OXFORD — February has nearly arrived, and Ole Miss basketball still finds itself right in the thick of the race for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Chris Beard's team, ranked 57th by the NET and 63rd by KenPom, has oscillated between the bubble and a place of comfort in the field over the last month or so, according to the experts.

With the Rebels (17-3, 4-3 SEC) preparing for an important home rivalry matchup against Mississippi State (14-6, 3-4) on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., SEC Network), here's a look at how the bracketologists view Ole Miss.

Ole Miss bracketology: Where Joe Lunardi projects the Rebels

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the Rebels on the wrong side of the bubble heading into the weekend, but an impressive Quadrant One win at Texas A&M has moved them up considerably.

Now, Lunardi projects Ole Miss as a No. 9 seed in the Charlotte pod of the West Region. He's got them matched up with eighth-seeded Michigan State. Tom Izzo's Spartans (12-8) rank 25th in the NET and 18th in KenPom. They don't share any common opponents with Ole Miss.

The winner, in Lundardi's projection, would either match up with top-seeded North Carolina or the winner of a play-in game between Green Bay and Central Connecticut State.

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Ole Miss bracketology: Where Jerry Palm projects the Rebels

CBS Sports bracketologist Jerry Palm places Ole Miss similarly.

Palm projects Ole Miss as a No. 8 seed. He's got the Rebels matching up with ninth-seeded Utah in Indianapolis as part of the Midwest Region. The Utes (14-7) are ranked 36th by the NET and 40th by KenPom. Like Ole Miss, they played Eastern Washington early in the season, beating the Eagles 101-66. Ole Miss topped Eastern Washington 75-64.

Palm's projection pairs the winner of this game with No. 1 seed Purdue or the winner of a play-in game between Eastern Kentucky and Central Connecticut State.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss bracketology update: NCAA bracket predictions for Rebels