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Late Rebel rally comes up short in 94-87 loss to Arkansas

Ole Miss rallied late but couldn’t finish, falling 94-87 to Arkansas despite balanced scoring and a second-half push in Oxford.

Published

10 months ago

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Ole Miss Rebels guard Ilias Kamardine in game against the Arkansas Razorbacks

OXFORD, Miss. — There are nights when Ole Miss shows just enough fight to remind you why hope keeps sneaking back into the building.

Wednesday night was one of those evenings, even if the final score didn’t reward it.

The Rebels rallied late, trimmed the margin to four, and still walked off the floor with a 94-87 loss to Arkansas.

For Ole Miss, the effort was there. The finish was not.

The Rebs spent most of the night chasing a Razorbacks team that came in with balance, patience, and just enough free throws to make sure the chase stayed exhausting. Ole Miss never stopped running, but it never quite caught up either.

That was the story.

Arkansas built its advantage early, leaned on steady scoring across the lineup, and survived every Rebel push. Ole Miss, meanwhile, kept answering — just never with the one stretch that could flip the game.

Early holes are hard to climb out of

Ole Miss didn’t play poorly in the opening half, but it didn’t play clean enough either.

Arkansas closed the first 20 minutes on a 10-2 run, turning a manageable game into a 42-32 deficit at the break.

That’s not a knockout punch. But in SEC play, it’s the kind of margin that demands discipline, execution, and a little luck.

The Rebels got some of each — just not all at once.

Arkansas found comfort in balance, while Ole Miss kept searching for rhythm. The Rebs were close enough to believe, but far enough to feel the pressure creeping in.

If there was a positive takeaway, it came after halftime.

Ole Miss responded with energy, depth, and a steady rotation of scorers. Five Rebels reached double figures, a sign that the offense never stalled even when the scoreboard felt stubborn.

Ilias Kamardine and Malik Dia led the way with 16 points apiece. AJ Storr added 12. Eduardo Klafke found his groove after halftime and finished with 11. Patton Pinkins chipped in 10.

That’s balance. That’s effort. That’s the kind of box score that usually gives you a chance.

And it did — eventually.

Late push gave the Pavilion a pulse

Down the stretch, the Rebs finally made Arkansas uncomfortable.

Ole Miss cut the margin to 91-87 with under a minute remaining, bringing the crowd to its feet and forcing Arkansas to earn every breath. For a moment, it felt like one more stop could turn the whole night.

That stop never came.

Arkansas answered with a key jumper and followed it with a free throw, closing the door just enough to keep the Rebels on the outside.

It wasn’t dramatic. It was deliberate. And for Ole Miss, that made it sting more.

Free throws tell an unpleasant truth

The quiet separator in this game lived at the free-throw line.

Arkansas went 22-of-30, while Ole Miss never got the same volume or cushion.

Darius Acuff Jr. alone went 11-of-12, a reminder that close games often hinge on calm moments when the clock slows and the gym gets loud.

Ole Miss wasn’t reckless. It just wasn’t rewarded.

And when you’re chasing from behind, those empty trips — or missed chances to get to the line — stack up quickly.

Roster reality still showing

There’s no escaping context here.

The Rebels are still adjusting after losing four starters and several key rotation pieces from last season’s Sweet 16 team.

Nights like Wednesday show flashes of what’s coming, but also the gaps that remain.

Ole Miss has scoring. It has options. What it’s still building is the stretch-to-stretch consistency that turns late rallies into wins.

The effort wasn’t missing. The margin for error just stayed razor thin.

Where Ole Miss goes from here

The Rebs don’t leave Oxford licking wounds — they leave knowing they competed.

That’s not consolation. It’s information.

Ole Miss will stay home to host Missouri next, carrying both the frustration of what slipped away and the confidence that it wasn’t over until the final minute. In January, sometimes that’s the difference between folding and figuring it out.

This one didn’t break the Rebels.

It just reminded them how precise they still need to be.

Key takeaways

  • Five Ole Miss players reached double figures, keeping the offense competitive throughout.
  • The Rebs cut the deficit to four late but couldn’t get the final stop.
  • Arkansas’ free-throw efficiency made the difference in a close finish.
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Basketball

Ole Miss Basketball Appears in First Look at Expanded NCAA Tournament Field

Published

6 months ago

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May 8, 2026

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Ole Miss Men's Basketball during the game against Mississippi St. at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi on January 17, 2026. | Ole Miss Athletics

Most college sports fans saw Thursday’s news that the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are expanding to 76 teams. Eight additional teams will be added to what is currently the First Four, turning it into a 24‑team play‑in stage with 12 games across two days. The winners will join the 52 teams already slotted into the traditional first‑round bracket.

We already talked about what expansion means for both Ole Miss programs, and it’s still way too early to know which teams will actually benefit next season. But you know that won’t stop anyone from trying.

NCAA.com analyst Andy Katz posted his first 76‑team projection Friday morning, based on his initial Power 44 rankings for 2026‑27. Katz or his model must really like what Ole Miss has done this offseason. The Rebels show up at No. 39 in the Power 44 and land as a No. 10 seed in the South quadrant.

Again, it’s early. The last season ended a month ago. Ole Miss shouldn’t start booking hotel rooms in Pittsburgh just yet.

Still, this tells us two things about Ole Miss and the new tournament format.

First, it’s going to be hard for a middle‑of‑the‑pack SEC team to miss the field now. Second, if the bracket had been at 76 teams this past season, the committee would’ve had a real decision to make about the Rebels.

Maybe they get in. Maybe they don’t. Did they deserve a spot? Probably not, and adding eight more at‑large bids doesn’t change that much.

