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Ole Miss leaves no doubt, wins SEC tournament automatic bid

SEC Basketball Tournament - Ole Miss v Florida

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 17: head coach Andy Kennedy of the Ole Miss Rebels reacts in the second half against the Florida Gators during the SEC Basketball Tournament Championship game at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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Good on you, Ole Miss.

Don’t leave it up to the Selection Committee. Go out and earn your bid to the tournament. Save your head coach’s job. The Rebels did just that, coming back from 12 down at the half to knock off Florida, 66-63, in the SEC title game on Saturday afternoon.

And with the win, Ole Miss puts an end to one of the most intriguing story lines heading into Selection Sunday. Ole Miss wasn’t going to change their bubble status with a loss to Florida. They didn’t move themselves past other teams on the cut line with a win over Vanderbilt. After beating Missouri, Ole Miss had essentially handed their profile over to the committee. It was either win and get in, or lose and hope that they had done enough to set themselves apart from the likes of Tennessee, Middle Tennessee State and St. Mary’s.

The Rebels also made things just that much tougher for teams waiting to see if their names will be called during the Selection Show.

Our Dave Ommen had Ole Miss in before today. Others didn’t. There was still hope for some bubblers that something about the Rebels’ profile -- those two sub-200 losses, the lack of quality wins, etc. -- would turn the committee off enough to get their team a bid.

That hope is gone, meaning that one fewer team near the bubble’s cut-line will be dancing.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.