How to watch: No. 7 Alabama basketball hosts Ole Miss

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama will play its first home game of 2023 when it hosts SEC foe Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide comes into the matchup as the No. 7 team in the country and as the highest-ranked conference team this week.

With tip-off looming, here's everything you need to know as Alabama basketball squares off with Ole Miss at Coleman Coliseum.

Who: Ole Miss (8-5) vs. No. 8 Alabama (11-2)

When: 8 p.m. CT, Tuesday Jan. 3

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Watch: SEC Network (play-by-play: Mike Morgan; analyst: Daymeon Fishback; sideline: Alyssa Lang)

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network (play-by-play: Chris Stewart; analyst: Bryan Passink; engineer Tom Stipe)

Jaden Bradley: 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, freshman

Stats: 8.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, 45.8% FG, 25.0% 3-pt

Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, junior

Stats: 14.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 43.4% FG, 43.9% 3-pt

Brandon Miller: 6-foot-9, 200 pounds, freshman

Stats: 19.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 42.0% FG, 46.2% 3-pt

Noah Clowney: 6-foot-10, 210 pounds, freshman

Stats: 9.8 ppg, 8.8, rpg, 1.0 apg, 51.2% FG, 28.0% 3-pt

Charles Bediako: 7-foot, 225 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 5.6 ppg, 6.4, rpg, 0.5 apg, 68.9% FG

Amaree Abram: 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, freshman

Stats: 9.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 46.1% FG, 40.5% 3-pt

Matthew Murrell: 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, junior

Stats: 14.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 38.6% FG, 28.6% 3-pt

Myles Burns: 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, senior

Stats: 7.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 apg, 40.4% FG

Jayveous McKinnis: 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, senior

Stats: 4.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.4 apg, 68.6% FG

Jaemyn Brakefield: 6-foot-8, 220 pounds, junior

Stats: 8.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 52.0% FG, 40.0% 3-pt

Dom Welch has been through it all in his first season with Alabama.

From arriving in Tuscaloosa with a nagging calf injury that limited him throughout the preseason and non-conference slate to trying to find a way back to the south after his hometown of Buffalo was hit with a massive snowstorm, Welch's season has been marred with obstacles.

Regardless of the challenges, Welch not only overcame his shortcomings but did so at just the perfect time. In his debut with the team, Welch played for 10 minutes against Mississippi State and while his stat line doesn't jump off the page, the guard's return is crucial for Alabama as it begins to navigate the next few weeks of the season without Nimari Burnett.

"It was definitely a great experience to get back on the court with my brothers," Welch said. "I've been on here since June just trying to fit in and learn the system. Just to finally get that experience out there with Coach Oats and my teammates, felt really good. I'm just happy I was able to get back safely from that blizzard out in Buffalo, it's crazy out there. But it was a great experience and I'm looking forward to the next game."

Welch comes in as one of the most seasoned players on the team serving as St. Boneventure's captain and tallying 105 starts during his tenure.

With his bevy of experience, some players may demand more playing time or a bigger role in the offense, but not with Welch. On Monday, he reiterated that he's still trying to find his role as he continues to work back to game-speed.

"There's no cancer's on this team," Mark Sears said. "Guys just want to make the team better."

Unlike its matchup with Mississippi State, Alabama hosts an unranked Ole Miss team that's lost four of its last six games.

That streak includes a home loss to North Alabama which is ranked No. 287 according to KenPom. Despite the loss the Rebels rebounded to give No. 8 Tennessee a close game, leading at the half before falling to the Volunteers.

"It definitely can be a trap game if you're not mature enough to handle it, but Ole Miss is a good team," Oats said. "They're gonna be right in the thick of it in the SEC and they just proved it. They obviously had the loss to North Alabama which is a tough loss and that makes it look they're maybe not a good team, but if you look at it, they had some real quality wins. They just played Tennessee, who a lot of people picked to win the SEC, and played them as good as anybody."

The Rebels are led by Matthew Murrell who is averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game. Along with Murrell, the Rebels are also getting Daeshun Ruffin back who finished second on the team in scoring with 12.8 points in 2021.

"This is the SEC," Oats said. "Ole Miss has McDonald's All-Americans, they have guys that can play. Some of them are coming back from injury and getting better and better. Some have been inconsistent, but they're more than capable of having a big night. So we can't overlook anybody out there."

— Brandon Miller has been named SEC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season

— Alabama has a program-record four top-25 wins before the New Year, its previous high was when it defeated two ranked teams in 2015 when the Tide knocked off #17 Notre Dame and #20 Wichita State prior to conference play beginning in 2016

— For the second straight season and first time in program history, Alabama has posted four wins over top-25 opponents in back-to-back seasons

— Alabama won 10 non-conference games for the first time since the 2014-15 season

— The Crimson Tide are 4-2 against top-25 opponents this season

— Alabama is the first team since 1965-66 (Duke) with multiple wins over the AP No. 1 team before the New Year

— Brandon Miller is averaging 19.2 points per game, the most by any freshman in the country and No. 34 overall

— Miller is the only freshman in the country to rank in the top 50 in points per game (No. 34) and rebounds per game (No. 45)

— Miller is one of seven players in Division I, the only player in the SEC and the only freshman in the country that has scored 250 points and recorded 115 rebounds this season

— Miller ranks No. 45 in the country at 8.8 rebounds per game, which is third-best among freshmen in the country

— Alabama ranks No. 1 in the country in rebounds per game (47.08), defensive rebounds per game (32.7), ranks No. 3 in rebound margin (+10.5) and No. 6 in offensive rebounds per game (14.3)

— Alabama is one of two teams (Arizona) to have two players rank in the Top 50 in the country in rebounds per game with Miller and Clowney ranked No. 45 with 8.8 per game