But the future looks better now for Ole Miss.

Andy Katz’s Initial Power 44

1. Duke

2. Florida

3. Michigan

4. Illinois

5. Tennessee

6. UConn

7. Arizona

8. Arkansas

9. Texas

10. Michigan State

11. Vanderbilt

12. Virginia

13. Kansas

14. Houston

15. Louisville

16. Alabama

17. Nebraska

18. Iowa State

19. Purdue

20. USC

21. Gonzaga

22. St. John’s

23. Miami (FL)

24. Indiana

25. Missouri

26. VCU

27. Saint Louis

28. UCLA

29. Ohio State

30. BYU

31. Iowa

32. Texas A&M

33. North Carolina

34. Providence

35. Baylor

36. Wisconsin

37. Auburn

38. Xavier

39. Ole Miss

40. Marquette

41. Texas Tech

42. Kentucky

43. Maryland

44. New Mexico

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Basketball

What NCAA Tournament Expansion Means for Ole Miss Basketball

Published

6 months ago

on

May 7, 2026

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

Missing the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments is about to get a lot harder.

Multiple outlets reported and the NCAA itself announced Thursday that the committees overseeing both tournaments have officially voted to expand the fields to 76 teams.

None of this should catch anyone off guard. The NCAA started exploring expansion about a year ago, and reports two weeks ago made it clear the process was in its final stages. Now it’s done. The new format will debut in 2027.

According to ESPN, top NCAA officials met with the tournament’s media partners to finalize the updated contracts before the vote. The committees required signed agreements before making anything official, and once those were in place, expansion moved forward.

The biggest change comes at the front end of the tournament. Eight additional teams will be added to what is currently the First Four. That round will grow into a 24‑team play‑in stage with 12 games spread across two days. The winners will join the 52 teams already slotted into the traditional first‑round bracket.

The NCAA is expected to rebrand the First Four language, but the structure stays familiar. The opening round will still include both automatic qualifiers and at‑large teams. All 16 seeds and half of the 15 seeds will make up half of the 24‑team group. The other half will come from the lowest‑seeded at‑large teams, including a mix of 11 and 12 seeds.

It’s a significant shift, but the goal is simple: more teams, more access, and fewer seasons ending on Selection Sunday with nothing to show for it.

What This Means for Ole Miss

On the women’s side, this doesn’t move the needle much. Yolett McPhee‑McCuin has raised the bar to the point where simply making the tournament isn’t the goal anymore.

Ole Miss wants to host a NCAA Regional for the first time in program history, and that standard doesn’t change with a bigger field.

The men’s side is a little different. It depends on the year. Two seasons ago, expansion wouldn’t have mattered. This past season, it would’ve changed everything.

Ole Miss finished 15-20 and sat at No. 80 in the NET. In a 76‑team bracket, that puts you on the bubble, and one more win in the SEC Tournament probably gets the Rebels into the field.

For programs in a league as deep as the SEC, the extra spots matter. The women’s side won’t feel much of a shift, but the men’s side absolutely will. Bubble teams in this conference won’t be living on the same razor’s edge anymore.

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Basketball

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Picture Comes Into Focus

Published

6 months ago

on

May 5, 2026

By

Ole Miss coach Chris Beard

It’s been two weeks since the transfer portal window closed, and after a slow start, Ole Miss is finally nearing the end of its roster‑building phase.

The Rebels have added seven transfers, plus TJ Clark who committed back in December. Four‑star recruits Jaron Saulsberry, Yohance Connor and Daniel Patton are also on the way this summer.

Those 10 newcomers will join Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins, the only returning Rebels, to form the foundation of next year’s roster.

The question is whether that’s enough, and whether Chris Beard is actually done adding.

The honest answer is maybe and probably not.

Nobody knows yet if this group will be better or worse than what Ole Miss just put on the floor.

There’s no headline addition, but that doesn’t mean the roster can’t mesh, grow together and avoid needing a miracle run in March.

There’s also the chance it looks like last season, when the pieces never fully clicked.

Given the current guard‑heavy build, it feels likely Beard will look for more frontcourt help. Stefan Cicic gives Ole Miss a true 7‑footer and Santiago Trouet adds more size, but the Rebels could still use another proven interior presence.

One name to watch is former Florida Atlantic forward Devin Williams, who has reportedly met with Ole Miss over Zoom and is visiting Arizona this week. Williams finished fifth nationally in blocks last season at 2.58 per game, which would give Beard a real defensive anchor inside.

In the end, Ole Miss won’t know what this roster really is until the group gets on the floor together, but the picture is at least starting to take shape.

Beard has rebuilt almost the entire program for the second straight offseason, and there’s still room for one or two more pieces to round it out.

Whether this version ends up being better, worse, or simply different from last year’s team is impossible to know in May, but the next additions will tell us plenty about how the Rebels plan to finish the job.

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker

Men

Outgoing

Incoming

  • Christian Brown, F, 6-8, Fr. (James Madison)
  • Stefan Cicic, C, 7-0, Fr. (Pepperdine)
  • Adam Clark, G, 5-10, Jr. (Seton Hall)
  • TJ Clark, G, 6-3 (Hermosillo)
  • Dasear Haskins, G, 6-8, So. (St. Joseph’s)
  • ND Okafor, F, 6-7, Jr. (Washington State)
  • Roman Siulepa, F, 6-6, Fr. (Pittsburgh)
  • Santiago Trouet, F, 6-10, Jr. (Arizona State)

Women

Outgoing

  • J’Adore Young, 6-4, C, Soph.
  • Sira Thinenou, 6-1, F, Soph.
  • Tianna Thompson, 5-10, G, Soph. (Baylor)

Incoming

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