Ole Miss dropped its third game in a row, falling to No. 18 Vanderbilt 71-68 in Nashville on Saturday.
Chris Beard’s Rebels (11-10, 3-5 SEC) and Mark Buyington’s Commodores (19-3, 6-3 SEC) had to adjust to a modified schedule this week. Saturday’s contest was originally scheduled to be played in Oxford but was moved to Music City due to the lingering impact of Winter Storm Fern in Oxford.
Sophomore phenom Tyler Tanner had a game-high 24 points, and AK Okereke scored 17 to lead the home Commodores. Ole Miss was led by a trio of contributors, with AJ Storr and Malik Dia scoring 16 points apiece and Ilias Kamardine adding 14 points.
A fastbreak dunk by Tanner following a steal off an errant pass in the first 30 seconds of action kicked off a hot start for the Commodores, as the Rebels ebbed offensively. With 5:50 remaining in the first half, Vanderbilt led 25-12 following a Tyler Harris dunk. Ole Miss found a groove late in the first frame, with a Patton Pinkins layup catalyzing a 9-0 run by the Rebels to cut the deficit to four points with three minutes until the midway break.
Vanderbilt responded, outscoring Ole Miss 6-2 to take a 31-23 lead to halftime. In the first 20 minutes, Ole Miss, a team that had fewer than 10 turnovers in each of its previous SEC contests, coughed up the ball nine times, which turned into 12 points for the Commodores.
The Rebels began the second half with a bang, courtesy of a Travis Perry three-pointer, followed by a three-minute scoring drought that allowed Vanderbilt to build on its lead. From there, the Rebels took steps forward that were countered by steps in the wrong direction. A following 6-0 run that cut the Ole Miss deficit to three points was negated by an 8-0 run that rebuilt the home team’s buffer. Then Pinkins drained a triple, which was almost instantly neutralized by a deep shot by Tanner.
That theme continued to play out, where Ole Miss would eat into its deficit and Vanderbilt would have a counter of more power. Nonetheless, the Rebels did not quit and were ultimately able to find a crack in the Commodores’ attack.
With 6:12 left in the game, a jumper by Storr got Ole Miss within five points of its conference counterpart. A pair of free throws by Storr and Kamardine at the 3:33 and 3:03 marks, respectively, made it a two-point ballgame.
Playing to the theme of the game, however, Vanderbilt was ready to punch back. A pair of free throws by Jalen Washington, followed by a Mike James triple that occurred after a questionable no-call on what appeared to be a charge, found the Commodores leading 70-63 with 2:05 left in regulation.
A deep shot by Storr with 45 seconds on the clock gave Ole Miss a viable shot to play the part of road spoiler. Trailing 70-68, the Rebels needed a stop. While forcing a missed shot, Ole Miss was unable to secure the rebound and fouled Okereke, who made one of two free shots. In the final 16 seconds, Storr missed a three-pointer, but Dia corralled the offensive board and shot a triple right before the buzzer sounded. The shot was no good, and the home team avoided overtime.
Both teams were virtually even in all major categories. Vanderbilt was 44% from the floor while Ole Miss shot at a 42% clip. Each team had 11 turnovers and 33 rebounds. The biggest differences were behind the three-point arc and down low, where Vanderbilt had an advantage. Though the Commodores shot an underwhelming 25% from deep, the team had 12 more points from three-point range than Ole Miss. Vanderbilt also had a stronger presence down low, scoring six more points in the paint.
Ole Miss will continue its conference schedule in the Volunteer State, with a Tuesday road matchup at Tennessee being next on the docket. The contest will tip off at 6 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN2, along with participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.