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Rebels Dictate and Disrupt No. 5 Vanderbilt to Advance in SEC Tournament

Published

6 months ago

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Ole Miss women's basketball fans celebrate during Friday night's game against Vanderbilt. | Ole Miss Athletics

Dictate and disrupt.

Simple to say, a lot hard to do. But that’s what No. 24 Ole Miss did against No. 5 Vanderbilt.

The Commodores never led in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal game and, at one point, Ole Miss led by 32 points early in the third quarter.

As detailed below, it was a truly dominant showing but Vanderbilt made it interesting enough to not warrant the addition of “dominate” to the Rebels popular phrase.

Here’s how the game played out that sends Ole Miss onto the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

First Half

Dictate and disrupt has become a popular phrase for Ole Miss at the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. After today, “dominate” might need to join the list.

A day after rolling Auburn 73-57, the Rebels came out with even more edge and stunned Vanderbilt with a first half that no one saw coming.

The Commodores managed just six first‑quarter points. National Player of the Year candidate Mikayla Blakes went 0-for-8 from the field and scored only on a free throw. Vanderbilt made just five total field goals, turned it over 11 times, and saw its three best players — Blakes, Sacha Washington, and Aubrey Galvan — all pick up at least two fouls (Blakes had three).

That’s disrupting a high-powered offense that hasn’t scored fewer than 20 points in a half in five years. And Ole Miss wasn’t just disrupting — it was dictating everything.

Turnover? Ole Miss turned it into points, racking up 21 off giveaways.

Ball in the paint? Ole Miss owned it, outscoring Vanderbilt 28-6.

Loose ball? Expect a Rebel to hit the floor first. Tianna Thompson even scooped one up while two Commodores watched it roll by.

That’s how Ole Miss played: second-effort, first-to-the-floor, fully locked in. And it’s put the Rebels in position for a massive SEC Tournament upset.

Of course, what happens in one half can be answered in the next. Ole Miss has to keep the same intensity to finish the job.

Second Half

Any concern about a drop off in the Rebels’ effort in the second half were erased when McMahon went diving into the announcers’ table after a loose ball.

The defensive effort and intensity didn’t wane. Sure, Vanderbilt had its moments and Blakes started to find her shot (8-for-16 on field goals in the second half).

But it wasn’t enough because players like McMahon, Iwuala and Thompson continued to shine.

Thompson had another play that should be on her highlight reel. After missing a three in the fourth quarter, Thompson chased down her own rebound, passed Christeen Iwuala who made the layup.

The Commodores even answered that with a Galvan three-pointer, but like most other things in the second half, Ole Miss didn’t let that start a spark.

What did light a spark for Vanderbilt came with nine minutes when coach Shea Ralph was ejected for arguing with referees.

That launched a 15-0 run that cut the Rebels’ lead to 14 points with five minutes left to play. Two minutes later, the Commodores cut that lead to 11.

Ole Miss had a few turnovers caused as a result of Vanderbilt’s full court press and the shots Vanderbilt was missing in the first 30 minutes of the game, were starting to fall.

The Commodores certainly made it interesting, but the 11-point deficit was the closest they’d come to taking the lead.

So, it may not be a performance worthy of adding another word to “dictate and disrupt,” but it was a good enough showing against a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to make every other top-ranked team nervous.

Ole Miss Leaders

  • Points: Latasha Lattimore, 28
  • Rebounds: Latasha Lattimore, 8
  • Assists: Cotie McMahon, 7
  • Steals: Tianna Thompson, 2
  • Blocks: Latasha Lattimore/Debreasha Powe, 1

Next Up

Ole Miss advances to the semifinal round of the conference tournament for the first time since 2024 and will face the winner of No. 11-seed Alabama vs. No. 3-seed Texas. That game is set to tipoff at 7:30 p.m. The Rebels will face the winner at 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.

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Basketball

Ole Miss Basketball Appears in First Look at Expanded NCAA Tournament Field

Published

4 months ago

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May 8, 2026

By

Ole Miss Men's Basketball during the game against Mississippi St. at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi on January 17, 2026. | Ole Miss Athletics

Most college sports fans saw Thursday’s news that the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are expanding to 76 teams. Eight additional teams will be added to what is currently the First Four, turning it into a 24‑team play‑in stage with 12 games across two days. The winners will join the 52 teams already slotted into the traditional first‑round bracket.

We already talked about what expansion means for both Ole Miss programs, and it’s still way too early to know which teams will actually benefit next season. But you know that won’t stop anyone from trying.

NCAA.com analyst Andy Katz posted his first 76‑team projection Friday morning, based on his initial Power 44 rankings for 2026‑27. Katz or his model must really like what Ole Miss has done this offseason. The Rebels show up at No. 39 in the Power 44 and land as a No. 10 seed in the South quadrant.

Again, it’s early. The last season ended a month ago. Ole Miss shouldn’t start booking hotel rooms in Pittsburgh just yet.

Still, this tells us two things about Ole Miss and the new tournament format.

First, it’s going to be hard for a middle‑of‑the‑pack SEC team to miss the field now. Second, if the bracket had been at 76 teams this past season, the committee would’ve had a real decision to make about the Rebels.

Maybe they get in. Maybe they don’t. Did they deserve a spot? Probably not, and adding eight more at‑large bids doesn’t change that much.

But the future looks better now for Ole Miss.

