GameDay Primer: Stage set for Ole Miss basketball’s biggest home game of regular season

Ole Miss basketball on Wednesday is hosting No. 13 Alabama for arguably its biggest home game to date in the 2023-24 season. 

The Rebels are on the outside looking into the NCAA Tournament after losing five of their last six games. However, they’re still very much in contention. Nine of the first 10 teams outside ESPN’s projected field lost on Saturday: Ole Miss, Utah, Texas A&M, Villanova, Butler, Drake, Oregon, Cincinnati and Iowa.

As a result, the Rebels (19-8, 6-8 SEC) are still hanging on as one of the ‘Next Four Out.’ They’re second to Butler. The ‘First Four Out,’ in order, are Texas A&M, Utah, Villanova and Colorado. Colorado was the only winner over the weekend.

“Our objective, year one, has always been to be part of the (NCAA Tournament) fight,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said after Saturday’s loss to ranked South Carolina, the second in as many games against the Gamecock this season.

“There’s a lot of teams in college basketball right now that aren’t part of the fight; teams that are already talking about their conference tournament or this and that. That’s not us. I think our players deserve all the credit for the kind of season we’ve had to this point. It’s late-February and we’re in the fight.”

Ole Miss and Alabama will face off at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. A win for the Rebels would secure their 13th 20-win season since 2000. Beard would become the 29th coach in SEC history to win 20 in his debut season. 

The included game notes were provided by Ole Miss Athletics and have been condensed and revised for the purposes of this preview.

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REBEL TIP-INS

Ole Miss is No. 5 in college basketball in blocks per game (6.0). … Jamarion Sharp leads the SEC, and is 10th in the nation, in the category (2.38). He’s second in conference total blocks (62), while sitting 14th among all NCAA players. … Ole Miss has 162 blocks as a team. The Rebels are on pace to at least challenge the single-season record (185) set in 2012-13. Sharp is sixth in Ole Miss history in single-season blocks. … Ole Miss is also second in the SEC in steals per game (8.2). The Rebels have tallied double-digit steal performances in seven games. They had 16 against Troy. … Ole Miss is 46th nationally in steals.

Ole Miss was one of just three teams in the country to open the year 13-0. 

The Rebels matched the program’s best-ever start and longest overall winning streak. … Jaylen Murray leads Ole Miss in assists (110). He’s fifth in the SEC assist-to-turnover ratio (2.29) and eighth in assists per game (4.1). … Ole Miss is No. 21 nationally, and third in the SEC, in three-point shooting percentage (37.7). The Rebels have shot 50 percent or better from three six times this season — the most in a single year since 2011-12. … Matthew Murrell is eight made threes away from passing the legendary Joe Harvell for fifth all-time in Ole Miss history. He’s fifth (585) in attempts. … Murrell is a finalist for the Howell Trophy, which is handed out each year to the best college basketball player in Mississippi.

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SERIES HISTORY VS. ALABAMA

Ole Miss and Alabama will be meeting for the 185th time in history, in what is the third-most-played series for the Rebels against a single opponent in history. 

The Crimson Tide leads the all-time series 126-58. Ole Miss holds a 44-42 advantage in games played in Oxford. The teams first began playing all the way back in 1921. Ole Miss won eight of the first 11. The series has been more balanced recently, however. Alabama is leading, 23-16, since 2000.

Ole Miss and Alabama last faced off in January of 2023. Alabama won in a blowout, 84-62. It was the Rebels’ first SEC road game last season, and they never really had a chance, trailing the then-No. 7 Crimson Tide 44-23 at halftime. Jaemyn Brakefield had a team-leading 14 points. He added nine rebounds to nearly pick up his first career double-double.

Alabama was paced by Brandon Miller and his 17 points. Miller went on to become the second-overall selection (of the Charlotte Hornets) in the 2023 NBA Draft. Current Crimson Tide leading scorer Mark Sears had 16.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE

Alabama is sitting at 19-8 (11-3) overall on the season and second in the SEC standings. 

The Crimson Tide has picked up a pair of ranked wins in conference play. Alabama boasts wins over No. 8 Auburn, No. 24 Florida and No. 17 Kentucky.

Sears is averaging an SEC-high 20.4 points per game. Sears, a guard, is also shooting 44.7 percent from three, and no player in the conference has attempted or made more free throws. Aaron Estrada has already posted 100 assists. Both players also have at least 40 steals.

Alabama has the nation’s top-scoring offense (91.1 points per game). The Crimson Tide is second in made threes (11.5), and Alabama is fourth in the NCAA in three-point attempts (30.3). Additionally, Alabama is seventh in effective field goal percentage (57.3), eighth in free throw percentage (79.0), 11th in free throws made per game (17.9) and 16th in three-point percentage (37.9). The Crimson Tide average 27.2 points off the bench, a Top 50 mark.

Nate Oats (111-50) is in his fifth season as Alabama head coach. He served as Buffalo head coach from 2015-2019. Oats won 96 games in four seasons, including a 32-4 record during his final year. He was a two-time MAC Coach of the Year.