For just the second time in program history, the Ole Miss Rebels played on Friday night of the second weekend in the NCAA Tournament for a Sweet 16 matchup with the Michigan State Spartans.

You hear the saying, “Defense travels. ” For the Ole Miss Rebels to beat Michigan State, the tenacious Ole Miss defensive unit would have to make the trip on Friday night. As the first half rolled on at full steam ahead, so did the Ole Miss defense, holding Michigan State to 19 points at the final media timeout of the first half. As the seconds ticked away on the first-half clock, the adjustments made during that media timeout by Coach Izzo forced the Rebels to call a timeout with 1:09 on the first-half clock as the Michigan State Spartans had cut the Ole Miss lead had been cut to 33-25. However, the Rebels would hold on to a 33-31 lead at halftime, with Sean Pedulla leading the way in scoring for Ole Miss with eight points.

As the curtains broke way to the second half, Ole Miss kept their foot on the throttle as they raced out to a 47-39 lead at the under-16 media timeout before a slight Michigan State run cut the game to 48-41 at the under-12 media timeout. At the under-8 media timeout, Michigan State had cut the Ole Miss lead to one as the Rebels hung on to a 50-49 lead over the Spartans.

Ultimately, Michigan State was too much for the Rebels as the Spartans ended the Rebels season 73-70 in the Sweet 16.

Losing is never fun, but there’s still a lot to build off for next season as Chris Beard and his staff look to continue the momentum from this season to take Ole Miss to the next level by winning the SEC Tournament and reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Photo Credits – Ole Miss Basketball on X