Where Does Ole Miss Baseball Sit in SEC Standings Ahead of Final Series?

The Ole Miss Rebels head to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers this weekend, and both teams need some wins to earn a bid to the SEC Tournament and improve their standing for the NCAA Tournament.

The top 12 teams of the Southeastern Conference receive a bid to Hoover each season, and if the season ended today, Ole Miss would make the field. The season, however, does not end today, and there is still work to do on the road for the Rebels this week.

You can find the current conference standings in the SEC below with the conference record indicated in parenthesis.

SEC EAST

1. Kentucky Wildcats (20-7)

2. Tennessee Volunteers (19-8)

3. Georgia Bulldogs (16-11)

4. South Carolina Gamecocks (13-14)

5. Vanderbilt Commodores (12-15)

6. Florida Gators (11-16)

7. Missouri Tigers (8-19)

SEC West

1. Arkansas Razorbacks (19-8)

2. Texas A&M Aggies (17-10)

3. Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-12)

4. Alabama Crimson Tide (12-15)

5. Ole Miss Rebels (11-16)

6. LSU Tigers (10-17)

7. Auburn Tigers (6-21)

Of these teams, Auburn has already been mathematically eliminated from SEC Tournament contention, but one other team will join the Tigers in that boat after Saturday.

Ole Miss and Florida have the same record at 11-16 overall, but the Rebels are currently in possession of the 11-seed due to being swept earlier this season by Kentucky. The Gators, on the other hand, only lost two games to the Wildcats, so they are currently in possession of the tiebreaker.

Obviously, this weekend's series in Baton Rouge is huge for both the Rebels and the Tigers. Both teams have hopes of not just reaching Hoover, but also finding their way into the NCAA Tournament following the conclusion of games this weekend. LSU currently holds the 12th and final seed for the action in Hoover, but Missouri can claim that spot with some help in the final stretch of conference play.

If Ole Miss can find 13 SEC wins, it would be in better shape to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The path to that number? Claiming a series win in Baton Rouge, which is easier said than done, even against a scuffling Tigers team.

As of this writing, Ole Miss holds an RPI of 24 and the top strength of schedule in the country, per WarrenNolen.com. Gaining 13 conference wins with those metrics would make Mike Bianco's team feel a lot better about its chances when the tournament selection show rolls around.

The series between Ole Miss and LSU is set to begin on Thursday night with a 6 p.m. CT first pitch. The game will be televised on SEC Network.