Needing a win in the worst way possible, Coach Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels would welcome the Missouri Tigers to Oxford for a Saturday night showdown in the Southeastern Conference. 

Ole Miss came into the matchup with Missouri looking to win its first SEC game after dropping the first two conference games to Oklahoma and Arkansas. Ole Miss also brought an 8-7 overall record to the matchup on Saturday night. Barring a late-season change or a championship in the SEC Tournament, the likelihood of Ole Miss going from a Sweet 16 participant last season to winning the postseason altogether is a harsh reality for the Rebels as they face must-win situations for the rest of the way. 

For the Missouri Tigers, Coach Dennis Gates has his team rolling as they face the Rebels on Saturday night. The Tigers come to Oxford with a 2-0 conference record and 12-3 overall, riding high after taking down Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Wednesday night. 

Missouri jumped out to an early 13-7 lead at the under-16 media timeout of the first half. As the under-12 rolled around, it was still all Missouri as they led Ole Miss 22-12. Ole Miss cut into the Missouri lead at the under-8, making it 22-19 with 7:26 remaining in the half. At the final media timeout of the first half, it was the Ole Miss Rebels with a 30-29 advantage over the Tigers. Ole Miss would take a 37-36 lead to the break. 

AJ Storr led the way in scoring for the Rebels in the first half with 18 points. 

Ole Miss jumped out to a 46-43 lead over Missouri at the under-16 media timeout with 15:55 remaining in the game. Missouri retook a 55-53 lead at the under-12 second-half media timeout with 11:51 to play. Ole Miss maintained a 58-57 lead over Missouri at the under-8 media timeout with 8:20 to play in the game. At the final media timeout of the game, it was the Ole Miss Rebels holding a 64-62 lead over Missouri with 3:51 remaining. With 1:08 on the clock, Coach Chris Beard called an Ole Miss timeout as the Rebels led Missouri 69-66. Ole Miss would pull away at the end, earning a massive 76-69 win over Missouri on Saturday night. 

Two Ole Miss players scored over twenty points on Saturday night, with AJ Storr leading the way with 26 points, while Malik Dia finished his night with 21 points. 

Ole Miss looked like a different team on Saturday night, as the effort was there, and they took full advantage of Missouri going 12-24 from the charity stripe. Ole Miss did what it had to do on Saturday to look like the Rebels basketball team many expected to see back in November as they won the first SEC game of the year, and now have a win they can build off of to possibly make a run in conference play for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

Ole Miss will have two road games this week as they travel to Georgia on Wednesday, before they make the trip to the Hump to take on Josh Hubbard and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Basketball on X