TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was a night to forget for Labaron Philon and No. 5 Alabama. The Crimson Tide was thoroughly beaten 74-64 by No. 21 Ole Miss on Tuesday, in a game where the scoreline looks much more flattering given the Tide’s effort.

Alabama came out flat, and the freshman guard who has taken the world by storm to start the season was no exception. Philon scored just one point, going 0 of 8 from the field and tacked on just two rebounds and an assist while turning the ball over three times — part of a season-high 21-turnover outing for Alabama.

Philon’s play continued a worrying run of form for the four-star freshman. He’s been held to single digits and shot a combined 6 of 25 from the field over the last three games. The freshman has also gone to the free throw line just once per game in the same span.

While the young guard has lived up to his offseason hype — becoming a pesky defender with a nose for rebounding and playmaking — his impact outside of the scoring department has also dipped. He had six rebounds and seven assists against Texas A&M on Saturday but combined for just four rebounds and two assists against South Carolina and Ole Miss.

After a third straight performance below the standard that Philon has set for himself, Alabama coach Nate Oats called for Philon to re-focus on some of the blue-collar areas of his game which he said will lead to a correction of his form in the scoring department.

“I think some of that stuff’s an effort thing,” Oats said. “Sometimes when guys are struggling, you play hard, you make some blue-collar plays – he didn’t have many tonight – you make some effort plays. You play aggressive, you get downhill, you get yourself going a little bit. I thought his blue-collar plays, his effort plays have been higher in the past.”

Oats' goal for Philon to improve his blue-collar output was part of a wider message to the entire team after Tuesday’s loss. Alabama came out of the gate limping, committing several early turnovers and shooting 38.6% from the field, 28.6% from 3, while missing some critical shots at the free throw line. Oats ended his postgame press conference saying no one, including the head coach, was good enough to win the game.

Philon’s performance is a microcosm of Alabama’s first loss in SEC play. For Oats, unlocking a better mindset starts with better preparation and players' stronger dedication to improvement. Players have to earn the opportunity to be in a position to win.

“I told the whole team, you got to earn the right to play well,” Oats said. “Are you spending enough time in the gym working on your game outside of practice, or are we having to beg you to get in the gym?"

“It’s like some of these guys got to get in the gym and work on their game,” Oats said. “We’re not going to practice them for three hours a day at this point of the season. We’ve kept practices short, hour and 15. We went on an hour and 20 yesterday. We didn’t practice Sunday at all. So how much are they getting in the gym, working on their own? You got to deserve to play well. I’m not sure right now everybody on our team deserves to play well.”

Fortunately, both Oats and Philon’s teammates have already seen what the talented freshman is capable of. Philon earned the right to start for Alabama after a dominant offseason before replicating that form up until this recent rut. Philon will have to re-kindle his fire to climb out of that rut, and he’s certainly learned some tough lessons over the past two games. However, his teammates are confident that the Tide guard will get his groove back as SEC play continues.

“Every single person on this team is aware that Labaron is like that,” sophomore guard Aden Holloway said. “Has been since the first day he stepped onto campus, into practice. So, it’s like I said with [forward Grant Nelson], all our players are very good. So we just tell them ‘Keep going to the gym and keep attacking and keep trying to get to it.’ And we believe in them 1000%.”

Both Philon and Alabama will have to reset quickly over the next few days before a trip to Lexington, Kentucky to face a No. 8 Kentucky team fresh off wins over top-15 Mississippi State and Texas A&M squads. The Tide and Wildcats will face off at 11 a.m. CT Saturday inside Rupp Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.