March 13, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard speaks with guard Travis Perry (11) during the second half break against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images Ole Miss coach Chris Beard broke the Southeastern Conference tournament into a series of mini-tournaments.
So far, the bracket busting has been good.
The 15th-seeded Rebels (15-19) took a 14-point lead and pulled off three straight comeback wins to advance to the SEC semifinals in Nashville on Friday afternoon, beating No. 2 seed and No. 15 Alabama 80-79 on Friday.
Our next opponent is Ole Miss. Third-seeded and 17th-ranked Arkansas (24-8) defeated 11th-seeded Oklahoma 82-79 on Friday, going all the way behind Darius Acuff Jr.’s 37 points.
The winner of Arkansas-Ole Miss will play either top-seeded Florida or fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the SEC championship game on Sunday.
“We put together our second four-team tournament here in Nashville,” Beard said. Beard’s team also defeated Texas and Georgia in the first two rounds. “Tomorrow we will have a chance to win this four-team tournament.”
The game is another must-win for the Rebels, who have lost 12 of their final 13 regular season games and whose only path to the NCAA Tournament is an automatic berth to the SEC winner. They are looking for their first conference title since 2013.
As the Razorbacks look for their first SEC title since 2000, Arkansas and freshman Acuff are standing in the way.
Acuff’s 37 points were two points short of Todd Day’s school tournament record set in 1992. Acuff hit five 3-pointers in his return to the floor after missing the regular-season finale against Missouri due to a nagging injury that left him in the boot at times.
Acuff’s final 3-pointer on Friday beat the shot clock for a 79-75 lead with 27 seconds left, and he made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left to give Oklahoma enough of a cushion. He also recorded 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
“What he did and how he did it…” Arkansas coach John Calipari said on SEC Network. “He’s unselfish, but he can take chances.”
Calipari turned to Acuff.
“Did you miss another free throw?” the coach asked.
Acuff responded, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Trevon Brazile collected 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Razorbacks, who were playing their first tournament game after receiving a double bye.
Ole Miss is playing its fourth game in as many days.
“There are no excuses here,” Beard said. “Depth is one of the things our team has. We’re not going to take this deal where we play three games in three days. Who cares? It’s basketball.”
The Rebels alternated heroes and utilized strong defense and group efforts to build double-digit leads in each game.
AJ Storr and Malik Dia are tied for the team lead with 54 points, while Dia has 16 rebounds. Elias Camardin, who made the plays Ole Miss needed to beat Alabama, had two 16-point games.
James Scott had two double-digit rebounding games and his defensive play slowed down Alabama’s drives in the final seconds. Travis Perry scored 16 points against Georgia.
“We could be a No. 1 seed or we could be a No. 15 seed,” said Patton Pinkins of the Rebels. “We’re playing Ole Miss basketball and trying to stay hot in March.”
The Rebels defeated two of the three highest-scoring teams in Division I. Ole Miss held Texas to 35.2 percent shooting from the floor and Georgia, which averaged 90.4 points per game, to 36.4 percent shooting.
“Now we’re going to have a team play for the fourth time in four days,” Calipari said. “And it doesn’t matter.”
–Field level media
