Ole Miss and Vanderbilt battle tonight in regular season finale as SEC Tournament looms

Devontae Shuler and Romello White will be honored for a Senior Night game against Vanderbilt as the Ole Miss Rebels hold out hope for a postseason berth.

Ole Miss (14-10, 9-8 SEC) can still land the fifth seed and earn a first round bye in the SEC Basketball Tournament, but it will need help. On the other side of the coin, the Rebels could finish as low as eighth, which would make for a long week in Nashville and significantly dim the program’s chances for a bid in the NCAA Tournament.

Here are the potential scenarios, copied and pasted from the Ole Miss athletics website (because we are very lazy but also not dumb):

• No. 5 Seed: Win + Tennessee loss + Missouri loss
• No. 6 Seed: Win + Tennessee loss + Missouri win OR Win + Tennessee win + Missouri loss OR Loss + Missouri loss
• No. 7 Seed: Win + Tennessee win + Missouri win OR Loss + MSU loss + Missouri win OR Loss + MSU win + Missouri win + Tennessee win
• No. 8 Seed: Loss + MSU win + Missouri win + Tennessee loss

As of late Friday, Ole Miss ranked No. 56 in the NET rankings, and some analysts put the Rebels in the first four teams out or next four teams out of the tournament. Right now, the Rebels need nothing more than a convincing home win against Vanderbilt (8-14, 3-12 SEC). That being said, the best situation for head coach Kermit Davis is a win against Vanderbilt and an opportunity to nab two wins in the SECT despite who the opponents are in my opinion.

So, the stakes are very clear — a win doesn’t guarantee anything, but it is pretty dadgum necessary for postseason hopes to remain viable. The Rebels and the ‘Dores tip at 6pm on the SEC Network.