Ole Miss took down No. 4 Tennessee, UConn outlasted No. 20 Marquette and Oklahoma knocked off No. 15 Missouri in a busy Wednesday night in men’s hoops. Here’s a recap of the action:
Ole Miss stuns No. 4 Tennessee 78-76 with dominant second half from Brakefield
Just 24 hours after Tuesday’s senior night chaos, Ole Miss upset No. 4 Tennessee 78-76 in Oxford to stamp the program’s first season with two wins over an AP top-5 in the same year.
Senior Jaemyn Brakefield ended the first half scoreless. But as the final seconds ticked off, Brakefield found himself at the center of a sea of red and navy blue — with fans storming the court to celebrate his heroic team-high of 19 points in 20 minutes.
🔴🔴🔴 A SEA OF RED 🔴🔴🔴 pic.twitter.com/2JMHzrHNIj
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 6, 2025
With under five minutes to play, both groups were deadlocked at 68-68. The Rebels took a 4-point lead with layups from Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis, but Felix Okpara quickly answered for Tennessee in the paint.
After an overturned out-of-bounds call, Brakefield pinned his defender underneath the basket for a second-chance layup, catching the assist from Sean Pedulla by the baseline. The Rebels sustained its 4-point edge, 76-72 with under a minute to go.
Igor Miličić Jr. immediately put the Rebels back into a corner, hitting a 3-pointer after a miss by Zakai Zeigler and drawing a foul in the process, making it 76-76 all.
Coming out of a timeout, Ole Miss turned to Pedulla, who launched and missed from behind the arc. With just seconds on the clock, Brakefield muscled through four orange jerseys to secure the rebound and putback, calling the game at 78-76 for the Rebels.
Both groups shot 46% from the floor, and although the Volunteers outpaced the Rebels from deep — they failed to keep Brakefield and Ole Miss off the glass. The Rebels grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to Tennessee’s eight and racked up 13 second-chance points.
With Brakefield’s help, Ole Miss also outpaced Tennessee in the paint 46-20.
Four different Rebels reached double figures, with Malik Dia and Dre Davis going for 13 points apiece. Jordan Gainey totaled 17 points, three rebounds and a steal for the Volunteers.
The loss snaps a four-game win streak for Tennessee, bringing the Volunteers to 24-6 overall and 11-6 in conference play. Ole Miss improves to 21-9 on the season, and 10-7 in the SEC with a defining victory to cap off senior night.
UConn knocks off No. 20 Marquette
UConn (21-9, 13-6 Big East) took down No. 20 Marquette (22-8, 13-6 Big East) 72-66 in a back-and-forth battle of Big East opponents.
This game was tight, with neither team leading by more than seven points throughout. The teams traded leads in the first half, with neither squad managing to pull away, but Marquette was able to take a 36-33 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Huskies kept pace in the second though, retaking the lead with 10:04 left to go in the half. UConn held onto the lead and fended off Marquette’s scorers to take home a momentum-building win late in the regular season.
Alex Karaban led the way for the Huskies with 21 points. Each of UConn’s starters reached double-digit points, and senior center Samson Johnson recorded his first career double-double, finishing with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
ALEX KARABAN FOR THREE!!!! BANG!! pic.twitter.com/aRtDm1u8GH
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) March 6, 2025
Kam Jones and David Joplin stood out for Marquette, putting up 21 and 23 points respectively. Poor three-point shooting held the Golden Eagles back as they went 3-for-22 from beyond the arc.
Oklahoma stuns No. 15 Missouri
If you didn’t know Jeremiah Fears’ name before, you do now. The Oklahoma freshman exploded for a career-high 31 points, powering the Sooners to a 96-84 upset over No. 15 Missouri. The win not only avenged Oklahoma’s 24-point loss to Mizzou last month, but it also gave the Sooners (18-12, 5-12 SEC) their fifth victory over a ranked team this season — perhaps just in time to boost their NCAA tournament case.
just part of a career-high night 💪@jeremiahfears2 || #BoomerSooner pic.twitter.com/NOPVidjFqL
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) March 6, 2025
Missouri (21-9, 10-7 SEC) started slow and never fully recovered after Oklahoma shot a blistering 69% in the first half, building a 50-37 lead at the break.
The Tigers’ defense struggled yet again, allowing 90+ points for the fourth time in five games. Mark Mitchell led Mizzou with 18 points, while Caleb Grill chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Oklahoma was nearly flawless at the free-throw line, sinking 25-of-26 attempts, including 19-of-20 in the second half.
Key Stats: Jeremiah Fears (OU): 31 PTS, 9-13 FG, 12-12 FT // Mark Mitchell (MIZ): 18 PTS, 7-8 FG, 4-5 FT // Caleb Grill (MIZ): 16 PTS, 8 REB // OU Team FT Shooting: 25-26 (96.2%) // OU First-Half FG %: 69%
What’s Next?
Missouri will try to regroup at home against No. 19 Kentucky, while Oklahoma heads to Austin for a Red River showdown with Texas.
