The Arkansas Razorbacks take on the Ole Miss Rebels. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Arkansas Ole Miss prediction and pick. Find how to watch Arkansas Ole Miss.

The Arkansas Razorbacks made the Elite Eight in 2021 and 2022. They reached the Sweet 16 last season. They have been one of the better college basketball programs over the past few years. It is therefore a surprise that coach Eric Musselman has simply not been able to find a way to break through with this team. Some of the players who toppled defending (2022) champion Kansas in the 2023 NCAA Tournament were back for this year. Arkansas was supposed to be good. Yet, the Hogs clearly aren't good. They are just 10-8 on the season, 1-4 in the SEC. They haven't even played the top end of the conference except for Auburn, and they were crushed by the Tigers at home. They still have to play Kentucky (coming up this Saturday) and some of the other top teams in the SEC. Arkansas will have to fight an uphill battle just to achieve a .500 record in SEC games. The Hogs might not finish five games over .500 for the whole season. This is not something many people anticipated this season for a program which had seemingly found a formula for repeated successes and good results.

The Ole Miss Rebels are exactly the opposite of Arkansas. Whereas Arkansas was expected to be good but has disappointed, Ole Miss was not expected to be good but has pleasantly surprised. The Rebels have a first-year head coach, Chris Beard, who was likely to improve the program but not in Year 1. The first go-round in Oxford was supposed to be a struggle before Beard settled into the job and made various adjustments. Yet, he has made those adjustments immediately and has Ole Miss at 15-3, very much on track to make the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels have drastically improved from the latter years of previous coach Kermit Davis's tenure. The speed of change and improvement has caught a lot of people by surprise.

Here are the Arkansas-Ole Miss College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Arkansas-Ole Miss Odds

Arkansas Razorbacks: +5.5 (-102)

Ole Miss Rebels: -5.5 (-120)

Over: 149.5 (-115)

Under: 149.5 (-105)

How To Watch Arkansas vs Ole Miss

Time: 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT

TV: ESPNU

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Arkansas Could Cover the Spread

The Hogs are desperate. They have to win this game to keep any slight NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Beyond that, they have simply not played well in recent weeks, which should lead Eric Musselman to light a fire under his team and get his players to finally play to their potential. It has been jarring to watch Arkansas fall short again and again and again. Surely at some point this team is going to wake up and display what it is truly capable of. This team can't remain bad in perpetuity, can it? It's possible, but usually Arkansas teams under Musselman eventually wake up and figure it out before the season ends.

Why Ole Miss Could Cover the Spread

The Rebels have earned the benefit of the doubt in a way Arkansas certainly hasn't. Ole Miss isn't dominating the SEC, but the Rebels have some really good wins on their resume, such as Memphis, and have been a consistently good team over the course of the season. The SEC is tough, but Arkansas at home — based on the way the Hogs have been playing — does not seem like the most difficult challenge one could possibly imagine. Ole Miss might not exceed the effort Arkansas puts forth, but it should match it. Given that Arkansas struggles to shoot the ball from long range, the Rebels have to feel confident about their chances as long as they don't get dominated on the glass.

Final Arkansas-Ole Miss Prediction & Pick

Ole Miss is a better team, playing at home. Take Ole Miss.

Final Arkansas-Ole Miss Prediction & Pick: Ole Miss -5.5