Magical run of Ole Miss ends with loss at Louisville

SEATTLE – A remarkable run came to an end Friday night, with No. 8 Ole Miss falling to No. 5 Louisville in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, 72-62 from Climate Pledge Arena.

Ole Miss concludes its 2022-23 campaign with 25 wins after reaching the third round for the first time since 2007. Ole Miss (25-9, 11-5 SEC) could not shake off the hot shooting from Louisville (26-11, 12-6 ACC), and was unable to complete the comeback despite multiple scoring bursts.

Marquesha Davis and Myah Taylor carried Ole Miss with 19-points each, with Taylor recording a season-high. Davis also carried Ole Miss on the boards, with a team-high of eight.

Adding double figures as well was Angel Baker with 11 points off of five field goals.

Tyia Singleton came out hot, hitting a three the first possession of the game for Ole Miss to begin a 5-0 run. But Louisville got into a groove by hitting five field goals in row to take a narrow lead at 16-13 late into the first quarter. Davis polished a smooth jumper to provide the Rebels a boost, but they trailed through the first 10, 20-15.

Back-to-back jumpers from Ole Miss kept it within distance of Louisville, while also holding it scoreless for over three minutes in the early second. Propelled by an 8-0 run, the Rebels cut the deficit to one at 24-23. Taylor’s second trey of the game allowed Ole Miss to retake the lead for the first time since the start of the night.

While the Rebels faced a scoring slump of its own, Louisville took off with seven straight points to take a five-point edge at 34-29 heading into halftime.

With ground to make up, the Rebels got to work with two buckets in a row from Baker to come within three, 36-33. Then the Rebel hands became cold, entering a field goal drought for most of the third quarter.

While Ole Miss couldn’t hit shots, it felt as if Louisville couldn’t miss as the Cardinals extended its lead to double-digits up 52-42 with 10 minutes remaining. Ole Miss worked to hold off the Cardinal from extending its hold, while the Rebels attempted to fight off foul trouble.

Going to work in the paint, Davis helped the Rebels pull inside six under four minutes to go. Baker and Taylor strung together a 5-0 run to force a two-possession game with 2:53 remaining.

However, the Cardinals fired back to quickly extend their lead by nine

There was not enough gas left in the tank for the Rebels to make a comeback, ultimately falling to the Cardinals, 72-62.

The Rebels thus wrapped up a record-breaking season, totaling a program best 11 wins in SEC play, shattering the single-season program block record with 174 rejections and concluding the season with a record of 25-9.