Well, the audition in Nashville wasn't pretty. But, someone has to be an extra in the background of every scene, right? After the Rebels' heartbreaking and disappointing loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament, it seemed that Ole Miss was destined to pull the cover off the Tad Pad and dust it off one more time for a NIT run.
But the powers that be in Indianapolis felt the Rebs had proven enough over the course of the year to get into the field of 68... or they were getting a head start on St. Patrick's Day. Either way, all that matters now is the showdown with BYU Tuesday night in Dayton.
Now the annual time of year when all the "experts" get out their Sharpies and fill out bracket after bracket and crown a champion. Well, after combing most of the carefully-crafted conjectures, it ain't pretty for our boys clad in red and blue.
Here are some of the notable predictions that I stumbled across:
- ESPN's Eamonn Brennan has Ole Miss as a "high-major meh." How's that for a HOT SPROTZ TAKE?!?!?!?!
- Myron Medcalf sees BYU scooting past Kennedy's bunch and eventually punching their ticket to the Sweet 16.
- The Statistician Magician, Nate Silver, came up with some nifty numbers rather quickly on the tournament and lists Ole Miss as No. 11 in his computerized West Region power rankings. He also gives the Rebs a .4 percent chance to make the Final Four. Start dancing, folks.
- SBNation's own Ricky O'Donnell also believes that the Stormin' Mormons have the recipe for a mini-run in the West Region. He picks them to get past the Rebs and Xavier before losing to Baylor.
- For what it's worth, several national writers here at CBSSports.com pick the Ole Miss/BYU winner to make it past Xavier. Also, all of them seem so perplexed by this juggernaut matchup in the Buckeye State, that they've merely listed "MISS/BYU" on their bracket. So that's good, right, y'all?
- Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Eisenberg lists BYU as one of his double-digit seeds with Cinderella potential.
As you can see, there's not a lot of faith shown from the "experts" on the Rebels getting out of Dayton with a win and facing the Musketeers of Xavier in DUVAAAAL. But those damn experts aren't out on the hardwood shooting the hoops and taking charges for the ladies, are they?
So be loud and proud if you're in UD Arena Tuesday night. If not, drink responsibly.