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Just when it seemed like Alabama’s waning NCAA Tournament hopes had been dealt a death blow, when its much-maligned season appeared to collapse under its own self-afflictions, the Crimson Tide showed signs of a pulse. Trailing by as many as 16 points early in the second half, Alabama rallied to beat Ole Miss 62-57 in its first game of the SEC Tournament on Thursday night. In doing so, the Crimson Tide and its NCAA aspirations lived to see another day.
With the game tied and one minute remaining, John Petty Jr. slammed home a missed layup by Kira Lewis Jr. to give Alabama a 59-57 lead. After a missed shot on the other end, Galin Smith made 1 of 2 free throws to extend the Crimson Tide’s lead to 60-57 with 41 seconds remaining. Following a missed 3-point attempt by Ole Miss’ Devontae Shuler, Dazon Ingram put the game away by sinking both his free-throw attempts with 20 seconds remaining.
Thursday night’s victory means Alabama (18-14) advances to the quarterfinals where it will face No. 2 seed Kentucky (26-5) on Friday at 6 p.m. CT. A win in that game would likely be enough for the Crimson Tide to advance to its second straight NCAA Tournament, providing a happy ending to what has been a roller-coaster ride of emotion this year.
In many ways, Thursday’s game perfectly encapsulated Alabama’s year. The Crimson Tide suffered the same miscues that have plagued it all season, digging a deep deficit with a combination of turnovers and poor perimeter shooting. However, Alabama continued to be just as unpredictable as ever.
Trailing 43-31 in the second half, Alabama went on a 13-0 run, taking a 44-43 lead with 13:14 remaining on a layup from Lewis. The two teams then went back and forth until Alabama closed out the game on a 7-0 run. Ole Miss (20-12) failed to score over the game’s final 3:21 and missed its last seven shots from the floor.
Alabama won despite suffering its usual slew of mistakes. The Crimson Tide turned the ball over 16 times which led to 16 points on the other end. Alabama also struggled from beyond the arc, missing its first six 3s en route to finishing 5 of 17 (29 percent) on the night. Alabama entered the game shooting 57 percent from the free-throw line over its past seven games. Thursday night it continued that trend, making just 9 of 18 of its attempts from the line.
Alabama’s season was kept intact largely due to the performance of Tevin Mack, who scored a game-high 21 points, including four 3s. Lewis scored 13 points, while Galin Smith scored 11 points and seven rebounds. Donta Hall came up big with 7 points and a game-high 15 rebounds as Alabama dominated Ole Miss, 50-30, on the boards. Alabama also held a 23-2 advantage in second-chance points. Petty’s go-ahead dunk marked his only points on the night.
Ole Miss was led by Shuler, who scored 14 points while pulling in seven rebounds. Bruce Stevens had 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting for the Rebels.
Next up
In order to truly be comfortable on Selection Sunday, the Crimson Tide will need to replicate its best win of the season. Alabama beat Kentucky 77-75 in its SEC-opener on Jan. 5 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. During that game, the Crimson Tide shot 45.8 percent (10 of 23 ) from beyond the arc while holding the Wildcats to 27.8 percent (5 of 18). Following the loss, Kentucky went on to win its next 10 games.
The Wildcats are led by First-Team All-SEC forward P.J. Washington, who averages a team-high 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Kentucky also features two talented freshmen, including SEC Freshman of the Year in Keldon Johnson (13.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Tyler Hero (14.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg). The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the semifinals on Saturday.
