Ole Miss vs Arkansas: SEC Semifinals Showdown

0:00On March 14, Ole Misses pulled off three straight upsets in the Southeastern Conference tournament, punching their tickets to the semi-finals as the 15th seed with a 15 and 19 record. They built a 14-point lead and edged out 2nd seeded 15th ranked Alabama 80-79 on Friday in Nashville. Now the Rebels faced 3rd seeded 17th ranked Arkansas, who are 24 and 8 after knocking off 11th seeded Oklahoma 82, 72, 79. Arkansas leaned on freshman Darius Ackoff Jr., who dropped 37 points including five three-pointers in his return from an ankle injury. The Razabax got a double buy into the quarterfinals, while Ole Miss has grinded through four games in four days, beating Texas in Georgia before. Alabama. Coach Chris Beard calls this stretch a mini-14 tournament with a shot at the title on Sunday. Both teams carry big stakes into Saturday afternoons clash. Ole Miss stumbled through 12 losses in their final 13 regular season games,

1:01and needs the automatic NCAA tournament bid from an SEC Championship, their first since 2013. Arkansas hasn't hoisted the conference trophy since 2000, and their coach sees no edge in Ole Misses fatigue. The Rebels have clamped down on high-powered offenses, holding Texas and Georgia well under their averages with double-digit leads each time. Multiple players have stepped up from scoring outbursts to key rebounds and defense in crunch time. Arkansas, meanwhile, boasts balance with double doubles and clutch shooting. Whoever wins meets either top-seated Florida or fourth-seated Vanderbilt in the SEC final, keeping the door open for more March Madness from this. Unlikely run.