OXFORD – In its second Sweet 16 in three years and fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance overall, Ole Miss is looking to slay another giant.
The No. 5 seed Rebels (22-10) play top-seeded UCLA (32-2) in the Sweet 16 tonight at 9 p.m. in Spokane, Washington. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Ole Miss and UCLA have never played previously.
The Rebels already have a pair of top-10 wins this year, having defeated No. 8 Kentucky and No. 7 LSU in the regular season, and defeated No. 1 seed Stanford in 2023 to advance to their last Sweet 16. Ole Miss beat No. 12 seed Ball State 83-65 in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament before defeating No. 4 seed and host Baylor 69-63.
UCLA won the Big Ten Tournament and has won its first two NCAA Tournament games against Southern and Richmond by a combined 55 points.
UCLA is a No. 1 seed for the first time in program history; its two losses were to USC in the regular season, who the Bruins then defeated in the Big Ten title game. UCLA defeated fellow No. 1 seed and then top-ranked South Carolina by 15 in November.
The Bruins are led by All-American center Lauren Betts, who averages 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, the latter of which ranks fifth nationally. Seven Bruins average at least 7.5 points per game, and UCLA is 17th nationally at 78.9 points per game.
UCLA shoots 48.2% from the field overall, which leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally. The Bruins are tied for the national lead with a plus-13 rebound margin per game. Ole Miss is 12th nationally with a plus-7.25 turnover margin per game; UCLA is 161st at plus-0.15.
The Rebels have five players averaging at least nine points per game, led by senior guard/forward Madison Scott’s 12.1 points per game.
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