Shocking upsets in the NCAA Tournament are nothing new, but the type of dominating upset Ole Miss pulled off Sunday aren’t as common.
The Rebels secured their spot in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001 with a 91-78 win against No. 3-seed Iowa State. They led by as many 26 points in the second half before a late Iowa State run closed the gap. Ole Miss now joins its female counterparts in the Sweet 16 of their NCAA Tournaments.
"He's a dawg […] 1 of 1" 🗣️
Sean Pedulla on teammate Malik Dia, who once had doubts he would even play at the collegiate level 🫶 pic.twitter.com/V1xB6YUP4c
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2025
And despite the dominance of Ole Miss, it didn’t seem like that would happen after the first five minutes of gameplay.
Iowa State made six of its first 10 field goals, including at one point a 9-0 run, while Ole Miss had just two field goals and trailed 13-5. But then teams swapped fortunes, and the Rebels became the team that couldn’t miss.
Ole Miss outscored Iowa State 32-14, and went on a 20-2 run in that timespan, in the rest of the first half to lead by 11 points at halftime. Malik Dia led the Rebels’ first half offense, going 6-for-10 from the field and two three-pointers, while also grabbing five rebounds and two steals. Sean Pedulla had 10 points himself in the first half.
Too smooth 😮💨@malikkdia x #HottyToddy
pic.twitter.com/sj6FCs5Kg7— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 24, 2025
As a team, the Rebels made 11-of-19 three-pointers and scored 20 points off of 15 Iowa State turnovers. Pedulla would end up leading the Rebels in scoring with 20 points, followed by Jaemyn Brakefield with 19, Dia with 18, Matthew Murrell with 15 and Jaylen Murray with 11. (Note: That’s all but three Ole Miss players that had double-digit scoring totals).
Ole Miss’s advancement gives the SEC a record-setting seven teams in the Sweet 16 and will now face the winner of No. 10-seed New Mexico and No. 2-seed Michigan State’s second round NCAA Tournament game next weekend at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
