Mississippi’s team, made up mostly of seniors, knew how important this season was.
The Rebels answered by achieving something the program hadn’t done in over 20 years.
Sean Pedulla scored 20 points, Jaemyn Brakefield added 19, and Ole Miss defeated Iowa State 91-78 on Sunday night to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history.
“We felt that pressure,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “We were kind of a win-or-bust team. We set the objective really high. We want to go in the tournament, we want to have a good seed. We want to be one of those teams that has a chance to win the tournament.
“And Ole Miss winning the tournament, probable? No. Possible? Absolutely.”
Mississippi (24-11) is one of seven Southeastern Conference teams still in the tournament, the most any conference has sent to the Sweet 16 in one season. Ole Miss fans started chanting “SEC!” with over 5½ minutes left and the game well out of reach.
Next for the sixth-seeded Rebels is No. 2 seed Michigan State in a South Region semifinal on Friday in Atlanta.
This is Ole Miss’ 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, and they’ve reached their first regional semifinal since 2001. What’s been the key to their success?
“(You’re) looking at the guy right there,” Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell said, pointing to Coach Beard at the postgame press conference. “Every day he instills confidence in us. We all trust the work we put in, the process, day in, day out, the consistency of it, never taking each day for granted, trying to maximize our 24 hours. Every day we’re just working, and we let the work show.”
Beard is trying for another deep March run after guiding Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA Tournament final.
After leaving Texas Tech for Texas, he was in the middle of his second season at Texas when he was fired in January 2023 following a domestic violence arrest. The charges were eventually dropped, and Ole Miss hired Beard just two months after Texas let him go.
Mississippi players celebrates in the 2nd halfNow he’s aiming for a Final Four run at his second school.
“This is all about the players,” Beard said. “These guys have bought in, they’ve been an unselfish group since the first day of summer. And to see their hard work pay off is really rewarding.”
Malik Dia scored 18 points for Ole Miss, and Murrell added 15. Jaylen Murray finished with 11.
Curtis Jones scored 26 points for the third-seeded Cyclones (25-10). Joshua Jefferson had 16 points, and Nate Heise scored 13.
After scoring 20 points in Iowa State’s 82-55 win over Lipscomb in the first round, Milan Momcilovic only managed five points in this game, shooting 2 of 12.
Ole Miss was a 5½-point underdog according to BetMGM Sportsbook, but they controlled the game for most of the night. The Rebels led by 26 points before Iowa State outscored them 26-13 in the last 5½ minutes.
After trailing 13-5 early, Ole Miss took charge. The Rebels went on a 20-2 run to turn a 15-8 deficit into a 28-17 lead.
“They’re a team that plays with a lot of toughness,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “They’re connected defensively, their switching can be disruptive. At times it wears on you mentally, you’re not able to get the ball in the paint and not get the normal plays that you want to make.”
Iowa State missed 12 of 13 shots and scored only two points during a first-half stretch that lasted 7 minutes, 43 seconds.
Iowa State’s Dishon Jackson scored the first two baskets of the second half to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 40-33, but the Rebels responded with an 8-1 run that finished with a Dre Davis dunk.
Ole Miss: The Rebels shot 58.2% from the field and made 11 of 19 three-pointers to secure the win.
Iowa State: Heading into the game, Ole Miss was ranked fifth and Iowa State 20th in turnover margin. That matchup tilted in Ole Miss’ favor on Sunday. Iowa State committed 15 turnovers and forced just eight. Ole Miss had a 20-7 edge in points off turnovers.
