Postgame Quotes vs. Vanderbilt

OLE MISS HEAD COACH KERMIT DAVIS

Opening statement…
"I was really proud of Khadim's (Sy) effort in the first half. We had a meeting yesterday, and he felt bad about the Auburn game. He's had some good practices and has been very vocal. Today, he gave us a great lift in the first half. The biggest stat to me is we had 26 assists on 35 made baskets. The ball really moved today."

On whether or not it was most complete game offensively today this season…
"(It was the most complete game offensively) because of the way the ball moved. Breein (Tyree) played only 30 minutes, which I think is a good thing. We got off to a great start, we put in our three guys off the bench, and it didn't go so well for about a minute and a half. All of a sudden the game was tied, and then they were up. When we put them back in, they really played well. Sammy (Hunter) played a lot better, Austin (Crowley) too. The ball movement, we were sharing the ball, and we had a couple of really good possessions in the second half."

On Sammy Hunter…
"Sammy's energy level has been good, we just have to get him to rebound the ball. Tonight we had the most blocks that we've had (all season). We're last in the league in blocks. When you can change shots like these guys did, it helps the back end of your defense. It helps get you in transition. His energy level has been good, he's a fun guy to coach. He's going to be a really good player here. He's just kind of going through a freshman transition, and I think he's going to make a huge jump into his sophomore year."

On Antavion Collum…
"It was a coach's decision (to not play him)."

On Devontae Shuler's ankle…
"He's been working in rehab and has been working in practice. Devontae's one of the toughest guys you'll see. There's not a college basketball player today that's playing 25-30 minutes who is not nicked up at some point. Everybody's got something going on at some point. He played really well tonight, six assists, no turnovers. He had some great passes, got in a little foul trouble, but his game tonight was really under control, and I was really proud of him."

VANDERBILT HEAD COACH JERRY STACKHOUSE

Opening statement:
"Defensively, we never really set the tone. We came in with a little bit of a different game plan. Because of (Breein) Tyree and (Devontae) Shuler's abilities, we tried to get the ball out of their hands. We wanted to force their other guys to make some plays, and they stepped up and did. For us, just rebounding the basketball was a problem for us. Early in the game, we just have to find a way to rebound better. Dylan (Disu) picked up two quick fouls, one of them was a tough call. To have him out of the game means a lot to us on the offensive end. When he wasn't in, we struggled a little bit. Even when he's not scoring baskets, he has an ability to stretch the floor, screen, and do different things. That hurt us a little. Attention to detail that we talked about before the game, we weren't really good all day. We just have to try and shake it off and be better. I thought this was a game that would be more contested than what it turned out to be. Give Kermit (Davis) and those guys credit."

On finishing in the lane…
"We got in there early, and they had five blocked shots. I think there were opportunities, we'll go back and watch it, where there were guys standing wide open. They converged to the ball, and we had opportunities to spread the ball, and we just didn't spread the ball. That turned into blocked shots that led to transition and pretty much ignited them. A point of emphasis was making sure we get into the paint and kick the ball out, and there were some opportunities there. Then there were just some missed ones where we got to the basket and did have an opportunity to finish, but we didn't finish. We missed a couple dunks. Just one of those days where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. We have been playing pretty good even though we haven't been winning games. This was one of the first games where we didn't get better. Some of it was probably game plan because it was different than what we had done before. It's good for us. It's something we'll have on tape."

On three-pointers…
"I thought we got some decent looks in the second half. It's hard when you're battling uphill. We got some separation from the post, but then there was so much pressure on every shot. There is even less pressure when it's a close game, but we felt like we had to hit every shot to try and get us back in it. A few of our guys started to press a bit. Even when we got easy opportunities, they didn't work out for us."

On Saben Lee…
"I just think he has to help make his teammates better, and he didn't do that today. He got in the paint, drew a lot of attention, and guys were standing wide open. It's not a selfish thing. In order for us to have success, we have to trust each other and move the ball. We had guys on the baseline with their hands wide open ready for a shot. We'll continue to harp on it and try to get better at it."

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Players Mentioned

Antavion Collum

Sammy Hunter

Devontae Shuler

The University of Mississippi Athletics