Ole Miss men's and women's basketball receive preseason SEC media rankings

Ole Miss's men's and women's basketball teams can't control the hype around them, but they can control what they do on the court. Expectations around both teams are high, but they are still on the outside looking in at a top finish in the SEC.

As we enter day one of SEC Media Days, the media SEC rankings for both teams were announced yesterday. The preseason rankings were about right, with room to show that the media ranked them too low in the preseason.

Can Ole Miss teams outproduce their preseason rankings?

Ole Miss women received the same preseason ranking as last year, slotted in at No.5. This was despite new teams Texas and Oklahoma ranking higher. Arkansas and Tennessee were the teams above them before the 2023-24 season, and they are now below them for the 2024-25 season.

The men's team was ranked No.9, but that in no way shows their ability; it shows how stacked the men's basketball SEC conference is. Despite the SEC ranking, Ole Miss men were still ranked in the Preseason AP Poll top 25, the first time since before the 1997-98 season.

Both teams have the rosters to finish higher than their preseason rankings, and the expectations are that the men's and women's teams could make the postseason NCAA Tournament. However, sports aren't played on paper, so we will need to see how the teams look early in the season before entering conference play.

We also saw that both teams had one player voted on to the All-SEC Preseason teams. Guard Matthew Murrell and forward Madison Scott made the Preseason Second Team All-SEC in their leagues. Murrell and Scott are vital players for their teams heading into the 2024-25 season.