TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It was a Blue-Collar Night to forget for No. 4 Alabama. The Crimson Tide was out-scrapped on its home floor during its 74-64 loss to No. 21 Ole Miss. It was an ironic twist on an otherwise fitting promotion that featured a hard hat logo on the scoreboard and custom blue-collar shirts worn by injured players Houston Mallette and Derrion Reid.

Alabama started sloppy and stayed that way throughout Tuesday’s contest. The Tide’s frontcourt failed to answer the bell against a smaller Ole Miss team that gained more and more confidence as the game went on.

The Tide worked its way back into the game on its home floor, but Ole Miss was ultimately able to hang on behind a remarkable effort and forcing the Tide into a season-high in turnovers while shutting down Alabama's starters.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama's loss to Ole Miss.

Alabama’s start was just as rough on the eye as it was on paper. The Tide gave the ball away seven times in the opening six minutes, including four turnovers in a 3:18 span. Ole Miss, which ranks No. 21 in adjusted defensive efficiency, lived up to that mark in the first half. The Rebels forced 11 first half turnovers and the Tide didn’t help itself with some poor passes and rushed play.

What prevented Ole Miss from taking the lead at the break, however, was the Tide’s initial response on the other end to prevent the Rebels from cashing in on those turnovers. Ole Miss only churned out nine points from the giveaways and was held to 0.84 points per possession in the first half.

That defensive effort became a moot point in the second half, as the Tide’s giveaways ultimately created enough easy chances for Ole Miss to score. The Rebels ended up with 19 points off of 21 Alabama giveaways, a season-high for Alabama. The Tide caused its own self-destruction for much of the game, which is a recipe for disaster against a respectable Rebels side that was all too eager to take advantage.

What further doomed Alabama was a lack of takeaways on its own defensive end. Alabama forced just seven turnovers and was unable to pounce on turnover opportunities and truly punish Ole Miss. The Tide forced just seven and was unable to muster enough defense to overcome a lackluster shooting night from both the 3-point and free throw lines.

Alabama has made a killing on the glass this season. Coming into Tuesday night’s contest the Tide averaged 15.1 offensive boards per game, the eighth-best mark in the country.

But that effort fell by the wayside, on Blue-Collar Night no less. The Tide had just one offensive rebound at halftime and finished with four. Alabama won the rebounding battle 39-37 overall, but its lack of second-chance opportunities helped keep the Rebels in the game.

Ole Miss was able to limit Alabama’s chances by playing well defensively and beating Alabama to rebounds. The Tide had just 47 field goal attempts compared to Ole Miss’ 70. Ole Miss didn’t snag a bevy of offensive rebounds but took full advantage of the ones it did get to maintain its advantage in the second half.

Among players who average more than five minutes per game, Ole Miss doesn’t have a player above 6-foot-9. That player is junior forward Malik Dia, who took Alabama to the cleaners in the lane.

Dia led all players with 19 rebounds and scored 23 points, helping Ole Miss score 36 points in the paint. Dia continued to bully his way to the rim, becoming a constant outlet for the Rebels, who shot just 29% from 3-point range, though several of its six 3s felt incredibly timely.

When Alabama appeared to yank momentum back in the second half, Dia recovered his own miss after a big block by Nelson and fought through the contact for an and-1. He made the free throw to make it a 59-51 game. No matter who the Tide seemed to throw at him, Dia found an answer.

It was a night to forget for Alabama’s starting group. Coach Nate Oats had been maintaining the same starting lineup for the past several games, but that group did not look ready to go Tuesday night.

Alabama’s starters were responsible for the opening few turnovers. When Oats ran the same group out there to start the second half, it committed two straight before he again dug into his bench.

The starting five of Mark Sears, Labaron Philon, Jarin Stevenson, Grant Nelson and Clifford Omoruyi combined for just 30 points and 14 turnovers. The bench comparatively, had 31 points and seven giveaways. With Alabama’s frontcourt unit struggling Oats turned to three-guard lineups that provided some spark thanks to Aden Holloway's team-leading 15 points.

Holloway and the Tide's bench performance was night enough to brighten a dim game overall Tuesday. Sears was the only other player in double figures with 11 points in a season-low performance for Alabama. Nelson and Omoruyi were thoroughly outplayed by the Rebels bigs and Philon went 0 of 8 from the field. Stevenson had maybe the brightest moments with some good play late and finishing with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks, but was still responsible for three turnovers and finished minus-9.

The starters' struggles led to some ugly numbers to finish the game as a team. The Tide shot just 5 of 20 from 3, 73.1% from the 3-point line and was bullied on the glass while coughing up the ball all game. It culminated an an ugly defeat that looked much worse than the 10-point margin reflects.

Alabama hits the road again to take on No. 8 Kentucky. The Wildcats defeated No. 11 Texas A&M on Tuesday. They’ll host the Tide at 11 a.m. CT Saturday inside Rupp Arena.