No. 4 Alabama sleepwalks to first SEC loss of the season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 4 Alabama lost its first conference game on Tuesday night, falling to No. 21 Ole Miss in a lackluster 74-64 effort.
The loss is the Crimson Tide’s first loss at home this season, and drops the team’s record to 14-3 on the year and 3-1 in SEC play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Alabama got off to a great defensive start in this one, holding the Rebels to just 1-of-7 from the field in the opening minutes. The down side though, was that the Crimson Tide turned the ball over five times in the first 4-minute stretch of the game, giving away possession after possession.
A few more turnovers led to Ole Miss taking a 10-4 lead and a frustrated Coleman Coliseum, but Alabama answered quickly. The Tide went on an 8-0 run over the next 2:08, bolstered by two threes from Chris Youngblood, who’s been shooting the ball much better over the last few games. The run gave Alabama a 14-10 lead headed into the under-12 timeout.
Ole Miss battled back by forcing even more Alabama turnovers, and had the game tied at 23 entering the under-8 timeout. At this point in the game the Rebels had 12 more shot attempts than Alabama did because of the turnover discrepancy.
The game went back-and-forth down the stretch of the first half, until Aden Holloway knocked down a big-time three just before halftime to push Alabama’s lead out to four points. Holloway was the Crimson Tide’s leading scorer at the break with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Alabama finished the half with 11 turnovers compared to just three for Ole Miss, the biggest reason for the Rebels being able to stick around in the game despite shooting 15 percent worse from the floor.
Ole Miss opened the second half with another strong push, going on a 9-4 run over the opening 4-minue stretch to take a 41-40 lead at the first media timeout of the second half. Mark Sears scored Alabama’s first points after the break, but it was only on his fourth shot attempt of the game.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Johntay Cook
Texas WR, Huskies part ways
- 2
Transfer Portal window
Coaches propose big change
- 3Hot
Sanders addresses rumors
Prime talks Cowboys job
- 4
Fake injuries
New rule under discussion
- 5Trending
Kiffin jabs Saban
Sydney Thomas pic sparks shot
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Alabama continued to struggled offensively, racking up even more turnovers and scoring just one point over the next 4-minute stretch. Headed into the under-12 timeout, the Tide trailed Ole Miss 46-42.
The lackadaisical effort from Alabama became even more apparent midway through the second half, when after a Grant Nelson bucket to stop a 4-minute scoring drought, the defense fell asleep matching up and it led to a wide open Ole Miss three. That shot pushed the Rebel lead to 10 points, its largest of the game, with nine minutes to go.
The Coleman crowd got into it, working to held Alabama fight back into the game as the second half dwindled. The lead got down to six points, but the turnovers and misses kept stacking up, and the Tide still fond itself down 10 points entering the under-4.
Alabama closed the game with a small run to cut into the lead, but there wasn’t enough time on the clock.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Aden Holloway – 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Mark Sears – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
WHAT’S NEXT
Alabama will play its third ranked team in a row and fourth in five games on Saturday, hitting the road to take on No. 8 Kentucky in Rupp Arena. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.
