Ole Miss basketball makes history with upset of No. 4 Alabama

Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard knew the importance of Tuesday’s trip to Tuscaloosa, facing No. 4 Alabama. His team sure played like a little more was on the line, getting a huge road win. The Rebels will have a nice drive back to Oxford and will be able to reflect on some history during the journey.

For the first time in program history, Ole Miss has taken down a top-five team on the road. Before the Alabama win, they were 0-34 in previous attempts. Finally a breakthrough for the program, arguably being the most impressive win in the SEC this season.

“This just in: Ole Miss just beat a top-five team on the road for the first time in school history,” CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander said via X. “Yes: ever. Holding high-octane Alabama to 64 on its home floor is a wow result.”

No matter which part of the stat sheet you look at, Ole Miss outplayed Alabama. While the Crimson Tide took a slight lead heading into the halftime break, it was all Rebels in the second half. Turnovers were the main crux for Nate Oats‘ squad, committing 21 of them.

Malik Dia was the Ole Miss star of the night, having an incredible double-double. In 31 minutes, Dia put up 23 points on 11 of 21 shooting and 19 rebounds. Four of those were on the offensive end, extending possessions for Ole Miss.

But what really sticks out is how they played on the defensive end. Alabama entered averaged over 90 points per game and had a lengthy streak of scoring at least 70 points. Ole Miss was able to snap it, giving up just 64 points.

Making history is a nice note but Beard will be more than satisfied with the performance of his team. Ole Miss is now 4-0 and puts itself in contention to compete for an SEC regular season championship — something the program has never done before.

Ole Miss will not have too much time to celebrate the win. Next up is a huge rivalry game against Mississippi State, heading to Starkville. That will be a ranked matchup as well, even though the Bulldogs dropped one to Auburn on Tuesday.

Texas A&M will be next Wednesday, finally getting back to the Pavilion.