Ah, it’s Southeastern Conference Tournament week across the Southeast as conference members and their fans prepare to take over the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, for an exciting week of basketball. For Mississippi State and Ole Miss, the upcoming week can make or break the season, as both programs are fighting for their lives with an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.

On one side, Head Coach Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels have to win the SEC Tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament. There’s no way around it; the Rebels must win the SEC Tournament or miss the NCAA Tournament. The road ahead for the Ole Miss Rebels is challenging. Ole Miss will enter the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament as the 10th seed, facing Texas A&M on Thursday afternoon, a Texas A&M team that embarrassed the Rebels on Saturday afternoon in Oxford. Texas A&M dominated the Rebels 86-60 on Saturday, leaving Chris Beard offering the Rebel Nation in attendance a refund on tickets purchased due to a lackluster performance. Thursday will be the third meeting between the two this season; Ole Miss took the first game 71-68 in College Station before the debacle on Saturday. If Ole Miss were to beat Texas A&M on Thursday night, the Rebels would face Kentucky on Friday night for a trip to the Southeastern Conference Final Four on the line.

Sure, Ole Miss might be behind the eight ball with the matchups in Nashville, but this is March. The unthinkable often happens in March, especially with teams in Ole Miss’s position. Taking one game at a time, surviving, and advancing will be the difference maker for the Rebels as they enter the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament as an underdog.

For Mississippi State, the Bulldogs enter the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament with a Thursday morning matchup with the LSU Tigers in the 8/9 game. A win over LSU and the Mississippi State Bulldogs will have a rematch on Friday with the 2023-2024 Southeastern Conference Regular Season Champion, the Tennessee Volunteers. Although challenging, many are speaking highly regarding the odds of the Bulldogs making a deep run to the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament weekend.

As of Sunday, March 10th, Joe Lunadi of ESPN.com has Mississippi State on the bubble as one of the last four into the NCAA Tournament. Needing a win or two, Mississippi State will have to put the what-ifs behind them and take on the 2024 Southeastern Conference the way Head Coach Chris Jans has prepared his Bulldogs to do. There’s a lot of potential on the roster to make this week in Nashville memorable for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. It won’t be easy, but behind Josh Hubbard, Tolu Smith, and others, the Bulldogs have the make of a classic dark horse to make some noise during the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament.

All the action from Nashville will get underway on Wednesday night with two games before both Mississippi schools take the court on Thursday.