Ole Miss Downs Alabama 60-51
By Nick Jones
Let’s just say it was a sloppy game on Saturday afternoon in Oxford. Alabama knew coming into the game they had to win to keep their first-round bye hopes alive, but couldn’t get it done. The Tide couldn’t get anything going on the offensive side of the ball, and the 60-51 defeat at the hands of Ole Miss gives Alabama their 10th loss of the year.
Anthony Grant didn’t have much to say about Saturday’s game during his post-game press conference. “Effort was the main issue,” Grant said. Along with the lack of effort, not many things went right for the Tide all night long.
JaMychal Green led Alabama in rebounding, racking up his 26th career double-double in his final regular season game. Green finished with 11 points (5-8 shooting) and 13 rebounds (four offensive). Trevor Releford was the only the only other Tide player in double digits, leading all scorers with 12 points (4-11 shooting). Andrew Steele added nine points and seven assists, and Levi Randolph added eight points. Nick Jacobs finished with eight points and eight rebounds (five offensive).
Alabama’s bench, a key part of the scoring rotation, was outscored 22-3. Charles Hankerson Jr. was the only Tide player to score off the bench adding a three-pointer. Ladarius White and Murphy Holloway led the Rebels in scoring off the bench. The two combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Ole Miss was very balanced all night long. Six Ole Miss players had nine or more points. Terrance Henry and Jarvis Summers led the way for the Rebels with 10 points, Nick Williams and Reginald Buckner both added nine points. Reginald Buckner finished with a team high 11 rebounds.
Both teams struggled on offense all game. Ole Miss shot 42.9 percent (21-49) from the field and only 20 percent (2-10) from three-point range. Alabama shot just 34.5 percent (19-55) and 25 percent (5-20) from behind the arc. You won’t see this very often, Ole Miss shot 47.1 percent (16-34) from the line and still won by nine points. Keep in mind, Ole Miss is the worst free throw shooting team in the SEC, averaging just over 60 percent from the line.
Alabama had some momentum coming out of a 28-17 halftime deficit, but it was short lived. The Tide just couldn’t get the offense rolling to stay in the game. Alabama also committed 13 turnovers which usually killed any momentum the Tide had brewing.
After a horrible performance going into the SEC Tournament, how does Alabama rebound? The first thing that comes to mind is, don’t force three-point shots. This factors into “playing to your style;” Alabama isn’t the team to force threes.
After losing their first-round bye, No. 5 seed Alabama will face No. 12 seed South Carolina on Thursday. The Crimson Tide and the Gamecocks will face off in New Orleans at 2:30pm CST. All SEC Tournament games Thursday through Friday will be broadcast on the SEC Network. Games played on Saturday and Sunday (semifinals and the championship) will air on ABC. Here’s a full listing of SEC Tournament games, times, and coverage.