Sean Pedulla didn’t have a good game against Arkansas in Thursday’s SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament second round game.
Pedulla had made just three field goals and was 0-for-6 from beyond the three-point line and spent a large portion of the second half on the bench in foul trouble with four fouls.
“Who cares about the stats when the game is on the line,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said in his post-game interview on SEC Network.
Beard was right. Nobody will remember Pedulla’s struggles. All anyone will remember from Thursday’s game is the game-winning, nothing-but-net three-pointer with 1.3 seconds to secure an 83-80 win. The Rebels advance in the SEC Tournament to Friday’s quarterfinal game against No. 1-seed Auburn.
SEAN PEDULLA SENDS US TO THE QUARTERFINALS!@PedullaSean x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/XZYuaqSkzC
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 13, 2025
At some level, the Rebels beating Arkansas was a miracle. The Razorbacks took a three-point lead with 29.6 seconds to play when D.J. Wagner scored a jump shot off an Ole Miss turnover. Dre Davis tied the game with a put-back layup and free throw, but the Razorbacks had possession without a shot clock.
Billy Richmond missed a jump shot with eight second left, but Ole Miss’s Malik Dia was called for a foul on the rebound to send Trevon Brazile to the charity stripe in an 80-80 game and seven seconds left to play.
However, the charity stripe wasn’t feeling very charitable.
Brazile missed both of his free throw attempts and Davis grabbed the rebound after the second miss. He made a quick up-court pass to Pedulla who took a couple steps and pulled up for his game-winning three-pointer.
Richmond put a last-grasp heave for Arkansas at the buzzer that hit the backboard, but fell harmlessly to the ground. Then the Rebels swarmed their senior guard and celebrated an exciting win.
It's March 🪣@PedullaSean x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/jh0gVPB7Zj
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 13, 2025
Ole Miss won’t spend much time celebrating the win, though. The Rebels will have to prepare to face one of the best teams in the country, let alone in the SEC, on Friday. Ole Miss and Auburn will open the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament at noon on ESPN.
