Did Vanderbilt’s Upset Over Ole Miss Take the Rebels Out of the Top 25?

Ole Miss’s upset loss to unranked Vanderbilt, 77-72, on Saturday had a predictable consequence that came to fruition on Monday.

The Rebels (19-8, 8-6 SEC) fell out of the latest AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll after losing both of their games last week to Vanderbilt and then-No. 22 Mississippi State, 81-71. The Rebels face a difficult journey to rejoining the top 25.

Ole Miss is set to face three of the AP’s top five teams, starting with No. 1 Auburn (25-2, 13-1) on the road at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The Rebels will end the week at home against unranked Oklahoma (17-10, 4-10 SEC) before facing No. 5 Tennessee (22-5, 9-5 SEC) at home and No. 3 Florida (24-3, 11-3 SEC) on the road to end the regular season.

That’s the seventh-hardest remaining schedule amongst NCAA Div. I teams. If Ole Miss can somehow go 2-2 over these last games, it should find itself among the nation’s top 25 teams headed into the SEC Tournament.

Here’s the complete top 25 poll released Monday:

AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll

1. Auburn (25-2)
2. Duke (24-3)
3. Florida (24-3)
4. Houston (23-4)
5. Tennessee (22-5)
6. Alabama (22-5)
7. John’s (24-4)
8. Michigan State (22-5)
9. Iowa State (21-6)
10. Texas Tech (21-6)
11. Wisconsin (21-6)
12. Texas A&M (20-7)
13. Clemson (22-5)
14. Missouri (20-7)
15. Michigan (20-6)
16. Maryland (21-6)
17. Kentucky (18-9)
18. Memphis (22-5)
19. Louisville (21-6)
20. Purdue (19-9)
21. Marquette (20-=7)
22. Arizona (18-9)
23. Saint Mary’s (25-4)
24. Mississippi State (19-8)
25. BYU (19-8)

Others receiving votes: Creighton 53, Mississippi 28, Kansas 25, New Mexico 23, VCU 20, Oregon 20, UCLA 14, Drake 12, UC San Diego 8, Gonzaga 3, High Point 3, Illinois 3, Vanderbilt 2, Utah St. 1, Yale 1.