Ole Miss not selected for NIT

Stefan Moody's Ole Miss basketball career is complete.

The Rebels were hopeful to extend their season with an NIT bid, but did not hear their name called during the tournament's selection show on ESPNU minutes ago.

Moody is the SEC's scoring leader at 23.6 points a game. He scored 39 points, but the Rebels were eliminated from the SEC tournament in their first game, falling 81-73 to Alabama last Thursday in Nashville.

Alabama is one of four SEC entries in the NIT's 32-team field.

South Carolina, which finished third in the SEC regular season, did not make the NCAA tournament and is an NIT 1 seed.

Florida is a 2 seed, and Georgia is a 3 seed.

Alabama is a 5 seed and could face state rival UAB in a third-round game one step beyond the semifinals in New York.

LSU, fourth in the SEC regular season, announced late today that it would not play in the NIT. NIT committee chairman Reggie Minton told ESPN that LSU was "definitely under consideration."

Although -- Ole Miss, 10-8 in SEC regular season play -- won at least 20 games for the eighth time in 10 seasons under coach Andy Kennedy the Rebels reached Selection Sunday an RPI ranking of 96, a 169 strength of schedule ranking and no wins against an RPI top 50 team. Ole Miss twice lost to opponents with an RPI of 150 or higher.

Ole Miss has played in postseason seven times under Kennedy, five times in the NIT, the last appearance coming in 2012.

The Rebels had reached the NCAA tournament in two of the last three seasons.

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 8:31 PM with the headline "Ole Miss not selected for NIT ."