Ole Miss basketball players celebrate a SEC Tournament win against Alabama on Friday night. | Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss basketball players celebrate a SEC Tournament win against Alabama on Friday night. | Ole Miss Athletics

How to Watch Ole Miss vs. Arkansas in the SEC Tournament Semifinals

BY Taylor Hodges

Will Ole Miss’ magical run in the SEC Tournament continue?

A team that won just four conference games during the regular season shouldn’t be sitting in the semifinals with two straight games of scoreboard control. But here we are, getting ready for the Rebels’ SEC Tournament semifinal matchup with No. 17 Arkansas.

Once again, the Razorbacks are another opponent Ole Miss played close in the regular season but couldn’t finish off, losing 94-87 back in early January. The difference now is that this looks like a much more confident Ole Miss team, one that has started to figure out how to close out tight games instead of letting them slip away.

Here’s what to know heading into Saturday afternoon in Nashville.

The Opponent: Arkansas

The Razorbacks are in the SEC Tournament semifinals after winning their first game of the tournament, 82-79, against No. 11-seed Oklahoma. They got 37 points from SEC Player of the Year Darius Acuff Jr. after trailing at halftime.

The Razorbacks were down four with 9:38 to play. The Hogs tied the game and, over the next four minutes, there were three ties. The last tie was 67-67 with 5:38 to play before Arkansas went on a 9-2 run to lead by seven (76-69) with 2:27 to play.

Oklahoma kept battling and was down two with 53 seconds left. With 29 ticks left, Oklahoma’s Mohamed Wague blocked a shot but Arkansas retained possession. With five seconds left on the shot clock, Acuff took the inbounds pass and made a tough jumper on the right baseline to give Arkansas some breathing room. Meleek Thomas sank two free throws with 18 seconds left to put Arkansas up four. After a basket by the Sooners, Acuff went 1-of-2 at the line with 10 seconds left. Oklahoma had one last 3-point attempt but came up empty.

Trevon Brazile added his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Acuff added five rebounds and five assists.

How to Watch: No. 15 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Arkansas

  • Who: Ole Miss Rebels (15-19, 4-14 SEC) vs. No. 17 Arkansas Razorbacks (24-8, 13-5 SEC)
  • When: approx. 2:30 p.m., Saturday
  • Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
  • TV: ESPN
  • Radio: Live Radio
  • Stats: Live Stats
  • Series History: Arkansas leads the all-time series 53-36
  • Last Meeting: Arkansas 94, Ole Miss 87 (January 7)
  • Last time out, Rebels: def. No. 15 Alabama, 80-79
  • Last time out, Razorbacks: def. Oklahoma, 82-79

Ole Miss Top Performers

  • Points: AJ Storr, 15.3 ppg
  • Rebounds: Malik Dia, 5.7 rpg
  • Assists: Ilias Kamardine, 129 (3.8 avg.)
  • Steals: Ilias Kamardine, 44 (1.3 avg.)
  • Blocks: James Scott, 43 (1.3 avg.)

Alabama Top Performers

  • Points: Darius Acuff Jr., 22.7 ppg
  • Rebounds: Trevon Brazile, 7.3 rpg
  • Assists: Darius Acuff Jr., 198 (6.4 avg.)
  • Steals: Meleek Thomas/Trevon Brazile, 47 (1.5 avg.)
  • Blocks: Trevon Brazile, 50 (1.6 avg.)

Student-Athlete Availability Report

Ole Miss

TBA

Arkansas

TBA

Odds, Spread, Totals

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

  • Ole Miss: +9.5 (-110)
  • Arkansas: -9.5 (-110)

Moneyline

  • Ole Miss +350
  • Arkansas: -465

Total

  • Over: 157.5 (-115)
  • Under: 157.5 (-105)

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