After a treacherous stretch of games that included four ranked opponents in a span of seven days, the Ole Miss women slipped two spots to No. 19 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 polls. The Rebels posted a 1-3 mark during the murderous stretch, losing at No. 16 Kentucky, defeating previously-ranked Tennessee in Oxford and losing at home versus 6th-ranked LSU and at No. 3 South Carolina.
Overall, Ole Miss owns a 21-8 record and an 8-6 record in SEC games.
The stretch of games were made difficult because the Tennessee game was rescheduled after Winter Storm Fern forced the cancellation of a contest scheduled for earlier in the month.
The bottom line: The Rebels were playing on rubber legs by Sunday when losing at South Carolina by an 85-48 score. ESPN’s newest bracketology will be released Tuesday morning. While Ole Miss is solidly in the NCAA Tournament, the Rebels are expected to be on the outside looking in as a host team for the Big Dance, perhaps as five or six seed after last week’s demonic stretch of games.
Ole Miss returns to the court Thursday night at the Florida Gators. The Rebels then wrap up their SEC regular-season schedule on Sunday when Texas A&M visits the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. We’re unsure if either of these opponents presents Ole Miss with an opportunity to get back in the discussion to host the tourney’s first two rounds.
The SEC Tournament is set for March 4-8 in Greenville, S.C. That may be the Rebels’ best bet to enter the hosting discussion once again.
THE AP TOP 25
- Uconn | 29-0
- UCLA | 27-1
- South Carolina | 27-2
- Texas | 26-3
- Vanderbilt | 25-3
- LSU | 24-4
- Oklahoma | 21-6
- Michigan | 22-5
- Iowa | 22-5
- Louisville | 24-5
- TCU | 25-4
- Duke | 20-7
- Ohio State | 23-5
- Maryland | 22-6
- Michigan State | 22-6
- Kentucky | 20-8
- West Virginia | 22-6
- Baylor | 23-6
- Ole Miss | 21-8
- Texas Tech | 24-5
- North Carolina | 23-6
- Minnesota | 21-7
- Georgia | 20-7
- Alabama | 21-7
- Princeton | 21-3
SEC STANDINGS
| conf | cpct | overall | opct | home | road | neutral | strk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Carolina | 13-1 | 0.929 | 27-2 | 0.931 | 15-0 | 10-1 | 2-1 | W8 |
 Texas | 11-3 | 0.786 | 26-3 | 0.897 | 17-0 | 6-3 | 3-0 | W3 |
 Vanderbilt | 11-3 | 0.786 | 25-3 | 0.893 | 15-0 | 6-2 | 4-1 | W1 |
 LSU | 10-4 | 0.714 | 24-4 | 0.857 | 12-2 | 9-2 | 3-0 | W2 |
 Oklahoma | 9-5 | 0.643 | 21-6 | 0.778 | 13-2 | 5-3 | 3-1 | W4 |
 Ole Miss | 8-6 | 0.571 | 21-8 | 0.724 | 12-1 | 4-5 | 5-2 | L2 |
 Tennessee | 8-6 | 0.571 | 16-10 | 0.615 | 9-3 | 7-5 | 0-2 | L4 |
 Alabama | 7-7 | 0.500 | 21-7 | 0.750 | 16-3 | 3-4 | 2-0 | W1 |
 Kentucky | 7-7 | 0.500 | 20-8 | 0.714 | 12-2 | 7-5 | 1-1 | L1 |
 Georgia | 6-7 | 0.462 | 20-7 | 0.741 | 11-4 | 5-3 | 4-0 | L1 |
 Mississippi State | 5-9 | 0.357 | 18-10 | 0.643 | 13-4 | 3-6 | 2-0 | L2 |
 Texas A&M | 5-9 | 0.357 | 12-11 | 0.522 | 7-5 | 3-5 | 2-1 | W3 |
 Florida | 4-10 | 0.286 | 16-13 | 0.552 | 12-5 | 2-8 | 2-0 | L1 |
 Missouri | 4-10 | 0.286 | 16-13 | 0.552 | 9-7 | 4-5 | 3-1 | L4 |
 Auburn | 3-10 | 0.231 | 14-13 | 0.519 | 9-5 | 3-7 | 2-1 | W1 |
 Arkansas | 0-14 | 0.000 | 11-18 | 0.379 | 8-9 | 1-9 | 2-0 | L15 |