March 3, 2026; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Mitch Johnson (5) and guard Kobe Knox (4) collide while attempting a rebound in the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images Style points are not in the picture for Ole Miss and South Carolina.
The Rebels have one win in their last 12 games while the Gamecocks are 2-10 in their last 12 games. The SEC foes faced off Saturday in the regular season finale of the two teams in Oxford, Miss.
The competition has become more intense for the Rebels (12-18, 4-13 SEC). Four of the last five games, including overtime and double overtime losses, have been decided at the last minute.
No. 24 Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss 89-86 in twin overtime on Tuesday. Despite AJ Storr (14 points) and Malik Dia (11 points) scoring in double figures for the third straight game, the Commodores thrived on Ole Miss’ mistakes.
The Rebels turned the ball over 17 times, a season-high in conference play, resulting in 29 Vanderbilt points.
“You’ve got to control what you can control,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “We can’t control some of these calls or some of those things, but we had 17 turnovers tonight against an NCAA Tournament team that ultimately cost us the game, so there’s no excuse.”
Ole Miss hosts a South Carolina team with a 1-7 record in SEC play. The Rebels have been equally poor at home, posting an identical 1-7 record on their own court in league play.
Storr (15.1 ppg) continues to be a spark plug off the bench, especially during conference play where he averages 20.7 points per game at home.
South Carolina (12-18, 3-14) suffered a lopsided 78-59 loss to No. 23 Tennessee on Tuesday.
Down by 12 points at halftime, South Carolina was quickly able to cut the deficit to six points by halftime. But the Gamecocks let loose from there, allowing 56 points in the paint and 22 assists to the Volunteers.
“They passed the ball well, but still some of the reports were blown about how aggressive we wanted to be and that left us with a lack of confidence in what we were doing,” Paris coach Lamont said after the loss.
The Gamecocks are led by Meechie Johnson, who leads the team in scoring (17.3), assists (4.3) and steals (1.3).
South Carolina has won the last three matchups in Oxford.
–Field level media
