Game 30: Vanderbilt Commodores at Ole Miss Rebels — Open Game Thread

So, we’ve arrived here: Vanderbilt closes out the 2021-22 regular season today with a trip to Oxford, Mississippi, where they’ll face a disappointing, injury-plagued Ole Miss team.

Ole Miss has had about as rough a go of it as Vanderbilt has: starting forward Robert Allen was lost for the season after eight games; starting point guard Daeshun Ruffin played in fourteen games before being lost for the season; leading scorer Jarkel Joiner has missed ten games. The end result is a team that’s 13-17 and headed toward its third losing season in the last five years.

Vanderbilt, like Ole Miss, is locked into the Wednesday night game in the SEC Tournament regardless of what happens today. The Commodores blew a five-point lead with 44 seconds left against Florida on Tuesday night, resulting in the team’s third straight loss and fifth in its last six. It’s amazing to think that three weeks ago we were talking about this as a potential NIT team; instead, Vanderbilt needs a win today to finish the regular season with a .500 record.