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Vanderbilt takes down Ole Miss for 3rd home win over ranked opponent in 2024-25 season
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Vanderbilt’s magic touch this season on its home court against ranked teams continued on Saturday afternoon, as the Commodores took down No. 24 Ole Miss, 77-72.
Yes, Vandy was technically a slight favorite against the Rebels at Memorial Gym. But the Commodores were still the unranked team facing another SEC team with a number next to its name that came into Nashville believing it could survive.
And, well, it must be something about the venerable gym and Saturdays, because all 3 of Vanderbilt’s home victories over ranked teams this season have come on Saturdays. First, it was a 76-75 takedown of then-No. 6 Tennessee on Jan. 18 (a Saturday) that preceded a court-storming. Then, exactly a week later, came another court-storming as the Commodores toppled then-No. 9 Kentucky, 74-69, on Jan. 25.
And now, exactly 4 weeks later, came another big-time Saturday win that might not have moved the needle as much as the Tennessee and Kentucky wins but was still a significant victory for Mark Byington’s team, which is battling just to make the NCAA Tournament. Case in point is ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who had Vanderbilt as one of his “Last Four In” teams to the Big Dance coming into this weekend.
That means that Saturday’s win can only bolster the Commodores’ NCAA Tournament hopes. Be sure to track the odds for Vanderbilt down the stretch with your favorite sports betting apps.
“Our guys have been fighting all year, and sometimes results haven’t been there, but every game we’re competing. This is a brutal league, you guys know it as well as I do, and just to get any win is special. We beat a really good team today,” said Byington in a postgame interview.
Vandy improved to 18-9 overall and 6-8 in that brutally tough SEC that Byington was talking about. Chris Manon led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points, as Vandy took an 8-point halftime lead and survived the Rebels’ rally to produce another all-important victory on that magical home court of theirs.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
