How Ole Miss beat #1 ranked Stanford in March Madness

The Rebels’ victory sent the women’s No. 1 seed home before the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009, and ended a chalk-dominated day as the semi-final semi-finals were decided. Ole Miss advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007.

How far will Ole Miss go and how will his win change the race at the Seattle Regional 4? Few would have predicted the Rebels – who went 7-23 overall in 2019-20 and 0-16 in the SEC – would get this far. But under head coach Yollett McPhee-McEwen, who took over in 2018, the Rebels defense has become their calling card. They stunned Stanford, the 2021 champions, who lost in the Semifinal Four last year.

When the season opened, several South Carolina and Stanford, past national champions, were in the Final Four. But only one of them has a chance to be in Dallas. Gamecocks remain undefeated; I topped South Florida on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16 at the Greenville 1 Regional.

As Stanford is left to lament a promising season passing sideways, without a Pac-12 championship title and a shocking early exit from the NCAA tournament, ESPN’s Charlie Cream, Alexa Filippou and Maa Voebel look at what went down in Sunday’s incredible game and what upsets it. To look for the Monday where Sweet 16 ends.

Filippo: Ole Miss is a defensive-minded team, and it was a standout performance on that end from Coach Yo’s team. The Rebels contested 43 of Stanford’s 52 field goal attempts, including 32 of 37 in the paint and 28 of 32 by Jones and Brink, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Cardinals couldn’t even go into the open floor, as Ole Miss excelled running back into transition. Thanks to the effort, Stanford was never so comfortable offensively, eventually committing more turnovers (21) than field goals made (17), going 10-for-32 in tackles and passing 43-39—which Brink attributed to physical Ole Miss Down Low. Although Stanford was a little more defensive in the second half, Ole Miss paid the Cardinals for their mistakes with 24 points on turnover and went 10-for-12 from the free throw line in the fourth.

After the game, Brink said, the Stanford team lacked grit this year, while VanDerveer seemed to think it had something to do with a lack of experience among the backcourt youth. It would be great to see if/how they can improve in those areas while leaving a large deck of The Farm decked out in the off-season.

Voepel: When Ole Miss went to the Sweet 16 in 2007, she did so behind future WNBA player Armintie Price. As the No. 7 seed, these Rebels defeated then-No. 2 – Maryland, then defending national champion, in the second round. Carol Ross was the Rebels coach at the time, and like McPhee-McCuin, she built her team on defense, but they in Price had a real offensive lead, and won that game against the Terps 89-78. They went through to the Elite Eight before falling to eventual national champion Tennessee.

On Sunday, as Charlie and Alexa point out, this group of rebels basically took the life out of the Stanford attack. The fact that the Rebels went so long without a score in the fourth quarter and still won just goes to show how mind-boggling their defensive dominance was over Stanford.

What is the Ole Miss cap and how does losing Stanford affect what happens in the Seattle 4 Regional?

Voepel: The first time a No. 8 seed reached the Final Four was in 1992 with Missouri State. And the lowest seed to reach the Final Four on the women’s side was No. 9 Arkansas in 1998. However, we are talking about really rare events. For Ole Miss to replicate what Missouri State and Arkansas did, the Rebels will need to keep doing what they’ve got so far defensively, but they’ll need to get more offensively. Because in Texas or Louisville, they’re going to be up against a team that can defend like them, but has more offensive options. Of course, if we end up in the Duke-Ole Miss regional final, it could be the first 40-point win.

Filippo: If other teams can replicate what Georgia did at Iowa on Sunday, it may not bode well for the Hawks. Stanford had players who knew what it took to win a national championship, but with their elimination, it’s hard to see any of these remaining teams capable of playing in superior fashion to beat a team as hot as Iowa. But, this is why you play games.

What’s next for Stanford University?

Generous: After losing to Ole Miss, VanDerveer cited the team’s inexperience as a problem. You may be right. Young players at Stanford weren’t ready for the team’s biggest games in February and March. They particularly considered their element against the rebels.

In addition to lacking a true point guard, Stanford was hit late in the season by a lack of reliable shooters. The best of them, Hannah Jump, relied heavily on her getting the ball, a problem exacerbated by a base problem. Jump plans to return for the extra year she took, but will need help increasing her shooting talents. Brink will be there to build around and be one of the best players in the country, but roster rebuilding and individual development should be a priority over the summer.

Voepel: Stanford played probably its worst game of the 2021-22 season in the National Semifinals losing to UConn. And this is no shade towards the Huskies; Even coach Geno Auriemma said he believes Stanford played subpar for UConn to win.

Now, the Cardinals are out before the National Championship game again — much earlier — but in an even more disappointing fashion. There will be second guessing by Cardinal fans as to why this team is getting worse instead of better as the season progresses.

I’ve wondered for the past three years that Stanford finds the right rotation all the time with so much talent. The chemistry the Cardinals managed to maintain in a pandemic-affected 2020-2021 season — when at one point they spent nine straight weeks away from home — hasn’t carried over the past two seasons. They lost out to leaders who did this at guard like Keana Williams after the 2021 Final and Anna Wilson after the 2022 Final Four.

Which team outside of the top 16 seeds playing Monday has the best chance of advancing to the Sweet 16?

Generous: No. 12-ranked Florida Gulf Coast might be ready to take it a step further and reach its first Sweet 16 program. After beating Virginia Tech in the first round this past March, the Eagles tied a tall, athletic Maryland team, a poor game for How Carl Smisko. He likes to play in his teams. Smesko runs his offense based on analytics that the only good shots are high percentage shutdowns or max value 3 pointers. FGCU led the country in 3-pointers but was also second in 2-point field goal percentage. In Saturday’s win over Washington State, the Eagles relied heavily on those light kicks with great success.

Since Villanova does not have a shot-blocking presence inside defenders or long wing defenders, FGCU should be able to use the same strategy. Villanova also allows its opponents to shoot 33.3% from behind the arc. This ranks 290th in the country. Slowing down Maddy Siegrist, the national team’s leading scorer, will be a challenge for the Eagles, but of the top four seeds that could have been tied in the second round, Villanova is the better match.