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Ole Miss forward Reginald Buckner (23) shoots as Missouri guard Earnest Ross (33) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 15, 2013, in Nashville, Tenn. Ole Miss won 64-62. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
It’s not clear if it marched the Rebels into the NCAA tournament. Several NCAA “bubble” teams lost on Friday including Tennessee, which had been listed among the “last four in” by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
In a late Friday update, Lunardi had Ole Miss in the field of 68.
The Rebels will take on Vanderbilt today at 2:30 p.m.
The Rebels defeated Vanderbilt 89-79 at Memorial Gym, just up the street from Bridgestone Arena, site of the SEC tournament.
The Vanderbilt win pushed Marshall Henderson into the consciousness of college basketball when his 3-point buzzer-beater from several steps across halfcourt made the rounds of highlights.
That shot tied the game, and the Rebels dominated the overtime 11-1.
Henderson hurt the Commodores off the dribble and also at the free throw line where he was 8-for-10. He finished with 26 points and four rebounds.
Murphy Holloway, Reggie Buckner and Jarvis Summers also scored in double figures, and the Rebels needed all the help they could get to off-set Vanderbilt’s 3-point shooting.
The Commodores were 12-for-20 from the arc in the first half alone. They finished 17-for-40 from 3-point range - 0-for-5 in the overtime. Ole Miss hasn’t been to the SEC championship game since 2001, when it lost 77-55 to Kentucky.