Deep in the heart of Dixie, as the leaves change to bare nothingness and the excitement from football season has turned over to the hardwood, a new sense of pride has taken over the Magnolia State as Ole Miss and Mississippi State Basketball programs are in the best position then they’ve ever been in to win the Southeastern Conference. For those on the outside, basketball in the Sip has always been an afterthought, often overshadowed by baseball and football. However, over the last two seasons, Mississippi has invested in the sport, creating a euphoric mindset that has given the state hope in something other than baseball or football.

On one side of Mississippi, the Ole Miss Rebels are undefeated under first-year Head Coach Chris Beard as they approach the Southeastern Conference slate. Around the Ole Miss Basketball program, a new sense of culture and belonging has taken over Oxford as Coach Beard has transformed the program in a short period. On Sunday alone, Ole Miss played their final non-conference game against Bryant, and the line to get into the building to watch the Rebels play a mid-major program ahead of the Southeastern Conference slate starting on Saturday. In modern Ole Miss Basketball, there has never been such a response to a basketball team at Ole Miss than so far under Chris Beard and his staff. According to the Ole Miss ticket office, the first two home Southeastern Conference games against Vanderbilt and Florida are nearing sellouts.

In Starkville, Coach Chris Jans has Mississippi State Basketball right where he wants to have them ahead of starting the Southeastern Conference slate on Saturday morning as they travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to take on the Gamecocks of South Carolina. Mississippi State enters league play with an overall 11-2 record, riding high on a five-game winning streak as one of the hottest teams in college basketball. With the return of all-SEC standout Tolu Smith to the lineup for the Bulldogs, Coach Jans has his Mississippi State Basketball program primed for a shot at the Southeastern Conference crown. As far as the fan support, the folks in Starkville have packed in the newly renovated Hump in nearly every game in support of the Bulldogs. Led by stifling defense, Mississippi State will be a name to watch for as the Southeastern Conference progresses.

Unlike other basketball powers, Mississippi has history, but not all great. However, the state is a sleeping giant for basketball, with great potential to change the script in the Southeastern Conference, using the blueprint laid forth by those in Alabama by the Crimson Tide of Alabama and the Tigers of Auburn. If both of those programs in football-dominated states can compete for the Southeastern Conference and Final Fours, can do it, then Mississippi can have that as well.

Success in the Southeastern Conference might not happen this season, but basketball in Mississippi will reach the point of respect shortly. For as long as Chris Jans is the Head Coach at Mississippi State and Chris Beard at Ole Miss, basketball in the Sip will be an exciting event shared by generations of Mississippians to come.