NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It didn't really appear there was much on the line heading into the last of four SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena.
Ole Miss (20-13) came in playing for a shot at the NIT. The Arkansas Razorbacks (24-8) were hoping to help their NCAA Tournament seeding and avoid being the third higher-seeded team to lose Friday.
Earlier, No. 5 Alabama knocked off No. 4 South Carolina, a team that looks like the wheels have come off late in the season. No. 7 Vanderbilt knocked off No. 2 seed Florida for the third time this season.
The Rebels were playing like it might be their final game of the season, and it seemed like at any time the pace might take its toll.
The game was tied 50-50 with 11:55 to play, even though the Rebels had made 2 of the their last 10 shots.
The Hogs came out of the second TV timeout and made three consecutive field goals to take a 58-52 lead, and it was the first time the Razorbacks had really outplayed the No. 6 seed Rebels.
Arkansas had managed to stay in the game and eventually move ahead with a defense that Ole Miss struggled with inside and out.
The Rebels surged again, and with 7:21 to play the Hogs led 60-58, but they had survived a long break after 6-11 senior center Moses Kingsley picked up a third foul.
Ole Miss was overcoming some careless play. At that point, the Hogs had 20 points off turnovers.
Arkansas' shot selection could have been better, and when another bad shot was missed, the Rebels cashed in and tied it 62-62.
But another bad University of Arkansas, Fayetteville shot was answered by Ole Miss' 13th turnover, and with 3:36 to play the Hogs were holding tight to a 67-66 lead.
Arkansas had missed six of seven shots and was surviving mostly on a three-pointer and free throws.
It was tied at 67-67 until Daryl Macon made two free throws with 1:56 to play. The Hogs took a 71-70 lead thanks to a Manny Watkins' layup.
Kingsley blocked a shot with 55 seconds to play, and Macon ended up at the line with 23 seconds to play. He made them both, and the Hogs were victorious.
It was one they won't forget soon.
The game was tied at halftime after 20 sprinter-paced minutes, which included seven ties and eight lead changes.
Ole Miss came out pushing the pace, which wasn't surprising since it struggles in its half-court offense, but it caught the Hogs a little flat-footed early.
Arkansas had three turnovers in the first two minutes, and the Rebels built a nine-point lead.
But the game was being played at a pace Ole Miss couldn't sustain the entire first half.
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson got his team to use its defense to force the Rebels into a half-court offense.
Defense kept the Hogs in it early, turning nine Rebels turnovers into 16 much-needed points when they were cold early.
That's when Anderson went to his bench and got Trey Thompson involved. He responded with five rebounds in the first half, and Kingsley focused on giving Rebels 6-9 big man Sebastian Saiz fits.
Saiz was 0 of 5 from the floor and finished the first half with one point. He got so frustrated he wandered out behind the arc and put up two ill-advised three-point attempts.
Anderson got Macon up off the bench, and the junior from Little Rock had two big three-pointers. Macon was making bacon in the first meeting between the teams, scoring 30 points off the bench in a 98-80 victory.
Macon was one of the reasons Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy had to get his team out of a zone.
In the end it was survive and advance, and the Hogs did.
Sports on 03/11/2017