Ole Miss was down 14 points early in the game, but the Crimson Tide rallied to defeat them 103-88 on Wednesday night in Oxford.
Nate Oats’ team needed to recover from the Tide’s poor performance in Lexington on Saturday in order to stay competitive in the SEC Championship race. Oats stuck with Mark Sears, Aaron Estrada, Rylan Griffen, Jarin Stevenson, and Grant Nelson in the starting lineup, while Latrell Wrightsell, Jr., missed his third straight game due to a concussion. The five got off to a poor start, which gave the Rebels the previously noted edge.
When Sears, Nelson, and Estrada all made three-pointers to cut the deficit to 37-32, the rally got underway. The Tide led 42-39 at the half, but Sears’ deep three-pointer at the end of the half kept the score close. Nick Pringle and Sears each made two free throws to keep the Tide in the game.
Alabama shot 14–36 for 39%, 6–20 for 30%, and hit five–six free throws in the first half. Alabama finished with only three turnovers, 16 rebounds, four thefts, eight steals, and two blocks. Nelson scored seven points, while Sears scored fifteen, leading the squad. Ole Miss made 52% of their shots from 16–31, including 4–13 from beyond the arc and 6–9 from free throw range. The Rebels finished with 23 rebounds, 2 blocks, 11 assists, no steals, and 7 turnovers. Leading the squad in scoring with 12 points was Alan Flanigan, who managed to avoid a punishment after assaulting a player in Mississippi’s last game.
In the second half, the Oats stuck with their starting lineup, and the Tide swiftly gained the upper hand. In the opening minute of the game, Stevenson scored a basket and sank two free throws to give Alabama their first lead of the contest, 43-42. At 18:37, the Rebels scored a basket to take their final lead of the game, one point ahead. With 16:29 remaining, a Sears layup started a run that resulted in two more threes from Griffen and Estrada to put the Tide ahead 60–51.
Still, Ole Miss persisted and received some support from the whistles. With 9:39 left, the Rebels tied the score at 65 apiece after scoring eight straight points on six free throws and a slam. For the following few minutes, Alabama was able to hold a four- to seven-point advantage, but it took until the end to finally get close to the home team. Luckily, in the final three minutes, freshman Davin Cosby went on a scoring binge from beyond the arc. Combined with the Sears at the free throw line, Alabama broke beyond the 100-point mark for the ninth time this season. This comes after three games with 99 points and two with 98 points.
Bama ramped up to 21-34 for 62% in the second half, 9-17 for 53% from beyond the arc, and 13-15 for 87% at the free throw line. Overall, the Tide shot 41% from behind the arc at 15–37 and an even 50% from 35–70. The team’s free throw percentage was 82% (18-22), and they concluded with 36 rebounds, 2 blocks, 8 steals, 25 assists, and only 8 turnovers. Six players scored in double figures for Alabama, with Mark Sears leading the way with 26.
At the line, Sears was a productive 7-8 and an 8-14 from the floor. The senior from Muscle Shoals finished with five rebounds, three steals, four assists, and zero turnovers. With 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals, and the hard hat award once more, Estrada recorded the first triple-double for Alabama since Kira Lewis’s days. The radio crew dubbed Cosby the player of the game because he scored 15 points on 5–10 three-pointers. After going scoreless in the first half, Griffen found his game and scored 14 points, most of which came from 4–7 three-point range. Nelson struggled with foul trouble and eventually fouled out along with Griffen, scoring ten points. With 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists, Pringle was the final player in double figures as he maintained his late-season run. Following his return from his second suspension, the senior has established himself as a reliable low threat for Alabama. Stevenson finished with eight points, three rebounds, and two assists in a good performance.
Ole Miss made 12–23 for 52%, 4–9 for 44%, and 18–22 free throws in the second half. Overall, it was 24-31 at the charity stripe, 8-22 for 36% from deep, and 28-54 for 52%. In addition to their 31 rebounds, the Rebels also had four blocks, 14 turnovers, and one steal. With 28, Flanigan led all scorers in the match, followed by Jaemyn Brakefield with 21.
After the humiliating defeat on Saturday, this was a major statement game for the Tide. Despite their poor start, the team gave it their all in the final 25 minutes of play. A second half with 64 points is absurd. Someone off the bench needed to step up, with Wrightsell out and Nelson and Griffen battling foul trouble the entire evening. It was Cosby’s little-used time tonight. Oats stated, “I wanted to get him some more minutes tonight, and I had a nice practice yesterday with the redshirt freshman.” Despite playing just 13 minutes, Cosby managed to rack up 10 three-pointers. Pringle played 25 hard minutes and was the only other bench player to see the floor for more than five minutes. Sam Walters has been absent from the last two games after having the finest game of the season against Florida on February 21. He was able to shoot 0–5 from three-point range in five minutes. Sears played the entire forty minutes, which added to the impressiveness of his zero turnover performance. During his 38 minutes on the court, Estrada only made one turnover with his triple double. Together, the two committed 11 turnovers on Saturday in Lexington.
Next up, with both teams owning 12-3 SEC records, is the SEC game of the year when Tennessee visits Coleman. On January 20, the Vols defeated the Tide 91-71 in Knoxville, embarrassing them. In SEC play, Alabama is the only team in the conference without a home loss. For the first time ever, ESPN Game Day basketball will be held in the city, so the energy should be high. ESPN will broadcast the game, which begins at 7 p.m. CT. For the third time in the previous four years, Alabama is attempting to capture the regular-season conference championship. This will be one of the biggest games Coleman (now Memorial) Coliseum has ever hosted, and it should be fantastic.
