Basketball

Ole Miss rotation still a work in progress after Arkansas loss

Ole Miss showed late fight against No. 15 Arkansas as Chris Beard’s rotation changes hint at progress early in SEC play.

Published

8 months ago

January 8, 2026

Taylor Hodges

Ole Miss Men's Basketball during the game against Arkansas at The SJB Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford, MS on January 7, 2026. | Photo by Hailey Austin/Ole Miss Athletics.

The trials, tribulations and woes that plagued Ole Miss men’s basketball during non-conference play have been well-documented.

Through two SEC games those issues haven’t totally disappeared, but the Rebels’ play has improved as coach Chris Beard searches for the right rotation of players.

One of his most significant changes took place Wednesday night in a 94-87 loss to No. 15 Arkansas. AJ Storr had started all 14 games for Ole Miss this season, but was on the bench to start against the Razorbacks. In his place was Eduardo Klafke.

Klafke was 4-for-5 from the field and finished the game with 11 points, one rebound, three assists, two steals and a block. Storr saw the same amount of playing time (19 minutes) as Klafke and posted similar numbers. He had 12 points, one rebound, two assists and a block. The biggest difference was Storr was 5-for-10 from the field and 0-for-2 on three-pointers (Klafke was 1-for-2).

Based on Beard’s post-game comments, Klafke can expect his 10.9 minutes per game increase significantly.

“It was great to see,” Beard said of Klafke’s performance. “He earned the right to start tonight, and the way he played in the second half showed the confidence and aggressiveness we need.

“We’ve talked about this before; it hasn’t been an ideal rotation situation this season. But we know Klafke is going to play hard and bring effort. As he continues to produce, he could have a really good rest of the season. He was aggressive, locked in, and deserving of the minutes he got. He’ll continue to get them.”

Search for rotation continues

The search for the ideal rotation will obviously continue and a lot of Rebels are getting opportunities to earn more playing time. Against Arkansas, 12 different Rebels saw at least six minutes of playing time. Four were on the court for 20 or minutes and four more ranged between 11-19 minutes.

“We’ll keep practices competitive and evaluate everything objectively,” Beard said. “We’re going to keep having open conversations with our players about expectations. It starts with attitude, effort, and body language.

“I’ll have to watch the film, but the end of that game was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Guys are getting opportunities. Now we need more production, and our coaching staff has to be better, too.”

The “fun” time Beard mentioned was when the Rebels mounted a late comeback bid against Arkansas.

Ole Miss trailed 88-75 with 4:19 left in the game and outscored the Razorbacks 10-6 in the closing stretch. However, the closest the Rebels would get is a four-point deficit with 61 seconds left to play.

“We just had guys out there who were playing really hard,” Ole Miss senior Malik Dia said. “Everybody on the team could score the ball. We just had guys out there who were playing pretty hard and who made a lot of plays. Shout out to that last group and the guys who were on the bench were sitting there encouraging them.”

Next Up

Expect to see a similar number of Ole Miss players on the court for its next SEC game against Missouri on Saturday. The Tigers are coming off a 73-68 win against Kentucky to improve to 12-3 overall and 2-0 in SEC play.

Tipoff Saturday in Oxford is set for 5 p.m.

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Basketball

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

Published

4 months ago

May 8, 2026

Taylor Hodges

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.

🚨 FIRST 76-TEAM BRACKET PREDICTION 🚨@TheAndyKatz makes his first bracket prediction for the 2027 tournament, complete with matchup projections for the new Opening Round 🔮 pic.twitter.com/hNeK8q7QDe

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 8, 2026

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.

Full seed list from @TheAndyKatz ✍️ pic.twitter.com/fN4jvq9w83

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 8, 2026

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

Basketball

What NCAA Tournament Expansion Means for Ole Miss Basketball

Published

4 months ago

May 7, 2026

Taylor Hodges

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.

The NCAA Tournament will officially expand to 76 teams starting in 2027.

👉 https://t.co/g81aEaAjqU pic.twitter.com/Sd6uLF7Mcc

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026

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.

A look at the new bracket 👀 pic.twitter.com/esm18WdUSJ

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2026

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.

Basketball

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Picture Comes Into Focus

Published

4 months ago

May 5, 2026

Taylor Hodges

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.