On3 Things to Know: Ole Miss is back on the road and looking for a win at Vanderbilt

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team immersed itself back into Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday and took another one on the chin in a loss to Kentucky,

Since late December the Rebels have loss 10 of 11 games, with the lone victory coming at South Carolina on Jan. 17. Outside of that it has been struggles in every game for Ole Miss.

The 75-66 loss to the Wildcats was the four straight since that win over the Gamecocks and Ole Miss (9-13, 1-8 SEC) is searching to find that win again.

“Just trying to get through some difficult things. It has been for two years,” said head coach Kermit Davis. “We haven’t had a lot of great luck happen with Ole Miss basketball. But the league is unforgiving and there’s great coaches just like (Kentucky head coach John Calipari) and there’s (Vanderbilt head coach) Jerry Stackhouse. They just keep coming.”

In fact next up for Ole Miss is Stackhouse and his Vanderbilt team, which the Rebels travel to Nashville on Saturday to take on. If there is a positive to be found is that Ole Miss has won four of the last six over the Commodores and they also host the same Gamecocks they beat last month in two games.

The Rebels will be without sophomore guard Daeshun Ruffin who made the announcement on Tuesday that he is stepping away from the program indefinitely to work on bettering his mental and physical health after a string of injuries.

More positive news could be coming in the form of the return of junior guard Matthew Murrell to the court. Murrell has not played since suffering a right knee injury at Arkansas on Jan. 21. Davis was aiming for the possibility Murrell could play on Saturday against the Commodores.

More so than anything, Ole Miss needs a win in the worst way.

“We want better than what’s going on at Ole Miss,” Davis said. “Our effort is fine, but the effort needs to be fine all the time. It’s just something that we got to keep grinding and going to work.”

Lets take a closer look at the upcoming matchup, with game notes provided by Ole Miss Sports Media Relations.

SERIES HISTORY VS. VANDERBILT

First meeting on February 8, 1925 in Oxford, Miss. when Vanderbilt defeated Ole Miss 19-18, the Commodores and Rebels have played in 126 games, with Vanderbilt leading the all-time series 78-48.

The home team has gotten the better of their opponent throughout the 98 years they’ve played, with Vanderbilt leading in Nashville 48-9, and Ole Miss leading in Oxford 34-26. In neutral locations, the Rebels lead 5-4, with the series tied at four wins each during the postseason and in overtime games.

The Rebels have taken the win in six of the last four meetings, owning a 3-2 record against Vandy under head coach Kermit Davis.

LAST MEETING: MARCH 5, 2022 (L, 61-63, OXFORD, MISS.)

• Last year’s regular season schedule finale for each team ended with a narrow victory for the visiting Commodores.
• Ole Miss took a seven-point lead into the locker room at halftime, before Vandy came back to take the lead midway through the second half.
• Trailing by seven with just over four minutes left, the Rebels got within two on a three-pointer by Matthew Murrell with under a minute to go, before missing on a pair of attempts in the closing seconds.
• Murrell led the Rebels with 15 points while Austin Crowley scored 15 as well off the bench.
• Vanderbilt was led by Scotty Pippen Jr., who scored 22 and dished out six assists.

SCOUTING THE COMMODORES

Opening the season with losses to Memphis and Southern Miss at home, Vanderbilt jumped back to an even 2-2 record after defeating Temple and Morehead State. At the Wooden Legacy Tournament, they fell to Saint Mary’s before taking down Fresno State, and concluded their November with a loss at VCU. Vanderbilt would go 4-2 in the month of December, defeating Wofford, Pitt, Alabama A&M, and Southeastern Louisiana, and falling to Grambling State and NC State. After beginning their SEC schedule with an overtime win over South Carolina, Vandy dropped matchups with Missouri and Tennessee. They have since lost to Tennessee, Alabama twice, Kentucky, and Texas A&M, picking up their other two conference wins over Arkansas and Georgia; entering their game with Ole Miss at 10-12 overall and 3-6 in conference.

Depth has been the strength of Vanderbilt this season, as they lead the SEC and rank sixth in the nation at 32.8 bench points per game. While attempting 25.0 three pointers per game (42nd in the NCAA and third in the SEC), they are shooting just 32.1% from beyond the arc on the year (280th in the NCAA and ninth in the SEC). They also rank among the top-100 as a team in blocks per game (4.5, 47th in NCAA), offensive rebounds per game (11.8, 62nd in NCAA), fewest turnovers per game (11.7, 81st in NCAA), and total rebounds per game (36.6, 96th in NCAA).

Forward Liam Robbins enters as their leading scorer on the season, averaging 13.0 points per game while leading the team in rebounds as well at 5.9 per contest. Standing at seven-feet tall, the senior also leads the team and ranks seventh in the nation at 2.78 blocks per game. Forward Myles Stute has been a threat from deep this season, ranking second in the SEC and 17th in the country with a 42.4% mark from three. He’s connected on seven three pointers twice this season, against Temple on November 15 and January 28 at Texas A&M.

MB2K

Myles Burns also brought 1,852 points to Oxford from his four-time NAIA All-American career at Loyola New Orleans, giving him a collegiate total of 1,994 points entering Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt. Once he surpasses the 2,000 collegiate points mark, he would be one of just five active players across all divisions in college basketball with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds (if his NAIA stats transferred to NCAA). Other active student-athletes with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds are Jayden Gardner (Virginia), KJ Williams (LSU), Kevin Obanor (Texas Tech), and Jordan Janssen (Wayne St. (NE)).

Burns would also be just one of two active players across all divisions with at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 100 steals, and 100 blocks in their career. Janssen of Wayne St. (NE) would be the only other active member of that club.
*Entering Saturday, Williams of LSU is two blocks away from meeting this criteria as well.

THROUGH THE FIRE

Ole Miss has faced off with some of the best competition college basketball has to offer, as the Rebels current strength of schedule ranks fifth in the nation. With a combined opponent record of 298-168 (0.639), they have taken on 12 foes with a current NET ranking in the top-100, including nine in the top-50 and two in the top-five.

BLOCK PARTY

The Ole Miss defense currently averages 67.7 points allowed per game, only letting their opponents top 70 points six times this year. A major part of their defensive identity has been enforcing the paint, as the Rebels rank 33rd in the country in blocks per game (4.6). They are led down low by senior transfers Theo Akwuba (26 total blocks, 1.2 per game) and Jayveous McKinnis (25 total blocks, 1.2 per game).

On January 3 at No. 7 Alabama, Akwuba and McKinnis combined for seven blocks, with Akwuba’s four bringing his collegiate career total to 200 (now at 208). He and McKinnis (257 career blocks) are the only two teammates in college basketball with over 200 swats in their careers, and each rank among the top-10 in active career leaders.