No. 23 Ole Miss keeps John Calipari, Razorbacks winless in SEC games

Legendary coach John Calipari is still without a SEC win as Arkansas’s head coach thanks to No. 23 Ole Miss.

The Rebels (13-2, 2-0 SEC) overcame another slow start, and withstand a late-game rally by the Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2 SEC), to start off conference play undefeated with a 73-66 win Wednesday night.

Arkansas opened the game with a 10-5 lead and led the Rebels for most of the first half. Ole Miss tied the game on a Sean Pedulla three-pointer with 31 seconds left in the half. It was the last time the Razorbacks would led the Rebels.

Matthew Murrell opened the second half with a layup for Ole Miss that was quickly followed up by Arkansas’s Boogie Fland jump shot that tied the game 38-38. Davon Barnes made a three-point shot less than 30 seconds later to give the Rebels a lead they would never relinquish.

Ole Miss led Arkansas 72-64 with 21 seconds left to play after a D.J. Wagner layup, but it was the last points the Razorbacks would score on its home court Wednesday night.

Taylor’s Take

This was a game Ole Miss needed to win.

Arkansas may have a future hall of fame coach, but the Razorbacks aren’t at the same level as Calipari’s teams at Kentucky (yet). The Rebels aren’t in the top tier of SEC teams, but they’re in the next tier that includes No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 17 Oklahoma and unranked Arkansas.

The Rebels proved Wednesday night it belongs amongst those teams, as well as the top 25 rankings. But, for better or worse, there’s still two months left until we get to the NCAA Tournament and a lot can (and will) happen by then. Starting with the Rebels’ next SEC game on Saturday against LSU. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. on SEC Network.