Andy Katz’s Initial Power 44

1. Duke

2. Florida

3. Michigan

4. Illinois

5. Tennessee

6. UConn

7. Arizona

8. Arkansas

9. Texas

10. Michigan State

11. Vanderbilt

12. Virginia

13. Kansas

14. Houston

15. Louisville

16. Alabama

17. Nebraska

18. Iowa State

19. Purdue

20. USC

21. Gonzaga

22. St. John’s

23. Miami (FL)

24. Indiana

25. Missouri

26. VCU

27. Saint Louis

28. UCLA

29. Ohio State

30. BYU

31. Iowa

32. Texas A&M

33. North Carolina

34. Providence

35. Baylor

36. Wisconsin

37. Auburn

38. Xavier

39. Ole Miss

40. Marquette

41. Texas Tech

42. Kentucky

43. Maryland

44. New Mexico

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Basketball

What NCAA Tournament Expansion Means for Ole Miss Basketball

Published

4 months ago

on

May 7, 2026

By

Ole Miss basketball players celebrate a SEC Tournament win against Alabama on Friday night. | Ole Miss Athletics

Missing the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments is about to get a lot harder.

Multiple outlets reported and the NCAA itself announced Thursday that the committees overseeing both tournaments have officially voted to expand the fields to 76 teams.

None of this should catch anyone off guard. The NCAA started exploring expansion about a year ago, and reports two weeks ago made it clear the process was in its final stages. Now it’s done. The new format will debut in 2027.

According to ESPN, top NCAA officials met with the tournament’s media partners to finalize the updated contracts before the vote. The committees required signed agreements before making anything official, and once those were in place, expansion moved forward.

The biggest change comes at the front end of the tournament. Eight additional teams will be added to what is currently the First Four. That round will grow into a 24‑team play‑in stage with 12 games spread across two days. The winners will join the 52 teams already slotted into the traditional first‑round bracket.

The NCAA is expected to rebrand the First Four language, but the structure stays familiar. The opening round will still include both automatic qualifiers and at‑large teams. All 16 seeds and half of the 15 seeds will make up half of the 24‑team group. The other half will come from the lowest‑seeded at‑large teams, including a mix of 11 and 12 seeds.

It’s a significant shift, but the goal is simple: more teams, more access, and fewer seasons ending on Selection Sunday with nothing to show for it.

What This Means for Ole Miss

On the women’s side, this doesn’t move the needle much. Yolett McPhee‑McCuin has raised the bar to the point where simply making the tournament isn’t the goal anymore.

Ole Miss wants to host a NCAA Regional for the first time in program history, and that standard doesn’t change with a bigger field.

The men’s side is a little different. It depends on the year. Two seasons ago, expansion wouldn’t have mattered. This past season, it would’ve changed everything.

Ole Miss finished 15-20 and sat at No. 80 in the NET. In a 76‑team bracket, that puts you on the bubble, and one more win in the SEC Tournament probably gets the Rebels into the field.

For programs in a league as deep as the SEC, the extra spots matter. The women’s side won’t feel much of a shift, but the men’s side absolutely will. Bubble teams in this conference won’t be living on the same razor’s edge anymore.

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Basketball

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Picture Comes Into Focus

Published

4 months ago

on

May 5, 2026

By

Ole Miss coach Chris Beard

It’s been two weeks since the transfer portal window closed, and after a slow start, Ole Miss is finally nearing the end of its roster‑building phase.

The Rebels have added seven transfers, plus TJ Clark who committed back in December. Four‑star recruits Jaron Saulsberry, Yohance Connor and Daniel Patton are also on the way this summer.

Those 10 newcomers will join Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins, the only returning Rebels, to form the foundation of next year’s roster.

The question is whether that’s enough, and whether Chris Beard is actually done adding.

The honest answer is maybe and probably not.

Nobody knows yet if this group will be better or worse than what Ole Miss just put on the floor.

There’s no headline addition, but that doesn’t mean the roster can’t mesh, grow together and avoid needing a miracle run in March.

There’s also the chance it looks like last season, when the pieces never fully clicked.

Given the current guard‑heavy build, it feels likely Beard will look for more frontcourt help. Stefan Cicic gives Ole Miss a true 7‑footer and Santiago Trouet adds more size, but the Rebels could still use another proven interior presence.

One name to watch is former Florida Atlantic forward Devin Williams, who has reportedly met with Ole Miss over Zoom and is visiting Arizona this week. Williams finished fifth nationally in blocks last season at 2.58 per game, which would give Beard a real defensive anchor inside.

In the end, Ole Miss won’t know what this roster really is until the group gets on the floor together, but the picture is at least starting to take shape.

Beard has rebuilt almost the entire program for the second straight offseason, and there’s still room for one or two more pieces to round it out.

Whether this version ends up being better, worse, or simply different from last year’s team is impossible to know in May, but the next additions will tell us plenty about how the Rebels plan to finish the job.

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker

Men

Outgoing

Incoming

  • Christian Brown, F, 6-8, Fr. (James Madison)
  • Stefan Cicic, C, 7-0, Fr. (Pepperdine)
  • Adam Clark, G, 5-10, Jr. (Seton Hall)
  • TJ Clark, G, 6-3 (Hermosillo)
  • Dasear Haskins, G, 6-8, So. (St. Joseph’s)
  • ND Okafor, F, 6-7, Jr. (Washington State)
  • Roman Siulepa, F, 6-6, Fr. (Pittsburgh)
  • Santiago Trouet, F, 6-10, Jr. (Arizona State)

Women

Outgoing

  • J’Adore Young, 6-4, C, Soph.
  • Sira Thinenou, 6-1, F, Soph.
  • Tianna Thompson, 5-10, G, Soph. (Baylor)

Incoming

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