Show Me My Opponent, 2023-24: #22 Ole Miss
Put 'em on the news
Well, now the real fun begins. SEC play is finally here, the last year of the 14-team conference and probably the last year where it’ll feel somewhat normal. Next year, 16 teams get to play 18 conference games, meaning you get to play three teams twice and 12 teams once. It’s more or less non-conference plus. The people that run college sports are rapidly ruining everything I enjoy about college sports, so in this semi-end of history season I plan on enjoying every little thing about what we have left.
Anyway, there is a basketball game being played tonight between Tennessee and the University of Mississippi. I’ve never really had hate in my heart for whatever it is they do there because I did not grow up in Memphis to see it first-hand, but now:
But now.
Ole Miss enters this game undefeated and 13-0, though with perhaps a more incomplete resume than most realize. For one, Ole Miss does have a pair of Q1/Q2 wins in Memphis (home) and UCF (away), but that’s also littered with some truly bizarre outings against 0-15 Detroit Mercy (W by 1), Sam Houston State (by 3), and Mount St. Mary’s (by 9). For comparison’s sake, everyone on UT Twitter lost their minds when Tennessee only beat Georgia Southern by 18 after leading by 28 at the half.
More so, they’re arguably just now at full strength, which would imply they’re about to play better than they have. They’ve also got an agreed-upon Elite Coach™ on their side. At the same time they’ve got huge blinking warning lights pointing to serious regression on both sides of the ball. What’s it gonna be, and when?
BEHIND THE WALL ($): well lately they’ve been Ole Make! how about that