Ole Miss coach Chris Beard divided the Southeastern Conference tournament into a series of mini-tourneys.
So far, so bracket-busting good.
The 15th-seeded Rebels (15-19) built a 14-point lead and held off second-seeded and 15th-ranked Alabama 80-79 on Friday for their third straight upset to reach the SEC semifinals Saturday afternoon in Nashville.
Next up for Ole Miss: third-seeded and No. 17-ranked Arkansas (24-8), which beat 11th-seeded Oklahoma 82-79 on Friday behind Darius Acuff Jr.’s 37 points and clutch play down the stretch.
The Arkansas-Ole Miss winner will play either top-seeded Florida or fourth-seeded Vanderbilt in the SEC championship game on Sunday.
“We set this up as our second four-team tournament here in Nashville,” said Beard, whose team also has defeated Texas and Georgia in the first two rounds. “Tomorrow we’ll have a chance to win the championship in this four-team tournament.”
The game is another must-win for the Rebels, who lost 12 of their final 13 regular-season games and whose only path to the NCAA Tournament is the automatic berth that goes to the SEC winner. They are looking for their first conference title since 2013.
Arkansas and freshman Acuff stand in the way as the Razorbacks are looking for their first SEC title since 2000.
Acuff’s 37 points were two short of Todd Day’s school tournament record, set in 1992. Acuff made five 3-pointers in his return to the floor after missing the regular-season finale against Missouri because of a nagging left ankle injury that has forced him into a boot at times.
Acuff’s final 3-pointer Friday beat the shot clock with 27 seconds remaining for a 79-75 lead, and he made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left to provide enough of a cushion against Oklahoma. He also had five rebounds and five assists.
“What’s he’s done and how he’s done it …,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said on the SEC Network. “He’s unselfish, but he can make shots.”
Calipari turned to Acuff.
“Did you miss another free throw?” the coach asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Acuff replied.
Trevon Brazile collected 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Razorbacks, who were playing their first tournament game after receiving a double bye.
Ole Miss will play its fourth game in as many days.
“There’s no excuses here,” Beard said. “Depth is one thing that we have on our team. We’re not going to buy into this deal where it’s three games in three days. Who cares? It’s basketball.”
The Rebels have led by double digits in each game, using a strong defense and group effort with alternating heroes.
A.J. Storr and Malik Dia are tied for the team lead with 54 points, and Dia has 16 rebounds. Ilias Kamardine, who made the plays Ole Miss needed down the stretch to beat Alabama, has two 16-point games.
James Scott has two double-digit rebound games, and his defensive play blunted Alabama’s drive in the final seconds. Travis Perry had 16 points against Georgia.
“We could be the 1 seed or the 15 seed,” the Rebels’ Patton Pinkins said. “We’re just playing Ole Miss basketball, trying to stay hot in March.”
The Rebels have stifled two of the three highest-scoring teams in Division I. Ole Miss held Texas to 35.2% shooting from the floor and Georgia — which was averaging 90.4 points a game — to 36.4% shooting.
“Now we’re going to play a team, their fourth game in four days,” Calipari said. “And it won’t matter.”
