The Ole Miss Rebels (13-2) will travel to Vanderbilt (6-8) on Tuesday looking to start league play 3-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season. The last time the two teams met was in last years SEC tournament in New Orleans where Vandy ended the Rebels hopes of attaining an NCAA tournament bid with a 65-53 win.

This year however both teams seem to be going in opposite directions. Ole Miss fresh off beating 10th ranked Missouri in a sold out Tad Smith Coliseum seems to be finding their identity as a team and possibly ready to contend for a SEC championship. Vanderbilt on the other hand is coming off two losses to start league play, first to Kentucky and then at Arkansas.

After what has been considered 2 bad losses in a seemingly easy non-conference schedule (the loss to MTSU doesn't seem as bad now), the Rebels have opened up SEC play on straight fire. First, dropping 92 points at Tennessee and then showcasing our nationally ranked defensive play against Missouri. Vanderbilt is next to last in the SEC in scoring at 59.5 pts per game, if the Rebels can keep up their strong defensive play then they can walk out of Memorial Gym with their first win over the Commodores in 5 previous meetings. Ole Miss is on the cusp of a top 25 national ranking, and a win over Vanderbilt would almost surely vault us into the rankings.

Side Note: Murphy Holloway is now only 40 rebounds away from breaking Walter Actwood's school record of 945 career rebounds. Also, Andy Kennedy while never reaching the NCAA tournament with the Rebels is only 7 wins away from breaking B.L. Graham record of most wins in school history.