In a game that shouldn’t matter to Kentucky’s SEC Tournament journey, Ole Miss defeated South Carolina in the Wednesday night opener, 67-61, in front of a surprisingly good crowd in Bridgestone Arena. The Wednesday night session brought out a big audience to see the four worst teams in the Southeastern Conference, highlighting the excitement around the conference tournament’s first full experience in Nashville since COVID shut down the event on this day three years ago.
As for the actual basketball in Game 1, the play on the court is unlikely to make any March Madness highlight reels, but the Rebels advanced as the betting favorite–although South Carolina was the higher seed in the 12-vs-13 matchup.