Should Ole Miss end up on a winning streak or make into the NCAA tournament, remember tonight.
Ole Miss and No. 21 Georgia exchanged the lead nine times and neither side had a lead more than 10 points. In the end, the Rebels pulled off the upset in the most exciting way possible: a walk-off, buzzer beater in overtime.
REBS WIN IN OT‼️#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/OA3HMiOpzi
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 15, 2026
Freshman Patton Pinkins grabbed a rebound in the game’s final two seconds and Ole Miss down by one point. His initial putback attempt bounced off the front of the rim and right back into his chest amidst a scrum of bodies.
In the blink of an eye, Pinkins got another putback attempt that went in as the buzzer sounded and the Rebels’ bench sprinted onto the court in celebration.
The 97-95 win on the Bulldogs’ home court wasn’t perfect, but that doesn’t matter in the immediate aftermath of an exciting game.
STORR TO TIE THE GAME😤#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/NPPhrrigaM
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) January 15, 2026
This is the type of win that can kickstart a team into the form of itself that was expected two months ago. Even if Ole Miss coach Chris Beard doesn’t credit winning games as the biggest confidence booster, this is the type of win that’s an exception to the rule.
The Rebels went into a hostile SEC environment, took its top 25-ranked opponent’s best punches and still walked off the court with a win.
Georgia got extremely hot from beyond the three-point line in the first half and kept that going into the second half. Jeremiah Wilkinson was especially hot on his three-pointers. But law of averages says streaks like that don’t last and it didn’t for the Bulldogs.
The biggest miss for Georgia, though, didn’t come beyond the arch. It came from the charity stripe. Marcus Millender went to the free throw line with 10 seconds left and Georgia trailing 95-94.
Millender missed the first free throw and made his second. By missing the first instead of the second half, that gave the Rebels a chance to set up a play without fighting for a rebound with the clock running.
And who knows what’d happen if AJ Storr ran down the court knowing a miss means a loss instead of overtime. Would he have taken the same shot? Would Pinkins have been in position to grab the initial rebound?
Questions like that fall into the “what went wrong” story, which will be covered later. There are some questions to be answered (e.g., why was Malik Dia on the bench for most of the second half and all of the overtime period?). Those questions will be answered later.
For now, the Rebels should enjoy this exciting win and hope it’s just the start of a great run in the final two months of the season.
Ole Miss Top Performers
- Points: AJ Storr, 27
- Rebounds: Corey Chest, 8
- Assists: Ilias Kamardine, 6
- Steals: AJ Storr, 3
- Blocks: Corey Chest/Malik Dia, 2
Next Up
The Rebels will look to extend its SEC two-game win streak against its biggest rival, Mississippi State. That rivalry matchup will take place in Starkville on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network.
