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Andy Kennedy's Ole Miss Rebels (16-10, 7-6 SEC) have an NCAA berth seeding in the NIT on the line this afternoon, as they take on the No. 2 Florida Gators (24-2, 13-0 SEC) this afternoon in the Tad Pad on CBS. Barring an incredibly unlikely upset on the heels of a complete Rebel performance, this should be an Ole Miss loss. A Rebel win does raise an interesting question though, and that's if such a win would be good enough to put them back on the bubble. The answer, after a few seconds of thought, is "no, don't be silly," but it would still reignite some hope among the Rebel faithful.
Florida has been downright unstoppable on the year, even despite a few close calls as of late. The Gators are currently in the middle of a school-record 18 game winning streak, and their 13-0 SEC record is also unprecedented in Florida history. Yes, the SEC is perilously mediocre this season, but Florida is good enough to garner serious consideration as the nation's top squad. In the SEC, they lead the conference in scoring defense (57.8 points per game) and field goal percentage defense (.339). Their scoring margin is also the best in the SEC (+12.8).
On offense, Florida's best weapons are Casey Prather and Scottie Wilbekin, who average 15.7 and 13.6 points per game. Michael Frazier II is also valuable to Florida's offense, scoring just over 12 points per game and averaging 3.4 boards. Doiran Finney-Smith and Patric Young, who have been impressive all season on the boards, leads Florida with 7.1 and 6.3 rebounds a game, respectively.
But all the numbers I could toss at you don't really tell the story as effectively as a simple "Florida is a complete, well-rounded, and extremely talented basketball team." There's a reason they're legitimately eyeing a national championship.