Alabama Basketball: Tide gets big win blowing out No. 20 Ole Miss

Alabama basketball boosted its NCAA Tournament hopes Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, taking down No. 20 ranked Ole Miss 74-53.

The first thing that should be said about the Alabama basketball blowout of Ole Miss is the score was misleading. The game was not as close as the 21 point margin indicated. The Alabama Crimson Tide dominated almost every stat that mattered in the outcome.

Shooting percentages were similar between the two SEC foes. Nothing else was close. Alabama basketball led by 16 at halftime and coasted through a second half that saw 13 Crimson Tide players in action.

The Crimson Tide hit 77 percent at the foul line to just 50 percent for the Rebels. The Tide only committed nine turnovers, compared to 16 for Ole Miss. Points off turnovers favored the Tide 23-6. The Rebels were out-rebounded 44-32. Points in the paint favored the Tide 34-16. Alabama basketball had nine blocks to four for Ole Miss. Steals were in favor of the Crimson Tide 9-1.

Some old hack might say if it had been a prize fight, they would have stopped it. Actually, they did, sort of. Well before the tipoff, the teams engaged in some serious jawing inside Coleman Coliseum. Reason prevailed as calmer heads from both squads squelched the fracas before any punches were thrown.

If the brouhaha motivated the Tide, it could not be seen early. Ole Miss led by four points at the 18:36 mark of the first half. That was the high water of the evening for the Rebels. Ole Miss played not like the nation’s No. 20 team but like the team SEC media picked in the preseason to finish last in the conference.

Hopefully, Ole Miss will rebound and what is now a Quadrant 1 Tide win will still be that in March.  The Rebels have beaten Auburn, Mississippi State and Baylor in route to 14 wins. Having won 11 out of the last 12 games before facing the Tide, there was national chatter about Kermit Davis being Coach of the Year.

A more than solid, almost stifling Alabama basketball defense made the Ole Miss head man look more like Kermit the Frog.

John Petty led the Tide in scoring with 15 points in just 27 minutes of play. Donta Hall got another double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 boards. Galin Smith added 10 points in a reserve role. An even more remarkable stat is six Crimson Tide regulars were a combined 8-for-33 in shooting from the field – and the Tide won by 21 points. It is amazing what defense and rebounding can do for a team. Who were the offensively woeful six? Let’s not tarnish the big win by naming them.

Alabama basketball goes on the road Saturday to face Baylor in one of the SEC-Big 12 challenge games. The Bears are also 12-6, with four wins in the last five games. If ESPN has any acumen in forecasting games, Baylor is a big favorite.