Ole Miss continues to stay alive in the SEC Tournament and in doing so, keep its chances of earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament are still alive and well
No. 15-seed Ole Miss defeated No. 2-seed Alabama in the quarterfinal game and now advance to the semifinals, where they’ll face No. 3-seed Arkansas.
After Friday night’s win, Rebel guards Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins spoke with reporters about the upset victory. Here’s everything they said.
Pinkins on never trailing in the tournament…
I didn’t know that until I saw it on SEC Network. But yeah, I didn’t know that until I saw it on TV. We’re just playing our game. We’re not done yet. We have a game plan every day, and the coaching staff has done a great job with that. We’re just trying to play our best basketball in March.
Pinkins on final defensive possession…
I kind of found myself in no man’s land. I saw LeBaron driving to the basket and he made some kind of crazy pass. I didn’t see anybody on the three-point line. I saw the big catch it and I just tried to go make a play for us to win.
Kamardine on three-pointer to beat shot clock buzzer…
I just looked at the shot clock and saw two seconds left, so there was no way I wasn’t shooting it. I shot it and it went in. That was good for us.
Quand ça compte 🇫🇷🥶#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/HO1NgCpsZZ
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 14, 2026
Kamardine on taking important shots late…
Yes, that was the game plan. We knew they would play defense on me at certain moments in the game. I just tried to stay aggressive, play my game, control the game and make the right play at the right time.
Pinkins on arena atmosphere…
It was fun. It got loud when they went on a couple runs, but we stayed poised. When they made a run, we answered with one of our own. And we have fans that travel too. I heard we had six Ole Miss students who came to Nashville and skipped spring break to come to every game. Shout out to those six students.
Pinkins on Ole Miss’ role as underdog…
We’re just playing basketball. We could be the one seed or the 15 seed. We’re just playing Ole Miss basketball and trying to stay hot in March. The coaches have done a great job and we’re just going to keep fighting to the end.
Pinkins on being close to a NCAA Tournament bid…
It’s survive and advance. We’re not looking ahead. We take it one game at a time. Anybody can get hot in March, and we’re just trying to keep that going.
