#8 Ole Miss rolls past #9 Gonzaga 71-48, McPhee-McCuin gets first NCAA Tournament win with Rebs

#8 Ole Miss rolled past #9 Gonzaga 71-48 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels held the No. 1 offense in the West Coast Conference to just 21 points in the first half. Coming into this matchup, the fewest points Gonzaga scored in a game this season was 58, 10 more than its total tonight. Gonzaga also led its conference in three-point percentage, shooting 42% from beyond the arc, and was 1-17 (5%) against the Rebels.

The Rebs cruised early and didn’t look back to earn their first NCAA Tournament win since 2007.

Snudda Collins led the team with 15 points while Angel Baker and Madison Scott had 11 each.

Ole Miss has improved each of the last few years under Yolett McPhee-McCuin:

2019-20: 7-23, 0-16 in SEC play

2020-21: 15-12, 4-10 in SEC play

2021-22: 23-9, 10-6 in SEC play, fell to South Dakota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament

2022-23: 23-8, 11-5, def. #9 Gonzaga in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Rebels will face #1 Stanford on Sunday and if they pull off the massive upset, they’ll head to Seattle for the Sweet 16.