What we learned about No. 4 Alabama from the Crimson Tide's 74-64 loss to No. 21 Ole Miss

Ole Miss pulled off one of the best SEC wins of the season thus far. The No. 21 Rebels went to Tuscaloosa on Tuesday and embarrassed the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide by a final score of 74-64. Ole Miss led for most of the second half and won the program’s first-ever road game against a Top 5 opponent (previously 0-34).

Alabama will look to bounce back on Saturday. The Tide come to Rupp Arena tomorrow for a showdown against No. 8 Kentucky. Tipoff is set for noon EST on ESPN. Alabama head coach Nate Oats will surely have his guys ready to play after their worst game of the entire season.

“It’s disgusting, to be honest with you,” Oats said of his team’s effort after losing to Ole Miss. “With the amount of fifth-year seniors we have and the leadership that should be shown on this team, to have guys come in ready to play, it’s – look, it starts with me, because I’m supposed to be the one motivating these guys, and I obviously didn’t motivate them very well to make sure they’re ready. 

“So I’m gonna have to look in the mirror and see what I did, didn’t do. I’m gonna have to have a good talk with some of these seniors that are supposed to be on leaders and figure out why we weren’t ready to go tonight because it’s very disappointing. It’s disgusting, and it’s frustrating.”

To prepare for Saturday’s Top 10 matchup between Kentucky and Alabama, I dove into the film room from the Tide’s loss to Ole Miss. Here’s what I learned.

Alabama continues to struggle from deep

Alabama is a deeply talented team with several high-profile wins this season, but the 2024-25 Crimson Tide aren’t what we saw in 2023-24 when it comes to shooting from beyond the arc. Last season, Oats’ team ranked 20th in the country with a 37.3 percent mark from deep. This season? That number has nose-dived all the way down to just 32 percent — and that’s on higher volume, too.

The Tide’s three-point struggles were on full display against Ole Miss. Alabama shot just 5-20 from deep. Mark Sears and Aden Holloway — statistically Alabama’s top two outside shooters — were a combined 2-6. The Rebels let Chris Youngblood (28.3 percent from long range on the season) shoot 2-8 from deep. Labaron Philon (26.8 percent from three) went 0-3. Ole Miss made bad shooters take threes and it worked out perfectly.

Kentucky doesn’t have a defense as effective as the Rebels, but Mark Pope emphasizes making bad shooters take shots. Opponents shoot just 27.9 percent from deep (7th-best in the country) against UK this season because of that tactic. Alabama is averaging just 8.8 makes from deep per game (33.3 percent) through four SEC games. If Kentucky can hold the Tide to those numbers on Saturday, the chances of winning skyrocket. Make someone other than Sears and Holloway beat you.

Ole Miss made life hell for the Tide’s offense

Three-point shooting aside, Alabama couldn’t get anything going against Ole Miss’ Top 15 defense. Again, Kentucky (76th in defense per KenPom) isn’t on the same level defensively as the Rebels (13th), but the game plan from Chris Beard can be replicated. The key? Pressure, pressure, pressure.

Ole Miss brought plenty of traps, stayed in passing lanes, and did an all-around great job of bodying up Alabama ball handlers. The Crimson Tide turned the ball over a season-high 21 times, seven of those coming in the opening five minutes of the game. Ole Miss’ ball pressure set the tone early and forced Alabama into more one-on-one ball than Oats probably would have liked. The Rebels completely slowed down the nation’s fastest team in terms of tempo. 11 assists marked a season-low. Alabama has been a bit turnover-prone this season.

What kept Alabama from getting completely blown out was the ability to get to the line. The Tide shot 19-26 from the free-throw line thanks to 21 fouls from Ole Miss. Part of the Rebels’ pressure was being physical, sometimes too physical. Beard was content with making Alabama shoot free throws as opposed to looks from deep. 20 three-pointers for Bama was its third-fewest of the season.

Offensive rebounding (of course)

It feels like every Kentucky opponent over the last few weeks has been among the nation’s best at grabbing offensive rebounds. Georgia, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M all held that reputation. UK went 2-1 in those games. Alabama is right up there with them statistically, ranking 19th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage at 37.3.

But that strength was negated against Ole Miss. Alabama recorded just four offensive rebounds — a season-low — against the Rebels which led to only four second-chance points. The Wildcats have looked much better on the glass the last couple of games. Holding the Tide to under 10 offensive rebounds would be considered a win for UK. All three of Alabama’s losses this season have come with 12 or fewer offensive rebounds.