Coming off a thrilling last-second shot to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 79-76 over the weekend and in pursuit of their first No. 1 seed in school history, Tennessee Basketball, ranked No. 4 in both polls, begins its final week of the 2024-25 season on the road. The Vols have a road and then home game against two unranked teams.
UT, at 24-5 and 11-5 in SEC play, heads down to Mississippi to take on the Ole Miss Rebels. They are riding a wave of momentum with that win over Bama, who was ranked No. 6 in both polls at the time, but the two are still in contention for that top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
On the other side of Rick Barnes’ team, Ole Miss, at 20-9 and 9-7 in conference play, is one of many good league teams trying to solidify its spot in the Big Dance this week. Second-year head coach Chris Beard’s team is coming off an 87-84 win over the Oklahoma Sooners. Here’s all the information you need for Wednesday’s matchup.
Tennessee Volunteers at Ole Miss Rebels
When: Wednesday, March 5 at 9 p.m. ET
Where: The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss; Oxford, Miss.
TV: ESPN2
Live stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Vol Network (Click here for affiliates); Ole Miss Radio Network (Click here for affiliates)
Listen online: UTSports; OleMissSports
Last Saturday’s victory over OU snapped a three-game slide for the Rebels. At No. 28 in the NCAA NET Rankings, they should be in decent shape for March Madness, but with only two ranked wins to this point, they still have work to do. They did beat Bama earlier in the year, though.
This team is led by four seniors and a junior who all average double figures, three of whom are first-year players for Ole Miss after transferring from other schools. Despite so many players averaging double-figures, they really only go seven-deep with two other players averaging right around 10 minutes a game.
Simply put, this team should be a bit worn down at this point in the season, which is why, as a fringe top 25 program, they have worked their way out of the rankings in recent weeks. That should be good news for Barnes’ team if they are trying to pull out a win.
Up next for Ole Miss is the season finale Saturday against the No. 5 ranked Florida Gators. Meanwhile, Tennessee Basketball will return home that same day to face the South Carolina Gamecocks in what should be an easy win before the SEC Tournament begins.
