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Ole Miss was 10 minutes away from upsetting LSU on Thursday night, but a devastating fourth quarter turned into a 78-70 loss for the Rebels. Both teams were fourth in the SEC standings, but now Ole Miss could be missing out on a coveted double-bye for the conference tournament. That being said, Ole Miss is still looking at the bigger picture,

In the women's NCAA basketball tournament, the top four seeds in each region host the first two rounds. This year, Ole Miss is firmly in contention for a top-four seed, something they haven't achieved since 1992.

"If we've won it would have really helped us, but it doesn't hurt us," coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said postgame. "...I am confident that this week is going to prepare us for something even greater in March. And I am not talking about the SEC Tournament, I'm talking about March Madness."

The Rebels have reached the Sweet 16 twice in the past three seasons, but both times they did so in front of road crowds. Last weekend, the NCAA made an early reveal of the current top 16 seeds with Ole Miss coming it at No. 15. Earlier this week, CBS Sports bracketologist Connor Groel projected them as a No. 5 seed, and after the LSU loss, they sit at No. 18 in the NET rankings. The loss to LSU was not ideal, but not all hope is lost; the Rebels still have a game against No. 3 South Carolina this weekend, which, if they pull the upset, would be a huge boost to their resume. Plus, they should have an opportunity to pick up more Quad 1 wins in the SEC tournament. 

Regardless of what happens, Ole Miss already has a lot to be proud of. When winter storm Fern hit Mississippi and left 62,000 people in Oxford without power, the team had to make Alabama its home base for a while and did not get to play a true home game for a month. Despite the struggles, the Rebels picked up a statement win against Vanderbilt and their 19-4 record at the time gave the program its best start in the McPhee-McCuin era.

Ole Miss is not the only team that could host an NCAA Tournament game after a long drought. Vanderbilt got off to an 18-0 start this season and the Commodores have done a good job handling a tough SEC conference schedule. CBS Sports currently has them projected as a No. 2 seed, while still having a chance at stealing the last No. 1 seed from Texas. Regardless, Shea Ralph's team will finish the regular season as one of the top 16 teams, which means the program will host for the first time since 2009. 

Texas Tech was also one of the last undefeated teams this season with a 19-0 start. The Raiders have not played in the tournament since the 2012-13 season, but that drought is ending soon. They are currently projected as a No. 6 seed and would probably need to make it far in the Big 12 Tournament for a chance to rise enough, but if they did, the Lady Raiders would be hosting for the first time since 2005.

Minnesota has been another surprising team. The Gophers have not been in the NCAA Tournament since 2018, but earlier this week the team was projected as a No. 5 seed, which would be the Gophers' best seeding since 2005 when they hosted as a No. 3 seed. Their win against Ohio State certainly helped their case, and they can still continue to improve their resume by beating Michigan State this weekend. Speaking of the Spartans, they could also be hosting for the first time since 2016. They are a projected No. 4 seed at the moment, and they were the No. 14 overall seed in the early reveal of the top 16 seeds.

Alabama might be a bigger stretch, but the Crimson Tide were close to hosting last year as a No. 5 seed. Right now they are No. 7 on the CBS Sports projections and No. 6 in the ESPN bracketology. They have not hosted since 1998 and they have a lot of work to do if they want a chance to do it this year, but it does help that SEC competition can give them the wins needed to climb up the NET rankings.

Here is what else is happening in women's college basketball:

Rough month for Tennessee

Tennessee suffered a 43-point loss to No. 3 South Carolina on Feb. 8, which was the largest margin of defeat in program history. The team is not looking any stronger as the season winds down. The Lady Vols took a shocking 82-74 loss at home to Texas A&M on Thursday night, which means Tennessee has now lost four of its last five games. Kim Caldwell's squad has a lot to figure out before the postseason, but it will be challenging with Oklahoma, LSU and Vanderbilt still on the schedule.

"I don't think we're doing much of anything, so I don't have anything to say about that," Caldwell said postgame when asked about her system. "I think that all of our errors are, at the end of the day, on me, and I think that's understood."

Addy Brown returns

After missing 11 games due to a lower-body injury, Addy Brown returned to the court in Iowa State's 90-64 win over Arizona State. Brown played 20 minutes and contributed with 6 points, 7 reb, 6 assists and a block. During her absence, her team went 6-5, which included a five-game losing streak.

"She's back," coach Bill Fennelly said. "Every team is built in a certain way, and we've built our team — as you guys know, I'm a baseball guy -- and we built it up the middle with (point guard) Jada (Williams), Addy, and Audi. And when Addy's not in there, a lot of our offensive flow is not very good. 

"She's ultra-skilled, but she's one of the smartest basketball players I've ever been around. There are not a lot of players that I've been around that see the play before it happens. Not in the women's game. The great ones do. There are not as many as you think. She's one of them."

Geno Auriemma ties another Tara VanDerveer record

This week marked No. 1 UConn's 654 appearances in the AP Top 25 poll under Geno Auriemma, which tied former Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer's record during her 41-year Hall of Fame career.

The Huskies have been ranked for 619 consecutive weeks, a streak that dates all the way back to the 1993-94 preseason poll. The program already holds the record for most appearances at No. 1 with a total of 260 weeks.

Rori Harmon keeps making history

This past week, the Texas point guard became the first women's basketball player in Division I history to reach 1,500+ points, 900+ assists, 600+ career rebounds and 350+ career steals. Coach Vic Schaefer called her the best point guard in the nation earlier in the season and described her as "generational" during the Athletes Unlimited game on Feb. 12. 

"They just don't make them like her," he said. "She will guard you baseline to baseline and make life miserable for you and then will go run your team on the offensive end and get everyone in the right place and get the ball to the right people at the right time. 

"And then you better not take your eye off her because she will make you pay. She is really special. If they hired me tomorrow in the WNBA she would be the first one I would go get because she can run a team. She knows leadership, she knows playbook, she knows players, she knows what we are doing and how we are doing it. She is an extension of me on the floor." 

Game to watch this weekend

No. 6 Michigan at No. 13 Iowa -- Sunday (12 p.m. ET on FOX)

Michigan has lost the last five encounters against the Hawkeyes and there is the added difficulty of this game being played in Iowa. However, the Wolverines have given both No. 1 UConn and No. 2 UCLA serious upset scares. Michigan is the higher-ranked team in this matchup, but playing with an underdog type of urgency could help the Wolverines get a solid win to stay above Iowa in the Big Ten standings. That being said, the Jan Jensen's Hawkeyes should not be overlooked. Earlier this week, Jensen became the first Iowa coach to secure over 20 wins in each of her first two seasons at the helm of the program.