The Ole Miss men’s basketball team is set to play a road game against No. 15 Vanderbilt on Saturday, January 31 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville. The game will begin at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Ole Miss, currently holding an 11-9 overall record and 3-4 in SEC play, is led by head coach Chris Beard, who is in his third season with the Rebels. Vanderbilt enters the matchup with an 18-3 record and a 5-3 mark in conference games under head coach Mark Byington.
This meeting marks the 130th contest between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt since their first game in 1925. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, especially when playing at home in Nashville, where Ole Miss last won in 2019.
In their previous encounter on February 22, 2025, Vanderbilt secured a five-point victory over Ole Miss. Malik Dia led the Rebels with 22 points and seven rebounds during that game.
Vanderbilt has been recognized for its strong performance this season, including notable non-conference wins and high national rankings across several statistical categories such as assist-to-turnover ratio, three-point defense, scoring margin, blocks per game, turnover margin, fewest turnovers per game, free throw percentage, and steals per game. Four Commodores players average double figures in scoring.
For Ole Miss, limiting turnovers has been a point of emphasis this season. The team has recorded ten or fewer turnovers in twelve games so far and leads the SEC during conference play with an average of just 7.7 turnovers per game.
Senior guard AJ Storr has played a significant role in recent victories for Ole Miss. He scored a season-best 27 points against Georgia and has averaged over 21 points across the last five games.
Other key contributors include Malik Dia—who has matched his career total for double-doubles this season—and freshman Patton Pinkins, who posted a career-high of 25 points against Oklahoma earlier this year.
Head coach Chris Beard recently reached his fiftieth win at Ole Miss following a victory over Southern Miss on December 13.
The program also announced two new signees for its upcoming recruiting class: Jaron Saulsberry from Georgia’s Wheeler High School and Yohance Connor from Charlotte, North Carolina. Both are four-star recruits ranked among the top players in their respective states.
For more updates on Ole Miss men’s basketball, fans can follow @OleMissMBB on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook at Ole Miss Men’s Basketball or Instagram at olemissmbb.
