Path to a Title: Ole Miss Rebels Clinch First NCAA Tournament Appearance Since 2019

The Ole Miss Rebels punch their ticket to the "Big Dance" after a standout season, find out their fate.

Mississippi Rebels guard Sean Pedulla (3) celebrates his game-winning shot against Arkansas during their second round game of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 13, 2025. The Rebels advanced to the third round with the 83-80 win. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels have now officially earned their spot into the coveted 68 team NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time since the 2018-2019 season following the CBS March Madness Selection Show.

The Rebels are officially slotted as the No. 6 seed in the South Region; earning the highest rank since their last appearance and earning their sixth Top-10 seed in program history.

LET'S GO DANCING!!!

We're the 6 Seed in the South Region and we're heading to Milwaukee where we'll face the winner of San Diego State and North Carolina!#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/OPGy2fWI2w

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 16, 2025

The Rebels opponent however, is not as clear cut.

Ole Miss will take on the winner of the First Four Out matchup between San Diego State University (SDSU) and University of North Carolina (UNC).

Chris Beard and his squad will be watching that Tuesday matchup in their final preparations for Friday.

The Rebels' Thursday game will be taking place in Milwaukee Wisconsin at the Fiserv Forum, the home of the NBA Milwaukee Bucks and fellow tournament members Marquette Golden Eagles.

Ole Miss was just one of a record breaking 14 of 16 SEC teams selected to this year's tournament breaking the Big East's record of 11.

The Rebels fellow SEC members in the tournament include: Auburn, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Missouri, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Texas with the lowest seeded team being No. 11.

The Rebels season was full of ups and downs such as starting 4-0 in conference play by beating Georgia, Arkansas, LSU, and No. 4 Alabama.

However, the Rebels went on a three-game skid after being taken down by No.15 Mississippi State, No.13 Texas A&M, and No. 22 Missouri.

The Rebels then took a nail bitter over Texas, but quickly dropped to the No. 1 team in country, the Auburn Tigers.

However, the rollercoaster of a regular season continued as they took down the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats in convincing fashion to kick off a three-game win streak as they took down LSU on a buzzer beater and a late game hold against South Carolina.

The thrill ride hit a low for the following three games however as in that time both Mississippi State and Auburn completed the season sweep over Ole Miss and taking a loss to Vanderbilt sandwiched in between

The Rebels theme of the year extended as they entered March after starting the month 2-0 by taking down Oklahoma and No. 4 Tennessee on game winning shots with under 10 seconds to go.

Thee regular season ended on a low when they traveled to Gainesville and were defeated handily by the No. 5 Gators.

This left the Rebels seeded at 8 heading into the SEC Tournament, granting them a first round bye.

This led to a regular season rematch between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Ole Miss Rebels, and just like the name of March, madness ensued.

The Rebels came away with their third game winning shot of March as Sean Pedulla took advantage of the Razorbacks missed free throws connecting on a pull up three with just over 1 second remaining.

The last second heroics set a third matchup between Auburn and Ole Miss.

Auburn and Ole Miss stayed close and even looked like the Rebels would pull off another March upset.

Then, SEC Player of the Year and National Player of the Year Finalist Johni Broome iced the game with an easy two points with under five seconds to go.

All of the crazy from this season has now led the Rebels and the Ole Miss faithful to Selection Sunday, and learning their fate.

The Rebels will begin their run at destiny on Friday as they await to find out not just who they are playing, but the time of the game as well.

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