Feb 22, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Jaylen Carey (22) guards Mississippi Rebels forward Malik Dia (0) during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Ole Miss Basketball Drops in NCAA Tournament Projections Following Loss to Vandy

Originally posted on Ole Miss Rebels on SI
By John Macon | Last updated Feb 25, 2025 7:30 PM ET

The Ole Miss Rebels are in the midst of a losing streak on the hardwood, and their NCAA Tournament projections have taken a hit, as a result.

Although Ole Miss is still in the latest tournament field projected by Joe Lunardi in his bracketology, it fell another seed following its weekend loss to Vanderbilt, now holding the distinction of being a 7-seed in the West (San Francisco) region of the bracket. Joining the Rebels in Milwaukee would be 2-seed Iowa State, 10-seed VCU and 15-seed Norfolk State.

Ole Miss is one of 13 SEC teams included in this set of projections, the most of any conference. Coming in second place is the Big Ten with 10 participants, and the Big 12 has eight teams in the field.

Following the loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday (one that came a week after a Rebels loss to rival Mississippi State), head coach Chris Beard stated that he was in search of a better start from his team in the games ahead.

"The difference in the game was obviously our poor start," Beard said postgame. "They were very aggressive out of the gate. We needed to take the first punch a little bit better than we did."

The road doesn't get any easier for Ole Miss this week as it is set to travel to take on the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday night. The Rebels will then return home to host Oklahoma and nationally-ranked Tennessee before closing the regular season at Florida on March 8.

Tip-off against Auburn on Wednesday is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.