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Sean Pedulla saved the day for Ole Miss in its Round of 64 game vs. North Carolina.
After leading by 22 points earlier in the day, Ole Miss allowed UNC to make a run late in the 2nd half. Carolina trailed by just 2 points with about 1 minute remaining when Pedulla hit the biggest shot of the game.
Pedulla’s big 3-pointer put the Rebels up by 5 with 52.8 seconds remaining. From there, Ole Miss was able to salt the game away at the free throw line. The Rebels prevailed 71-64 to advance to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s a clip of Pedulla’s huge shot:
Pedulla has been extremely clutch for the Rebels this season. Just last week, he hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the SEC Tournament against Arkansas to help the Rebels advance to the next round in that event. He was also Ole Miss’s best offensive player in this game, scoring 20 points on 14 shots.
The difference in this game was the 3-point line. Ole Miss shot 40% from beyond the arc while the Tar Heels were just 5-of-24 (21%) from downtown. In the end, that was enough for Ole Miss to get a big NCAA Tournament victory.
This was Ole Miss’s first NCAA Tournament victory since 2015 when Andy Kennedy was leading the program. Now under Chris Beard, the Rebels will look to advance to the Sweet 16 on Sunday against Iowa State.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
