Alabama Basketball: Crimson Tide faces a must-win Saturday in Oxford

With its NCAA hopes fading, Alabama basketball must win Saturday night in Oxford. MS. The Rebels are tougher than their 13-13 record indicates.

Despite a disappointing performance in its last game, Alabama basketball can redeem itself with a strong regular-season finish. Alabama basketball fans can be assured the Tide coaching staff and players have not quit. Everything about Nate Oats indicates he will refuse to let a team quit.

The loss to the Aggies was frustrating. Anyone knowing the history of Crimson Tide basketball knows, the loss was not surprising. Late season swoons go back to the Mark Gottfried years. This particular Tide team is more vulnerable than most of the past teams, due to its lack of depth.

At least from an injury basis, the 2019-20 Tide has been unlucky. Ken Pomeroy tracks luck among his most important data points in college basketball. Pomeroy ranks the Tide’s luck at No. 334 out of 353 Division One, teams. That rating appeared accurate against the Aggies. The TAMU guard, Wendell Mitchell is making threes at a 26 percent rate on the season. He was 4-of-7 for 57 percent against the Tide.

Then again, top teams, in any sport, at any level, seem to make their good luck. Instead of worrying about such abstraction, the Crimson Tide will do well to make a few less turnovers and a few more rebounds.

Ole Miss is a difficult team to assess. The Rebels began the SEC regular season with seven losses in eight games. Then they ran off three double-digit, home wins over South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State. The Gators were beaten by 17 and the Rebels trounced the Bulldogs by 25 points. The last two games have been road losses to Kentucky and Missouri. The Rebels had the Wildcats on the ropes late but could not pull off the upset.

Ole Miss has depth with 10 guys averaging 10-plus minutes per game. They have enough size in 6-foot-10, Khadim Sy and 6-foot-7, K.J. Buffen to cause the Tide problems on the glass and with inside scoring. Blake Hinson at 6-foot-7 and Luis Rodriguez at 6-foot-6 are guards who can cause physical matchup problems for the Tide.

Senior guard, Breein Tyree is a problem for any SEC defender. He is second in the SEC in scoring at 20.3 points-per-game. His three percentage is 37.3 percent. In the blowout of the Bulldogs, Tyree had 40 points, shooting 40 percent outside the arc. The other Ole Miss guard, DeVontae Shuler is quick and a challenge to guard.

Ole Miss is No. 10 in the SEC in field goal shooting at 43.1 percent. The Rebels are No. 8 from the line at 72.4 percent and No. 6 on threes at 32.7 percent.

What will it take for a Tide victory in Oxford? Staying out of foul trouble, limiting turnovers and no rebounding deficit should lead to a win in a tight game.