At last, it was the Ole Miss Rebels’ turn to hit the hardwood to compete in the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament. They met Texas A&M for the third time this season. Both need wins to continue the 2023-2024 season, setting the scene for a wild Thursday night of Southeastern Conference Basketball between the Rebels and Aggies. With Kentucky looming in the shadows, Ole Miss and Texas A&M needed to iron the kinks out Thursday night before Friday’s showdown with the Wildcats.

Ole Miss and Texas A&M exchanged blows during the first half as two prized boxers needed the final hit to advance to the next stage of March Madness.

As the first half developed, Texas A&M would hold a slight advantage over Ole Miss, with the Rebels failing to cross over the hump to tie or take the lead from the Aggies. Texas A&M held on for dear life at the break to a 35-31 lead over the Rebels. Ole Miss finished the first half with momentum with a monster block from Moussa Cisse, sending the Texas A&M ball two rows deep into press row. Three Ole Miss Rebels finished the half with eight points: Jaemyn Brakefield, Jaylen Murray, and Allen Flanigan. Ole Miss shot an okay 39.3 from the field while struggling from behind the arc with a dismal 33.3%. Wade Taylor finished the half with nine points to lead the Texas A&M Aggies in scoring.

Ole Miss opened the second half with a mid-range jumper blocked by Washington from Texas A&M. At the under-16 media timeout of the second half, Texas A&M held on to a 40-38 lead over the Rebels. At the under-12 media timeout, Texas A&M still had a slight 46-41 lead over Ole Miss. At the under-8 media timeout, Texas A&M extended the lead to 54-45 over the Rebels as the life started to leave the soul of Ole Miss. With that in mind, Ole Miss fought like hell to cut the Aggies lead to 61-58 with 2:15 remaining in the game. Short-lived, Texas A&M extended the lead back to 65-58 with 1:16 remaining.

As the game progressed, it felt as if Ole Miss could ever tie or take the lead, the Rebels would prevail. However, too many costly turnovers, less than shot selection, and low-IQ basketball would cost Ole Miss a fall and cause them to await their fate in postseason basketball as they dropped a pivotal bubble game on Thursday night to Texas A&M.

Ultimately, Texas A&M was too much for the Rebels as the Aggies advanced to play Kentucky on Friday night.

Regarding what’s next for the Rebels, the NCAA Tournament is out. With several teams already opting out of the NIT, if Ole Miss wants a few extra practices, that might be the road to go down; if not, turn the page to next season.