Game one on Wednesday night of the SEC Tournament brought us an exciting matchup between the Ole Miss Rebels and South Carolina. Heading into the game on Wednesday night, Ole Miss seemed to have a bit of off-court distractions with the rumblings of Chris Beard being named the next Head Coach at Ole Miss. However, what started as an ugly game between the Gamecocks and Rebels, turned into an exciting opening act of the 2023 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.

In the first half, Ole Miss and South Carolina were deadlocked, with both teams failing to gain any ground on the other. As the first-half buzzer sounded, it was the Ole Miss Rebels with a narrow 30-29 lead over South Carolina.

The second half opened much as the first half ended. Ole Miss and South Carolina continued to trade blows well into the second half. With little to no separation between the two causing a unique Wednesday night opening act of the 2023 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Amaree Abrams nailed a monster pull-up three-pointer from way behind the arc with about six minutes remaining to extend the Ole Miss lead to eight. South Carolina would respond by cutting; the Rebels’ lead to 56-50 with 5:00 remaining in the game. Abrams would answer again, nailing a massive three to extend the Ole Miss lead to 59-52.

Ole Miss would eventually pull away from South Carolina to secure a first-round win in the 2023 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament. With the win over South Carolina on Wednesday, Ole Miss will now advance to the Thursday round, where the Rebels will take on the Tennessee Volunteers. Taking on Tennessee in the SEC Tournament will be no easy feat for the Rebels, as they need to play a near-perfect game to beat Tennessee.

Ole Miss and Tennessee last met on December 28th in Oxford, Mississippi, where the Volunteers escaped Ole Miss with a 63-59 win.

Ole Miss and Tennessee will be the second game on Thursday.