Outside of Kentucky, the SEC faced a very down year in terms of college basketball. However, the team managed to get a few teams into the tournament discussion, but they had to work for their seeding. Mississippi got the No. 11 seed after winning their First Four game against BYU on Tuesday. The team flew over night to Jacksonville where they hope to gain a second wind here in the second round of the tournament. They face an uphill battle in March Madness as they prepare to battle Xavier on Thursday.
MJ Rhett led the Rebels in the Tuesday win after scoring 20 points, a career-high night. Prior to the win over BYU, Mississippi had lost their last four of five games, looking destined for the NIT. They fell behind quickly on Tuesday before rallying from a 17-point deficit and getting a 15-2 run in the second half to get the win. Stefan Moody played a big part getting 26 points and a late 3-point shot to seal the win. The Rebels cannot afford to be tired in this matchup as Xavier comes in with the No. 6 seed to their name hoping to make a run.
Xavier earned the No. 6 seed after losing in the Big East championship game. They were hoping to win out, but instead must bounce back to play Mississippi. Xavier has a 2-1 record against the SEC, beating Alabama and Missouri earlier in the season before losing to Auburn in an overtime game. They are hoping to have guard JP Macura for the game as he is healing from a sprained ankle suffered in the Big East tournament. He makes his mark shooting 34 percent from the 3-point line while averaging 5.6 points per game.
This is Xavier's ninth tournament run in the last 10 years. They certainly have seen success during March, something Mississippi is not accustomed to. The team is hoping that pushes them to a win while the Rebels would like to prove that the SEC is not as down as every seems to believe they are.
