Ole Miss basketball will be tipping off the 2019 portion of their schedule Saturday in Nashville as they begin SEC play against Vandy.
There has been a lot of excitement surrounding Ole Miss athletics over the past few weeks and none is greater than what has been Ole Miss basketball (10-2). So far thru the first 12 games of the season we have seen a different kind of basketball than what we had grown accustomed to over the past dozen years.
Now under coach Kermit Davis the Rebels have proven to be much faster, much improved from last season and are very fun to watch on the court. This Ole Miss hoops team has been perfect at home thus far and are currently on a 7-game win streak. Momentum is a strong product when it comes to any sport but especially college basketball.
The Rebels will need a lot of momentum this Saturday as they travel to open SEC play against the Vanderbilt Commodores (9-3) in Nashville. The Rebels enter the SEC opener coming off a 87-57 win over Florida Gulf Coast while the Dores are coming off 90-59 win over UNC-Asheville. We will take a closer look at the Dores and their key players.
A Look At Vandy
Ole Miss Rebels
When you look at this Vandy basketball team from a fan of the game standpoint you have to be able to appreciate this team. While they have lost 3 games they do also have some quality wins under their belt. The Dores have losses to Kent State, NC State and Kansas State but have wins over No.18 Arizona State and USC among others.
As with any SEC program the Vanderbilt Commodores have their share of talented players who have deep support off the bench. The Dores leading scorer is freshman Darius Garland who averages 16.1 points per game. Garland also averages 3.8 boards and 2.6 assists per game.
The Dores leading rebounder is another freshman named Simisola Shittu who averages 7.8 boards per game. Shittu also averages 14.4 points and 2.1 assists per game. Leading the Dores in assists and steals is sophomore Saben Lee. Lee averages 3.8 and 0.9 respectively.
While Vandy has a very good team the Ole Miss Rebels have the obvious advantage from an experience level despite playing on the road. Should the Rebels be able to minimize mistakes and turnovers and play good defense they will have a better shot at beginning SEC play with a huge road win. Tipoff from Nashville is set for 7:30pm CT and the game will be televised via the SEC Network. Good luck to coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels. Hotty Toddy!