Gators Look for Revenge Against Rebels in SEC Tournament 2nd Round

HOOVER, Ala. — The Florida Gators will be looking to avenge their pair of early-season losses to the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday night in the second round of the 2025 SEC Tournament. Due to poor weather in Hoover, the game is expected to start at 8:30 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on SEC Network. 

In what could be a regional host-deciding matchup, the Gators are handing their ace, Liam Peterson, the start against the Rebels. 

“We got our No. 1 going tomorrow in Liam,” Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after Tuesday's game. 

Peterson has a 4.22 ERA across 14 appearances (13 starts) and has pitched 64 innings, striking out 89 while walking 31 batters. He last pitched on Thursday in the series opener against Alabama and will have only five days of rest between starts. 

The last time Peterson faced Ole Miss, the Rebels got the better of him. He only threw 4 ⅓ innings, giving up five earned runs and striking out six.  

In the season series between the two, the Rebels came out on top in two of the three games. The Gators did have a chance to take the series, though. Despite dropping the opener, the Gators bounced back well and held a 9-5 lead going into the bottom half of the eighth in Game Two. Then, over the next two innings, the Rebels' offense produced five runs to take home a 10-9 victory. Florida did win the series finale, but that’s all they took versus Ole Miss. 

However, the two teams that faced then are nothing like they are now, says O’Sullivan. 

“We played them early in the year, so it's a totally different Ole Miss team and we're a totally different Florida team,” O’Sullivan said. “They've had a great year. So we'll just go out and play tomorrow and see how it goes.”

This second-round matchup could be a factor in deciding who hosts a regional in the NCAA Tournament with both teams in contention for hosting duties.

While the Gators lead the Rebels in RPI and strength of schedule, the latter have the advantage in quad-one wins. The Rebels had 16 quad-one wins entering the 2025 SEC Tournament to the Gators' 11.