The Rebels currently hold an overall record of 11-8 and a 3-4 mark in the SEC. As of Wednesday, there has been no official announcement regarding whether their Saturday matchup against No. 18 Vanderbilt at the Pavilion will proceed as scheduled. Regardless, this game presents a significant opportunity for the Rebels to pull off an upset against a top 20 team, though it won’t be easy.
Coming off a tough loss to the Wildcats, the Rebels faced challenges on the court. Otega Oweh struggled in the first half without scoring any field goals, but he turned things around dramatically in the second half, contributing 20 of his team’s 23 points. Unfortunately for Ole Miss, they couldn’t stop his surge to overcome Kentucky, who secured a 72-63 victory.
For Ole Miss, AJ Storr led with 20 points while Malik Dia added 16 and Corey Chest grabbed 10 rebounds. However, these efforts fell short as they recorded just 23 points in their lowest-scoring first half of the season. The team shot only 25% from the field during that period and went just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc. Overall, Ole Miss managed only a shooting percentage of 36%, which highlights their need for improvement moving forward.
Now, the Rebels are gearing up to face a Vanderbilt team that recently handed Kentucky an embarrassing defeat in Nashville, winning 80-55. This loss brought Mark Pope’s five-game winning streak to an end. With this victory, the Commodores improved their record to 18-3 for the season and secured fourth place in the SEC. Notably, this was Vanderbilt’s largest win over the blue-blood program of Kentucky since 2008.
From the outset, Vanderbilt dominated the game, scoring 28 points off 15 turnovers and establishing a commanding 43-23 lead by halftime. The Commodores shot an impressive 47% overall (16 for 34) and hit 50% (7 of 14) from beyond the arc during that half while also outrebounding the Wildcats 27-16.
Tyler Tanner and Tyler Nickel were standout performers, each contributing 19 points. Deven McGlockton added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, helping Vanderbilt improve to 5-3 in SEC play. By halftime, they had already built a substantial lead of over 20 points. It was remarkable to see how effectively they managed to shut down Kentucky’s big man, Otega Oweh, limiting his scoring opportunities even under pressure.
Freshman Chandler Bing also made a notable impact off the bench with a season-high of 11 points. This victory is particularly significant for the Commodores, as they have been playing without their second-leading scorer, Duke Miles, who is sidelined due to a knee injury.
Looking ahead, Ole Miss faces a daunting challenge against this formidable Vanderbilt squad but on paper side by side its not an impossible task for Chris Beard and his team. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor suggests that while Ole Miss has shown flashes of regaining their form, they are currently given only a 31.5% chance of victory compared to Vanderbilt’s strong likelihood at 68.5%. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM from The Pavilion in Oxford and will be broadcast on the SEC Network as of this writing. Stay tuned for any updates regarding dates and details here at Ole Miss 365.