AP PHOTO - Iowa State guard Curtis Jones (5) puts up a shot against Mississippi during the first half of their second-round game in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

MILWAUKEE — Mississippi’s senior-dominated roster understood how much was at stake this season.

The Rebels responded by doing something this program hadn’t accomplished in over two decades.

Sean Pedulla scored 20 points, Jaemyn Brakefield had 19 and Ole Miss beat Iowa State 91-78 on Sunday night to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history.

“We felt that pressure,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “We were kind of a, you know, win-or-bust team. We set the objective really high. We want to go in the tournament, we want to have a good seed. We want to be one of those teams that has a chance to win the tournament.

“And Ole Miss winning the tournament, probable? No. Possible? Absolutely.”

Mississippi (24-11) is one of seven Southeastern Conference schools still standing, the most teams any conference has sent to the Sweet 16 in one season. Ole Miss fans started chanting “SEC!” with over 5½ minutes left and the game well out of reach.

Next up for the sixth-seeded Rebels is No. 2 seed Michigan State in a South Region semifinal on Friday in Atlanta.

In its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, Ole Miss has advanced to its first regional semifinal since 2001. What’s made the difference?

“(You’re) looking at the guy right there,” Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell said as he pointed toward Beard on the dais during the postgame press conference. “Every day he instills confidence in us. We all trust the work we put in, the process, day in, day out, the consistency of it, never taking each day for granted, trying to maximize our 24 hours. Every day we’re just working, and we let the work show.”

Beard is working on another March run after he directed Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA Tournament final.

He went from Texas Tech to Texas and was midway through his second season with the Longhorns when he got fired in January 2023 after a domestic violence arrest. The charges were ultimately dropped, and Ole Miss hired Beard just two months after Texas let him go.

Now he’s looking to make a Final Four run at a second school.

“This is all about the players,” Beard said. “These guys have bought in, they’ve been an unselfish group since the first day of summer. And to see their hard work pay off is really rewarding.”

Malik Dia scored 18 points for Ole Miss, and Murrell had 15. Jaylen Murray finished with 11.

Curtis Jones had 26 points for the third-seeded Cyclones (25-10). Joshua Jefferson scored 16 points, and Nate Heise added 13.

After scoring 20 points in Iowa State’s 82-55 first-round victory over Lipscomb, Milan Momcilovic had just five points Sunday while shooting 2 of 12.

Ole Miss was a 5½-point underdog according to BetMGM Sportsbook, but it pushed Iowa State around for most of the night. The Rebels led by 26 points before Iowa State outscored them 26-13 over the last 5½ minutes.

After falling behind 13-5 early, Ole Miss dominated the rest of the way. The Rebels pulled ahead for good by going on a 20-2 run that turned a 15-8 deficit into a 28-17 advantage.

“They’re a team that plays with a lot of toughness,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “They’re connected defensively, their switching can be disruptive. At times it wears on you mentally, you’re not able to get the ball in the paint and not get the normal plays that you want to make.”

The Cyclones missed 12 of 13 shots and scored just two points during one first-half stretch lasting 7 minutes, 43 seconds.

Iowa State’s Dishon Jackson made the first two baskets of the second half to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 40-33, but the Rebels responded by going on an 8-1 run that culminated with a Dre Davis dunk.

Takeaways

Ole Miss: The Rebels shot 58.2% from the floor and went 11 of 19 from 3-point range to breeze to victory.

Iowa State: Ole Miss was ranked fifth and Iowa State 20th in turnover margin heading into the game. That strength-on-strength matchup was one-sided Sunday. Iowa State committed 15 turnovers while forcing just eight. Ole Miss had a 20-7 edge in points off turnovers.

Up next

Ole Miss will face Michigan State in an attempt to reach a regional final for the first time. In their only previous Sweet 16 appearance, the Rebels lost 66-56 to Arizona.

Ole Miss 91, No. 15 Iowa St. 78

MISSISSIPPI (24-11) — Dia 8-14 0-2 18, Davis 1-4 2-2 4, Murray 4-7 2-3 11, Murrell 5-7 2-3 15, Pedulla 6-13 5-6 20, Brakefield 6-8 5-5 19, Barnes 2-2 0-0 4, Klafke 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 32-55 16-21 91.

IOWA ST. (25-10) — Jefferson 5-10 6-11 16, Momcilovic 2-12 0-0 5, Jackson 4-7 1-2 9, Heise 5-5 0-0 13, Lipsey 1-2 5-7 7, Jones 9-17 4-4 26, Chatfield 1-3 0-0 2, Kelderman 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 27-56 16-24 78.

Halftime–Ole Miss 40-29. 3-Point Goals–Ole Miss 11-19 (Murrell 3-3, Pedulla 3-8, Brakefield 2-2, Dia 2-2, Murray 1-3, Davis 0-1), Iowa St. 8-22 (Jones 4-9, Heise 3-3, Momcilovic 1-8, Jefferson 0-2). Fouled Out–Davis. Rebounds–Ole Miss 28 (Dia 8), Iowa St. 32 (Jefferson 8). Assists–Ole Miss 15 (Pedulla 8), Iowa St. 9 (Jones 3). Total Fouls–Ole Miss 21, Iowa St. 19.