The Ole Miss Rebels tried to pull off the unthinkable last season. After going 15-20 on the season, and just 4-14 in the SEC, the Rebels knew they had to take home the SEC Tournament in order to keep dancing into March Madness.
Unfortunately, the Arkansas Razorbacks and their one-man show, Darius Acuff, stuffed the Rebels from just reaching the conference tournament championship. The Razorbacks would go on to cut down the nets in the SEC Tournament.
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Even with a painful loss, there is still plenty that head coach Chris Beard can build on from last season. The Rebels will have a lot of new faces this upcoming season, and now, they know who they will be playing in one of their biggest non-conference games of the season.
Ole Miss to Face Virginia Tech
The Rebels will be taking a little road trip to Blacksburg, Virginia, as they are set to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on December 1st.
The Hokies’ 2025-26 campaign saw some success when it came to the non-conference slate, but just like the Rebels, Virginia Tech struggled in conference play.
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Mike Young’s squad finished the year 19-10, but that 8-10 conference record had them finish the season in the ACC at 11th place.
The Hokies will be a team looking for redemption in a year after they missed the NCAA Tournament as well. This one has all the makings of a resume building win for the victor, and will be a game the loser looks back on with regret. Actually, resumes won’t matter anymore; the NCAA is just going to allow everyone in the tournament now. Maybe that’s good news for both of these programs.
New Look Rebels
After such a disappointing season this past year, Coach Beard knew that a new wave of talent would be needed if the Rebels want to take that next step as a program.
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The Rebels grabbed six players in the transfer portal for this upcoming season. Santiago Trouet, Stefan Cicic, Dasear Haskins, Christian Brown, Adam Clark, and Roman Siulepa. That’s not to mention the three freshmen coming in for the 2026-27 season. The Rebels signed combo guard Yohance Connor, small forward Jaren Saulsberry, and small forward Daniel Patton.
A long list of talent is coming to Oxford, and they will once again be led by 2026 All-SEC Tournament player AJ Storr.
Is it time for the Rebels to make the leap with Beard?
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/olemiss as Ole Miss Rebels’ Opponent in 2026 SEC/ACC Challenge Revealed .
