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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Matt Mott Weekly Press Conference
11/6/2017 | Soccer
Ole Miss Soccer Head Coach Matt Mott met with members of the media on Monday as part of his weekly press conference. Coach Mott recapped last week's SEC Tournament loss to Arkansas and gave his thoughts on a possible birth to the NCAA Tournament.
Opening Statement…
"Just to recap the SEC tournament, I thought we played really well against Arkansas despite losing 1-0. We had some great chances late in the game but just couldn't find a goal. Now it's the longest day of the year for anxious soccer coaches, waiting to see if we are going to get a bid. I think we are strong. We have an RPI of 38 when the last one came out, we have two top-50 wins in Arkansas and Memphis. We have two top-50 draws in Mississippi State and Auburn and we don't have a single bad loss. Our worst loss was Arkansas and they are RPI 41. We also have a very strong strength of schedule so in my opinion I think we have a great chance to get in. It's like election day where everyone is telling you that you are in but until the votes come in you don't know. So, we are anxiously waiting for 3:30 p.m. We are going to watch it over in our team room in Gillom. We hope we get another game to play, this team deserves it. I think we are a team in the SEC that can compete with anybody. If we get one more game, we are in a good spot to try and make some noise in the tournament. I'm happy with the team and the way we have played down the stretches. We are just hoping we get one more game."
On the difference in the game with Arkansas this weekend versus during the regular season…
"They scored a very good goal on a set piece that we kind of made a bad play on and then they battled very hard. They went on the next night to beat South Carolina and then beat Vanderbilt. Then they lost to Texas A&M in the finals. I think they hit it at the right time. The South Carolina game and our game were very similar. South Carolina really pounded them and couldn't score and that's really what happened in our game also. Not much different but, just the way the ball bounces sometimes.
On his opinion of what is most important to receive an NCAA Tournament bid…
"I think RPI is the most important and the one they stand on the most. I have spent a week with the numbers and I'm on the South Region committee so I have spent a lot of time looking at the numbers and variables and all that kind of stuff. If we went straight RPI then it would be at 47 for the teams that would get in. We are at 40 so there would be seven teams that would have to jump us and the SEC is the number one RPI conference this year for the first time ever. I do think we have nine maybe 10 teams in the SEC that have a really good chance of getting in which would be a record. The most we have ever had is eight. I think we are going to get nine and possibly ten."
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss Soccer on Twitter at @OleMissSoccer, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissSoccer, and on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemisssoccer. Also follow head coach Matt Mott on Twitter at @CoachMattMott. Additionally fans can get a behind the scenes look at Ole Miss Athletics on Snapchat under the handle, @WeAreOleMiss.