After a long time away, No. 14 Ole Miss is finally back home.
The Rebels spent 12 days either displaced in Oxford or on the road after Winter Storm Fern wreaked havoc in Lafayette County. In that time, the Rebels beat then-No. 5 Vanderbilt and ended that stretch 2-1.
“I’m really grateful as a coach,” coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said this week. “People talk about us being on the road for eight days, but it was more than that. We didn’t have power for the first four days, so we were displaced for about 12 days total.
“I told my team how proud I was of them. That loss was to a ranked team, so it didn’t hurt us as much, but this is a group that wants to host. These next seven games are really important for us.”
By host, McPhee-McCuin is talking about hosting a NCAA Regional, which is what the Rebels are in line to do based on the latest ESPN bracket projections. That fact isn’t being hidden on the team.
“They know. Probably more now than they did earlier in the season,” McPhee-McCuin said. “It was a goal they set from the beginning, but now they see how real it is. They’re watching bracketology and seeing what we’ve done.”
However, Selection Sunday is still a month away and a lot of movement in the tournament seedings can happen in that time. Ole Miss will have to handle its business each game and that starts Thursday against an Arkansas team searching for its first SEC win.
The Opponent: Arkansas
Arkansas rolls into Oxford as a team that’s taken its lumps but is starting to find its footing under first‑year head coach Kelsi Musick.
The Razorbacks opened SEC play with a brutal stretch of four straight ranked opponents and seven ranked foes in their first 10 league games and it showed. Early on, Arkansas struggled to score, turned the ball over far too often, and leaned almost entirely on Taleyah Jones for offense.
But the Hogs look different now. Since late January, they’ve bumped their scoring up to 72 points per game, cut turnovers by five a night, and found a more balanced attack with Jones, Taliah Robinson, and Bonnie Deas all averaging double figures.
Deas has been a force on the glass, ranking among the SEC’s best rebounders, and Arkansas sits top‑five in the league in boards per game.
How to Watch: Arkansas at Ole Miss
- Who: Arkansas Razorbacks (11-14, 0-10 SEC) at Ole Miss Rebels (19-5, 6-3 SEC)
- When: 8 p.m., Thursday
- Where: SJB Pavilion, Oxford, Miss.
- TV: SEC Network
- Radio: Live Radio
- Stats: Live Stats
- Series History: Ole Miss leads the all-time series 30-21
- Last Meeting: Mississippi State 79, Georgia 68
- Last time out, Rebels: lost to No. 21 Alabama, 64-63
- Last time out, Razorbacks: lost to Florida, 75-69
Ole Miss Top Performers
- Points: Cotie McMahon, 19.8 ppg
- Rebounds: Christeen Iwuala, 8.9 rpg
- Assists: Cotie McMahon, 65 (2.7 avg.)
- Steals: Sira Thienou, 40 (1.7 avg.)
- Blocks: Latasha Lattimore, 48 (2.0 avg.)
Arkansas Top Performers
- Points: Taleyah jones, 17.3 ppg
- Rebounds: Bonnie Deas, 9.2 rpg
- Assists: Emily Robinson, 68 (2.7 avg.)
- Steals: Bonnie Deas, 38 (1.52 avg.)
- Blocks: Ashlynn Chlarson, 24 (0.96 avg.)
Student-Athlete Availability Report
Arkansas
- All available.
Ole Miss
- All available.
Odds, Spread, Totals
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
- Arkansas: +23.5 (-114)
- Ole Miss: -23.5 (-114)
Moneyline
- Arkansas: +1500
- Ole Miss: -10000
Total
- Over: 144.5 (-114)
- Under: 144.5 (-114)
