Ole Miss basketball was back in action tipping off 2019 on the road opening SEC play against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville Saturday night.
Coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball (11-2, 1-0) were back in action Saturday night in Nashville as they tipped off the 2019 portion of their season opening SEC play against Vandy. The Rebels entered the Saturday night SEC opener coming off a 87-57 win over Florida Gulf Coast and with a 7-game win streak. Vanderbilt (9-4, 0-1) entered the SEC opener coming off a 90-59 win over UNC-Asheville.
Behind junior Breein Tyree who had a career high 31 points the Rebels were aggressive at the basket and took a 35-32 halftime lead. In the second half the Rebels saw more of the same from Tyree and subsequently picked up the tough 81-71 SEC opening road win over the Dores. Lets take a closer look at the game by the numbers.
By The Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels
Once again the Rebels shot well as a team from the field hitting .491 compared to just .400 by Vanderbilt. From three-point range the Rebels shot .333 while Vandy shot just .300 from beyond the arc. At the free-throw line the Rebels shot .864 while Vandy struggled at the charity stripe hitting just .568.
Defensively Ole Miss out-rebounded Vandy 36-35 while creating 10 Dores turnovers and collected 6 steals. Ole Miss basketball has played well and been able to win games despite continuing to commit way too many turnovers. The Rebels committed 12 turnovers Saturday night against Vandy allowing the Dores to get 7 steals.
Individual Rebels Numbers
Saturday night Ole Miss basketball had four Rebels who scored in double-digits. Junior Breein Tyree led all Rebels with 31 points. Tyree also had 4 boards, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot. Sophomore Devontae Shuler, freshman Blake Hinson and senior Terence Davis each scored 11 points. Shuler had 7 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals while Hinson pulled down 3 rebounds with 1 assist and 1 steal. Davis 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Observations
This is a very good statement win for coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball. Vanderbilt has a very good team and for the Rebels to get the SEC road win in Nashville shows the promise of this relatively young Rebels squad. Please keep in mind Vanderbilt has wins over Southern Cal and No.18 Arizona State.
Its not hard to put the cart ahead of the horse when it comes to expectations for this hoops team but they are much better than many college basketball pundits had speculated. So far we’ve seen this team play aggressive on both ends of the court and the ball movement is consistently getting better for the Rebels on the offensive side of the ball. While picked by many to finish last in the SEC this team should fare much better.
Things don’t get any easier for coach Kermit Davis and Ole Miss basketball now that SEC play has begun. The Rebels will be back in action Wednesday night at home in The Pavilion as they host the No.12 Auburn Tigers. Tip-off from Oxford is set for 7pm CT and the game will be televised via ESPN2. Good luck to coach Kermit Davis and the Rebels. Hotty Toddy!