Mississippi becomes 1st 15-seed to make SEC semis with upset of Alabama

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mississippi had its third straight upset victory in three days Friday night, an 80-79 shocker over No. 15 and second-seeded Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

What’s more impressive than the three wins over higher seeds is the fact that the 15th-seeded Rebels have not trailed in any of the three games. Mississippi beat Texas 76-66 in the first round and edged Georgia 76-72 on Thursday.

The Rebels held off a late Alabama charge, with the Crimson Tide unable to get a shot off on an inbound play with 0.1 seconds left. The worst-seeded team to ever advance to the semifinals, Mississippi awaits the winner of the final quarterfinal matchup between No. 17 Arkansas and Oklahoma.

“Yeah, it’s just survive and advance,” Rebels guard Patton Pinkins said. “We don’t look ahead, we take it one game at a time. Anybody can get hot in March. We’re just trying to keep that up for the next game.”

Pinkins had 13 points against Alabama.

With a 15-19 record, Mississippi needs to win the SEC Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels entered the tournament losing 12 of their final 13 regular-season games.

“I think finally we’re seeing the vision of our team,” coach Chris Beard said. “We’re playing really well right now. Out-rebounding the opponent, taking care of the ball, balanced scoring, timely execution, late shot clock. We’re just doing a lot of good things.”

Not only are they playing well, the Rebels are having fun playing the role of spoiler. With the shot clock winding down late in the second half, Ilias Kamardine hit a clutch 3-pointer. Asked about it after the game, Kamardine and Beard had a little back and forth during the answer.

“I just watch the shot clock and I see two second remaining,” said Kamardine, who 16 points. “There is no way I don’t shoot the ball. I just shoot it. It went in. That’s good for us.”

“That’s good coaching,” Beard added in a smiling Kamardine’s direction.

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