Facing another season-ending game, the Ole Miss Rebels would take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday night, with Alabama on the horizon on Friday. These two met just once in the regular season, with the Rebels coming out on top 97-95 in Athens back in late January. 

As it was with the Rebels last night, a loss and the 2025-2026 season would be over, a win and the Rebels would stick around for at least one more day in Nashville as they look to contuine the journey of trying to shock the world by winning the 2026 Southeastern Conference for the first time since 2013 when Marshall Henderson and the boys went on a similar journey that ended with a championship win over the Florida Gators. A little different than 2013: that team came into the Southeastern Conference Tournament as the third seed and was likely on its way to the NCAA Tournament; the Rebels came into the 2026 tournament as the 15th seed with just four SEC wins on the season. In order to reach the NCAA Tournament this season, Ole Miss would need to win five games in five days, but another win in the SEC Tournament would be a start in the right direction. 

Ole Miss would jump on Georgia early, building a sizable 34-20 halftime lead over the Bulldogs. At intermission, it was AJ Storr leading the way for the Rebels with 11 first-half points. 

As the second progressed, Ole Miss built a large double-digit lead, and did everything they could possibly do to allow for Georgia to mount a comeback, and the Bulldogs just about did that. However, the culture boys and Coach Beard somehow escaped with a 76-72 victory to advance to play Alabama on Friday night of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. 

Just like Wednesday night, Ole Miss had a balanced attack, with Travis Perry, Malik Dia, and AJ Storr all scoring in double digits in the win over Georgia. AJ Storr finished his night with 19 points, making him the leading scorer for the Rebels. Perry finished with 16, and Dia had 17. 

You know the old saying, “Don’t let the Rebs get hot,” which started as a joke during the 2022 College World Series run by the baseball team, has since become a mantra for the rest of the athletic department in postseason play. Ole Miss has done exactly that; they’ve gotten hot, and now the Rebels are two wins away from playing for an SEC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2013. Here’s the thing: what we’re seeing in this SEC Tournament is the Ole Miss team we all expected to see back in November, but never came around due to an identity crisis. Now that the backs are against the wall, that hunger to earn another game is driving this run in the SEC Tournament. It was never a talent issue for Ole Miss this season, and we’re seeing that in Nashville, as they prepare for Alabama on Friday night, it’ll be a third game in three days, and fatigue might be creeping in, but why not stop now? Why not make history and take Ole Miss back to the SEC Semi-final round? Ole Miss has nothing to lose and everything to gain, go out and continue playing to the fullest potential because the next day is not guaranteed. 

Ole Miss will continue the journey on Friday night with the first game of the night session against Alabama. Another tall task for the Rebels, as they lost the line meeting 93-74. 

Photo credits- SEC on X