Alabama basketball delivers knockout blow early at Ole Miss
Alabama basketball’s game against Ole Miss Saturday night was billed as a heavyweight battle between two of the SEC’s top point guards. At times it served as more of a war of words complete with four technicals and an ejection. Either way, the Crimson Tide was able to land a rare knockout blow while securing a crucial road victory.
Needing a win to keep its slim NCAA Tournament chances alive, Alabama put together a complete performance during a 103-78 thrashing of Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide (15-12, 7-7 in the SEC) snapped a six-game losing streak in Oxford dating back to 2009. Meanwhile, Ole Miss (13-14, 4-10) suffered its third straight defeat. The Rebels had won their last three games inside The Pavilion at Ole Miss, beating South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State all by 10 points or more.
Things got testy in a game between two teams desperately in need of a win to spur some momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season. Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis was ejected with 14:31 remaining after picking up his second technical foul of the game. That came after Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree was T’ed up moments earlier for arguing a call. Alabama head coach Nate Oats also picked up a technical earlier in the game after boisterously expressing his dismay on a decision.
The theatrics served as the game’s only real drama as Alabama built an early lead while never letting its foot off the gas. Alabama’s previous six games were all decided by six points or fewer with the Crimson Tide going 2-4 over that span.
Much of Alabama’s recent struggles have come as it has been unable to close out games. The Crimson Tide blew a six-point lead inside of five minutes against Texas A&M earlier this week and after seeing leads of 15 points and 12 points slip away in losses to Tennessee and Arkansas respectively. That wasn’t the case Saturday night.
Alabama continued its recent trend of slow starts, turning the ball over three times in its opening three possessions. However, the Crimson Tide was able to right the ship quickly, capitalizing on a 12-0 run over its next six trips up the court.
Back-to-back 3s from Jaden Shackelford followed by two baskets from John Petty Jr. gave the Crimson Tide a 10-0 run later in the first half as Alabama headed into the half with a 45-31 lead.
The matchup of premier point guards lived up to expectations despite being a bit shortlived.
Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. started the game on fire, making his first four shots including three straight 3s. The sophomore registered a double-double on the night, recording 17 points and 11 assists.
Tyree, the SEC’s second-leading scorer, recorded his fifth 20-point performance in six games, scoring 28 points on 8 of 12 shooting. However, the senior picked up his fifth foul with 8:50 remaining, eliminating any slight hope the Rebels had at staging a comeback.
Lewis was one of five Crimson Tide players in double figures. Petty scored a team-high 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting, while Shackelford registered 18 points. Alex Reese and Javian Davis both had 12 points apiece.
Alabama made 13 of 29 (45 percent) of its shots from beyond the arc but wasn’t as reliant on the 3 as it has been in recent games, also beating Ole Miss 40-26 in the paint. The Crimson Tide also won the rebounding battle 33-29 and forced the Rebels into 21 turnovers which led to 15 points the other way.
Alabama scored 100 points in a regulation SEC game for the first time since 2002.
Next up
Alabama wraps up its two-game road trip as it travels to Mississippi State (17-10, 8-6) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs are coming off an 87-65 loss at Texas A&M. Earlier this season, Alabama beat Mississippi State 90-69 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Mississippi State is led by forward Reggie Perry, who came into Saturday leading the SEC with 9.8 rebounds per game while also averaging a team-high 17.4 points. Alabama held Perry to 14 points and five rebounds in its previous meeting against Mississippi State this season.
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