Ole Miss is one of three teams still undefeated in Southeastern Conference play.
If the 21st Rebels (14-2 overall, 3-0 in the SEC) are still able to make that claim on Wednesday, they’ll have done something Ole Miss doesn’t do very often — beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The Rebels and the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide (14-2, 3-0) square off at 6 p.m. in Coleman Coliseum. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
“It’s early in the race, but it’s certainly an opportunity for us,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. “We’ll have to play our best game of the year. …That doesn’t mean make every shot. That doesn’t mean play mistake-free, but that absolutely means we have to play well. Everybody who plays for us is going to have to play their A-game. We’re going to have to execute a gameplan, but it’s an opportunity for us, a real opportunity for us.”
The Crimson Tide holds a major lead over the Rebels when playing in Tuscaloosa, 74-11, with the last win for Ole Miss in Coleman coming in 2015. Alabama has won nine of the last 10 matchups, including seven straight.
Alabama has picked up wins over Wake Forest, Memphis, No. 25 Illinois, No. 6 Houston, Rutgers, No. 20 North Carolina, and Creighton during their non-conference stretch. The Tide has begun their SEC slate with victories over No. 12 Oklahoma, at South Carolina, and at No. 10 Texas A&M.
“I have a lot of respect for the roster that (Alabama coach) Nate (Oats) put together,” Beard said. “This is a system. This is a way to play the game. Probably more important than their pieces is the system. I give Nate a lot of credit for this. This game presents a lot of challenges, as most SEC games do, but no doubt about it, they’re as good as advertised.”
Third-year guard Mark Sears leads the Crimson Tide, averaging an SEC-best 19.1 points per game and leading the conference in free throw attempts and makes. Last year's team leader on the glass, Grant Nelson, paces Alabama in rebounds once more this season with an average of 8.6 per game, third in the SEC and 39th in the nation.
The nation's best offense, scoring 91.1 points per game, Alabama gets scoring from top to bottom on their roster, ranking ninth in the NCAA in bench points per game. Alabama gets their scoring opportunities by dominating the rebounding battle, averaging the second-most boards per game in the nation at 45.4 and owning the 17th-best rebound margin at plus-8.7. The Tide ranks fifth in the country in free throw attempts per game at 27.3, and sixth in the nation in 3-pointers shot per game at 31.9.
“Sears is a winner. He leads Alabama to the Final Four last year and decides to come back,” Beard said. “He’s preseason college basketball Player of the Year by most people to start the season. …He’s doing exactly what he did when he left the floor last year. He’s helping his team win. He leads the SEC in assists right now, but we all know the guy’s a bucket as well.”
