{"id":34893,"date":"2026-03-12T02:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T06:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ole-miss-upsets-texas-in-sec-tournament-puts-longhorns-march-madness-hopes-in-jeopardy\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T02:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T06:22:14","slug":"ole-miss-upsets-texas-in-sec-tournament-puts-longhorns-march-madness-hopes-in-jeopardy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ole-miss-upsets-texas-in-sec-tournament-puts-longhorns-march-madness-hopes-in-jeopardy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ole Miss Upsets Texas in SEC Tournament, Puts Longhorns’ March Madness Hopes in Jeopardy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

The Ole Miss Rebels delivered a stunning blow to Texas’ March Madness aspirations Wednesday night, controlling the entire game in a 76-66 upset victory during the opening round of the SEC Tournament in Nashville. The loss puts the Longhorns in a precarious position as they await Selection Sunday.<\/p>

Leading the charge for the 15th-seeded Rebels (13-19) was Malik Dia, who poured in 23 points in the wire-to-wire victory. AJ Storr contributed 18 points while Ilias Kamardine added 16 for Ole Miss, which managed the win despite connecting on just one of ten attempts from beyond the arc. James Scott rounded out the scoring with 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Rebels earned a Thursday matchup against seventh-seeded Georgia.<\/p>

For the 10th-seeded Longhorns (18-14), Dailyn Swain delivered a double-double performance with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Pope contributed 16 points and Matas Vokietaitis added 10, but their efforts weren’t enough to prevent Texas from falling into dangerous territory regarding their NCAA Tournament chances, which will be determined during Sunday’s selection show.<\/p>

Texas made a late push to steal the victory, cutting a nine-point deficit to just three points at 66-63 with 4:07 left on the clock. Camden Heide converted a three-point play before Pope drained a three-pointer to fuel the comeback attempt. However, Ole Miss responded immediately with six consecutive points to seal the outcome.<\/p>

In other first-round SEC Tournament action, Auburn enhanced their tournament resume with a convincing 79-61 triumph over Mississippi State. Kevin Overton led the Tigers with 22 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while KeShawn Murphy added 15 points and nine boards. The Tigers (17-15) will take on fifth-seeded Tennessee (21-10) in Thursday’s second round.<\/p>

Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard, who had torched Auburn for 46 points in their regular season meeting, was held to 22 points on inefficient 8-of-25 shooting. The Bulldogs (13-19) saw their season come to an end.<\/p>

Kentucky kept their tournament hopes alive with an 87-82 victory over LSU, led by Otega Oweh’s 23 points and eight rebounds. The Wildcats (20-12) took care of the basketball with only five turnovers while Brandon Garrison shot 7-of-9 from the field for 17 points. LSU’s Max Mackinnon led all scorers with 28 points in the losing effort for the Tigers (15-17).<\/p>

Oklahoma continued their hot streak with an 86-74 win over South Carolina, extending their winning streak to five games. Nijel Pack knocked down five three-pointers en route to 24 points for the 11th-seeded Sooners (18-14), who overcame a 13-point first-half deficit. The victory sets up a Thursday night clash with sixth-seeded Texas A&M as Oklahoma fights to keep their tournament dreams alive.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ole Miss defeated Texas 76-66 in the first round of the SEC Tournament behind Malik Dia’s 23 points. The upset victory leaves Texas on the NCAA Tournament bubble while the Rebels advance to face Georgia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":34892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773296533844.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-94N","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33714,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/south-carolina-texas-advance-to-sec-womens-basketball-championship\/","url_meta":{"origin":34893,"position":0},"title":"South Carolina, Texas Advance to SEC Women’s Basketball Championship","author":"Admin","date":"March 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Third-ranked South Carolina defeated sixth-seeded LSU 83-77 in Saturday's SEC tournament semifinal, led by Raven Johnson's 22 points. The Gamecocks will face fourth-ranked Texas, who beat Ole Miss 85-68, in Sunday's championship game.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1772939995807.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35871,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/ole-miss-shocks-georgia-in-sec-tournament-thriller-76-72\/","url_meta":{"origin":34893,"position":1},"title":"Ole Miss Shocks Georgia in SEC Tournament Thriller, 76-72","author":"Admin","date":"March 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The 15th-seeded Ole Miss Rebels pulled off another stunning upset in the SEC Tournament, defeating Georgia 76-72 in Nashville. Despite nearly blowing a 23-point lead, the Rebels held on for their second consecutive wire-to-wire victory.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773386611881.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32107,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/kentuckys-strack-explodes-for-33-points-in-sec-tournament-victory-over-georgia\/","url_meta":{"origin":34893,"position":2},"title":"Kentucky’s Strack Explodes for 33 Points in SEC Tournament Victory Over Georgia","author":"Admin","date":"March 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Clara Strack matched her career high with 33 points as ninth-seeded Kentucky defeated 22nd-ranked Georgia 76-61 in SEC tournament action. The Wildcats overcame a halftime deficit to advance to Friday's quarterfinals against top-seeded South Carolina.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1772763576675.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28381,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/floridas-mcgill-powers-upset-victory-over-19th-ranked-ole-miss\/","url_meta":{"origin":34893,"position":3},"title":"Florida’s McGill Powers Upset Victory Over 19th-Ranked Ole Miss","author":"Admin","date":"February 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Liv McGill exploded for 28 points to help Florida defeat No. 19 Ole Miss 74-67 in a major upset Thursday night. The Gators shot nearly 60% from the field to earn their first victory against a ranked opponent this season.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1772163086412.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1772163086412.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1772163086412.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1772163086412.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1772163086412.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37455,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/march-madness-begins-uconn-tops-womens-ncaa-tournament-as-1-overall-seed\/","url_meta":{"origin":34893,"position":4},"title":"March Madness Begins: UConn Tops Women’s NCAA Tournament as #1 Overall Seed","author":"Admin","date":"March 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The women's NCAA Tournament bracket was unveiled Sunday night with four #1 seeds announced. Undefeated UConn earned the top overall position despite UCLA's stronger schedule, while Texas and South Carolina round out the top seeds.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773627685534.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39759,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/duke-survives-major-scare-other-upsets-rock-march-madness-opening-round\/","url_meta":{"origin":34893,"position":5},"title":"Duke Survives Major Scare, Other Upsets Rock March Madness Opening Round","author":"Admin","date":"March 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Top-seeded Duke barely escaped a stunning upset bid from 16th-seeded Siena, winning 71-65 after trailing by 13 points. Meanwhile, 12th-seeded High Point pulled off a shocking 83-82 victory over 5th-seeded Wisconsin in the tournament's first round.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773969731900.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}