Ticket Punched: Ole Miss Basketball Takes Down Iowa State, Advances to Sweet 16

The No. 6 seeded Ole Miss Rebels will walk out of Milwaukee with a ticket punched to the Sweet 16 after taking down the Iowa State Cyclones on Sunday night, 91-78.

The Rebels would cruise to a dominant victory over the Cyclones, and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001, and just the second time in program history.

Now, Ole Miss will head to Atlanta with the program set to await their next round foe.

What went right for the Rebels on Sunday night in the Second Round?

The Instant Takeaways: Rebels Cruise to the Sweet 16

No. 1: Ole Miss' Hot Shooting Night Sets the Pace

Ole Miss shot 58.3% from the floor, 57.9% from 3-point range, and 83.3% from the free throw line, an absolutely blistering shooting night for the Rebels.

Ole Miss kept their shooting pace up for 40 minutes, while the Cyclones shot just 44% from the floor, 31.6% from three-point range, and 61.9% from the free-throw line.

While the Cyclones didn't shoot the ball poorly, they just simply couldn't keep up with the Rebels on Sunday night with Chris Beard's crew making a statement in Milwaukee with the program clicking on all cylinders.

Ole Miss put on a clinic offensively, and exploded to leads as big as 25 points in the second half, and never relinquished the lead from beginning to end in the Round of 32 matchup.

SWEET 16 BOUND!!!#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/aZarQxxFkO
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 24, 2025

No. 2: Spreading the Wealth Offensively Propelled the Rebels

Ole Miss had a whopping five players in double figures on Sunday while the Cyclones saw only a trio of players surpass 10 points.

The Rebels lead all of Division 1 with six players averaging over 10 points per game, and while Ole Miss didn't maintain that number on Sunday, they certainly had multiple players with big performances with Sean Pedulla setting the tone.

Pedulla lead the Rebels in scoring with 20 points, followed by Jaemyn Brakefield with 19, Malik Dia with 18, Matthew Murrell with 15, and Jaylen Murray with 11.

Ole Miss utilized a balanced offensive attack to secure the win on Sunday, and also was able to stave off a late Cyclone rally down the stretch.

No. 3: Ball Control and Points Off Turnovers Kept the Rebels Afloat

Ole Miss committed the fourth-fewest turnovers per game with just 9.1 turnovers a night with the program carrying that momentum into postseason play.

The Rebels turned the ball over just eight times on Sunday while forcing the Cyclones into 15 turnovers.

While forcing turnovers is important, scoring off of them is even more impactful come NCAA Tournament time. Ole Miss scored 18 points off of Iowa State's turnovers, which helped the Rebel squash a handful of late Cyclone rallies.

The Rebels were able to limit themselves to a below-average turnover margin on Sunday, undoubtedly helping the team continue to pull away down the stretch.

Ole Miss will await the result of the No.10 seeded New Mexico Lobos and No. 2 seeded Michigan State Spartans matchup to see who they will square off against in the Sweet 16.

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.