The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 189 is Ole Miss basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Ole Miss basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 2
- NCAA wins: 7
- Bids: 10
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 12.3
- Bids per season: 0.09
- AP Polls: 71
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 2
- NBA players drafted & played: 7
- Conference Players of the Year: 2
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 0
- Conference tournament titles: 2
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Ole Miss basketball
Our first SEC program is Ole Miss, coming in at No. 189.
Unfortunately, the Rebels have never even won a regular season SEC crown, which definitely bumps them down to here. While it is a premier conference in college hoops, they’ve been playing in it since 1932, so they’ve gone nearly a century without a single title. Luckily, they have won two conference tournament titles, in 1981 and 2013.
Like most power conference programs, Ole Miss has had some amazing talent. Johnny Neumann was their first-ever Consensus All-American in 1971. Ansu Sesay was the second in 1998. Both had brief NBA careers, with the top pro from Ole Miss being Elston Turner.
But in the college game, they’ve had many more notable players, such as Marshall Henderson. In 2013, he averaged over 20 points per game and led the Rebels to a 27-9 record, ending in the round of 32. Then, just a couple of seasons ago, Sean Pedulla, Malik Dia, and head coach Chris Beard took Ole Miss to its second Sweet 16 in program history as a 6-seed. They lost to 2-seed Michigan State.
Despite only going to an even 10 NCAA Tournaments, the Rebels have won seven games once they’ve gotten there. From 1997 to 2002, they made five tourneys, with the first two under Rob Evans and the next three under Rod Barnes. Barnes took them to the round of 32 as a 9-seed in ’99 and to their first-ever Sweet 16 in 2001 as a 3-seed.
Barnes was easily the most accomplished head coach in program history, with a trio of tourneys and a 141-109 record. But Andy Kennedy is the all-time leader in program wins, going 245-156 in a 12-year tenure. Currently, Chris Beard has done a notable job, with a 59-44 record through three seasons so far.
Obviously, many mid-majors would love to have a history like Ole Miss, and if they played in an easier conference, they’d probably have handfuls more of conference titles. But such is life in the SEC. Someone’s got to hold up the bottom, and unfortunately, historically, it has been the Rebels.