Looking for a get-right game after a heartbreaking loss on Wednesday night, Ole Miss traveled into the belly of the beast on Saturday night to take on the 22nd-ranked Missouri Tigers on their home court in Columbia, Missouri.

As we see each night, going on the road in the Southeastern Conference is no easy adventure; if you lose at home before the road game, you’re likely on track to lose another one for a second straight. When you play in the best conference in college basketball, there are no off nights; Ole Miss had to face a confident Missouri team who came into the matchup ranked inside the top 25 and looking for a get-right game after falling on the road to Texas on Tuesday night. With a 3-2 road record, Coach Chris Beard knew that the Rebels would be challenging to overcome going into Missouri in front of a sold-out crowd.

Despite keeping things respectful with the Missouri Tigers, Ole Miss fell victim to the road woes on Saturday night, dropping to 15-5 and 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play. Ole Miss made the fourth road team out of five teams who have played so far on Saturday to lose a road game within Southeastern Conference play.

With the loss to the Missouri Tigers on Saturday night, the Rebels have now lost two in a row for the first time this season. With a home game against Texas on the horizon on Wednesday night, the Rebels face the reality of gut check time. Adversity comes and goes, especially in the Southeastern Conference, but Ole Miss has all the pieces to continue making the 2024-2025 season unique. However, first, one must go through the valley to reach the mountaintop. All the pieces are on the roster to make a deep run in March, but this team’s legacy will be defined by how they respond to back-to-backback-to-back losses with a Texas team that just beat the team that broke the Rebel’s hearts on Wednesday night. If the Rebels come out, punch Texas in the mouth, and finish them early on, the last two games will be a distant memory for all of Rebel Nation, including Coach Beard.

Not allowing two losses to turn into three will showcase the mental fortitude of the 2024-2025 Ole Miss team. They still have games against Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi State. The next chapter of the season has the potential to be one that folks in Oxford talk about for generations to come.

Photo Credits: Ole Miss and Mizzou Basketball on X