Saturday in the Sip was a special day as Mississippi State and; Ole Miss met on the hardwood at the Pavillion on the Ole Miss campus. Mississippi State came into the matchup with Ole Miss looking to complete the season sweep of the Rebels. For Ole Miss, Saturday’s matchup with in-state rival Mississippi State was about playing season spoiler to the Bulldogs and salvaging an embarrassingly terrible season for the Rebels.

As expected, Saturday’s matchup between the two was about as ugly and physically demanding as it comes. Head Coach of the Ole Miss Rebels, Kermit Davis, and his staff put together an excellent game plan that provided the Rebels a chance to knock off the visiting Mississippi State Bulldogs. However, Mississippi State was too much for Ole Miss as the Rebels took them to overtime before the Bulldogs came out on top 69-61.

In regulation on Saturday, Ole Miss pushed Mississippi State to an uncomfortable state. However, once in overtime, Ole Miss ran out of steam, and the cream rose to the top. Mississippi State has struggled to score points this season but has excelled on the defensive side of the court.

For Ole Miss, even in the loss on Saturday to Mississippi State, Rebel Basketball fans can hang on to the best effort we have seen from Ole Miss all season. Ole Miss has been a weird basketball to watch, Ole Miss has some potential talent on the roster, but the Rebels have been embarrassingly terrible this season. With just two weeks remaining until the SEC Tournament, Ole Miss is preparing the program for a coaching change as Kermit Davis is on his way out the door.

For Mississippi State, Saturday was about rebounding after losing on Wednesday night to Kentucky. It wasn’t pretty offensively, but Mississippi State escaped Oxford with a win. A loss on Saturday and the season would have been on the brink of failure. Mississippi State has some work to do to make it to the NCAA Tournament, but the Bulldogs are at the doorstep. Wins in the remaining four games of the regular season would help Mississippi State take that step off the bubble eliminating an unbearable amount of pressure in the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State hits the road again on Tuesday night as the Bulldogs travel to Missouri to take another bubble team in the Tigers.