One season after reaching the Sweet 16, Ole Miss cratered by losing 12 of its last 13 regular-season games. The precipitous slide left coach Chris Beard's club as the No. 15 seed for the SEC Tournament. They are still just 15-19 after Friday's win, but after beginning the week with 300-to-1 odds of winning the SEC Tournament, hope is alive."
Ole Miss takes on Arkansas on Saturday for chance to play Vanderbilt on Sunday
Of course, the games still need to be played.
Ole Miss takes on the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday. The SEC Tournament finals will be between the winner of that game and the Vanderbilt Commodores, who knocked off the defending champion Florida Gators out of the conference tournament in Nashville on Saturday.