The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rivalry Game with NCAA Tournament Implications
1/22/2015 | Women's Basketball, Blog
Ole Miss closes out a three-game stretch in which they will have faced three consecutive ranked opponents when they welcome No. 18 Mississippi State on Thursday night. The Rebels are 1-1 through the first two games of the stretch, having defeated No. 18 Georgia and lost to No. 11 Texas A&M.
Short-term, the goal is to get to 2-1 over the three-game stretch. Long-term, the goal is eight Southeastern Conference wins, which would position Ole Miss (14-5, 4-2 SEC) well for a possible NCAA Tournament bid.
"It's a huge opportunity for us to continue to build a resume for the NCAA Tournament," head coach Matt Insell said. "How you build that resume is you beat top-20 teams, and we have a chance to beat another one here on our home court. That would be a huge win for us, a huge win our program and a huge win for where we want to go at the end of this year.
As it stands right now, Ole Miss boasts RPI Top 50 wins over Georgia (No. 35) and Arkansas (No. 49) and has another opportunity in Mississippi State (19-2, 4-2 SEC), which is ranked No. 41 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. The Rebels were among the "Next Four Out" in Charlie Creme's latest ESPN Bracketology, which was released Monday.
"They know each game is important," said Insell of his team. "This game is very important because it's a resume-building game for our team in terms of the NCAA Tournament. It's a game where you can put in on your resume that you beat another top-20 team and you did in the span of a week. This is a chance for them to build their resume to get to where they want to get."
Similar to when the schools met in football this past fall, it's been historic, and by some accounts, unexpected seasons for both women's basketball programs. Ole Miss, picked last in the SEC preseason coaches' pool, is off to its best overall start since the 2009-10 season, while Mississippi State, picked 8th in the same poll, is off to its best overall start in program history.
"When the season started, I don't think people thought Ole Miss and Mississippi State would be 4-2 in SEC play when they meet here in the third week in January," Insell said. "I don't think people thought we would be 14-5 and they would be 18-2. It's two teams that are trying to change the landscape of women's basketball in this state and let people know that there's really good women's basketball in the state of Mississippi. I'm happy that we're a part of that."
Ole Miss has already notched its first win over an AP-ranked team, the program's first since the 2010-11 season, and they played two more to within single-digits, both on the road, against No. 11 Kentucky and No. 11 Texas A&M, so there's no sneaking up on anyone, as the Rebels enter the heart of SEC play in contention for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2006-07 season.
"I told them that it gets even tougher now, and we have to know that," Insell said. "It's going to get tougher, so we have to step it up even more, and we have to continue doing that. There's no sneaking up on anyone. We're here. We're inside the house. People see us, and they know we're here. And now we have to learn how to play when we're here."
