Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Ole Miss Tops Vanderbilt

Ole Miss almost didn't need Marshall Henderson to dispatch Vanderbilt 63-52, and it's a good thing because Henderson was 1-for-8 in the 1st half and finished the night with an uncharacteristically low 11 points on 4 of 15 shooting. But Henderson showed up when it mattered, hitting back-to-back 3 pointers to stretch the lead from 49-46 to 55-46 with 3:57 to play, thrusting the Rebels into a comfortable lead they would never relinquish.

The Rebels didn't play great (36.2% from the floor), but Vanderbilt, playing with just seven scholarship players, played worse. The Commodores scored just 20 points in the 1st half and turned the ball over 17 times. It's not often that Ole Miss gets an easy win in the SEC. Almost every other SEC game thus far has come down to the final possession or two. It's even more unusual for the Rebels to beat Vanderbilt on its home floor. Until last year it had not happened since 2001. But no matter how thin the Commodores are this year, the win shouldn't be taken for granted. That said, Vanderbilt (9-8, 1-4 SEC) still didn't look good.

Jarvis Summers, aka "Old Steady", paced the Rebels with 16 points. Anthony Perez, who scored 22 against South Carolina Saturday, scored 13. Ole Miss out-rebounded Vanderbilt 44-40, led by Aaron Jones (10 reb, 5 Blocks, 3 steals) and Sebastian Saiz (8 rebounds).

Five games in to conference play the Rebels do seem more confident as a team. If leading scorer Henderson has an off night it's okay, because there's any combination of Summers, LaDarius White, Perez or Sebastian Saiz or others who could step up and fill in the gap. This team is getting better each night out it seems.

Ole Miss has won three in a row and is now 13-5 and 4-1 in the SEC. The Rebels host Mississippi State on Saturday in front of a sold out Tad Smith Coliseum. It's still way too early to talk about what the Rebels need to do to make the NCAA Tournament, but the Rebels are doing what they need to do so far. For now, just keep winning....