Rebels Try to Extend Perfection in SEC

Reginald Buckner
Photo by Robert Jordan University Communications

Ole Miss takes high scoring show to the music city

By: Adam Brown
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Compiled from Ole Miss Press Releases

The Ole Miss Rebels travel to Nashville tonight to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores.  The Rebels are looking for their first 3-0 start in the SEC since the 2005-2006 season.

Ole Miss (13-2, 2-0 SEC) comes into this match up with a pair of conference wins over Tennessee and Missouri this past week. The 64-49 victory over the No.10-ranked Missouri Tigers Saturday was the first win over a top-ten team since knocking off No. 10 Kentucky back in 2011.

Senior Murphy Holloway lead the Rebels in scoring, with 22 points against the Tigers, a  career best versus SEC opponents.

Coach Kennedy spoke about the Rebels start in conference play after the game.

“It’s opportunities really, we don’t control who we play or when we play them,” he said. “Right out of the chute, we got challenged early.  We got challenged by Tennessee on the road, and then played one of the best teams in the country in our own home, and we just did what we were supposed to do by protecting our home floor.  If you have any aspirations of playing meaningful basketball in March, that’s what you have to do.”

Vanderbilt (6-8, 0-2 SEC) dropped its first two conference games against Kentucky and Arkansas last week.  The Commodores are led in scoring this season by sophomore Kedren Johnson, who is averaging 15.7 points per game. Vanderbilt lost all five of the starters from a team that posted 25 total wins and advanced to the NCAA Tournament third round last season.

Coach Kevin Stallings’ club is scoring approximately 57.6 points per game, ranking them 334th in the nation.  The Rebels, who come into the game scoring an average of 82.4 points per game, is seated seventh nationally.

This will be the 114th all time meeting between the Rebels and the Commodores, with Vandy leading the all-time series 74-39. Vanderbilt defeated the Rebels 65-53 in the last SEC tournament faceoff.  Ole Miss’s last victory over Vandy in Memorial Gym came in the 2001 season.

Tip-off is 8 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPNU. The next time the Rebels play at home will be on Saturday, when they face the Arkansas Razorbacks.