Alabama Turns Focus Toward Wednesday Night’s Contest at Ole Miss

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team is set to travel to Oxford, Miss., where the Crimson Tide will take on the Ole Miss Rebels Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network. It will be the lone meeting during the regular season between the two teams.

Alabama (14-9, 4-6 SEC) is coming off one of the toughest stretches played in college basketball in nearly 15 years having faced three consecutive teams that were ranked in the Associated Press Top-5. The Crimson Tide opened the stretch with a win over then-No. 4 Baylor (87-78) followed by losses at No. 1 Auburn on Feb. 1 (100-81) and most recently against then-No. 5 Kentucky at home last Saturday night (66-55). It was the first time since the 2008-09 season that any Division I team faced three-straight AP Top-5 teams (Rutgers).

Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7) has won three of its last five games entering Wednesday's home contest at The Pavilion where the Rebels have 10-4 record this season.

The Broadcast

Wednesday's game will be available on SEC Network with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

For a fourth consecutive week, the Crimson Tide continues to receive votes to be ranked in both the Associated Press (18 votes, No. 32) and Ferris Mowers USA Today Coaches (28 votes, No. 29) Top 25 polls. The Crimson Tide began the year ranked No. 14/13 in the nation and was among the nation's top-25 over the first 10 weeks. Alabama earned its highest ranking of the season at No. 6/8 in week six.
According to the other metric rankings, Alabama is ranked in the following (as of 2/7): No. 19 KenPom.com, No. 19 Sagarin, No. 20 ESPN.com BPI and No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings. The Tide's "Best" NET wins (Quad 1) include: Gonzaga (No. 1), Houston (No. 2), Baylor (No. 9), Tennessee (No. 12), LSU (No. 16) and at Florida (No. 44).
NET RANKING FACTS: Alabama has a NET Ranking of No. 24 in the nation as of 2/7 which is fifth-best in the SEC... UA is the only team in the nation to have defeated three teams among the NET Top 10 (No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Houston and No. 10 Baylor)... The Tide's four top-12 NET victories (No. 12 Tennessee) also stands alone as the most in the country... of the eight games remaining on the regular-season slate, two are Q1 opponents and five are Q2 ... UA is tied for the second-most Quad 1 wins in the nation (6)... Alabama is the only team in the nation to have not played a Quad 4 opponent.
The Tide's schedule ranks No. 1 in the nation in every major rating system including: Average Opponent NET Ranking, KenPom.com, ESPN BPI, Sagarin Rankings and RealTimeRPI.
Alabama owns a 5-3 record when playing teams ranked among the Associated Press Top 25, with all eighth contests coming against teams ranked inside the top 15 of the national polls. The five wins is tied for the second-most top-25 wins in the country (Marquette has six, Texas Tech with five) and the second-most in a single season, one shy of matching the 2017-18 squad that finished with six top-25 wins.
The Tide ranks No. 16 in the nation in offensive efficiency by Ken Pomeroy (as of 2/7), which would stand as the Tide's second-most efficient offense over the last 20 years of KenPom.com's end-of-year ranking (finished No. 9 in 2005). Pomeroy also ranks the Tide No. 13 in average possession length and No. 18 in adjusted tempo and No. 62 in defensive efficiency.
The Crimson Tide owns a 5-3 record vs. teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season. The five ranked wins is tied for second-most in the nation (Texas Tech), trailing Marquette (6) by one.
All five of its ranked wins came against top-15 teams, giving Alabama the national lead in top-15 wins (5). The Crimson Tide has defeated then-No. 3 Gonzaga (91-82 in Seattle), then-No. 14 Houston (83-82), then-No. 14 Tennessee (73-68), then-No. 13 LSU (70-67) and then-No. 4 Baylor (87-78).
Alabama owns a record of 2-2 in games that have come down to a single possession (3 or fewer points) and is 3-4 in two possession contests (5-6 points) on the year.
UP NEXT: Alabama will begin its final season stretch by playing four of the next six games under the arched roof when it welcomes the Arkansas Razorbacks to Coleman Coliseum for a Saturday matinee. The two teams, which will play the lone contest against one another this season, will tipoff at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network.

About Alabama

Alabama is in its 109th season of basketball in 2021-22. The Tide's first season of hoops came in 1912-13. There was no season in 1943-44 due to World War II.
The Crimson Tide is led by three players who average double figures in Jaden Shackelford (17.1 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (14.5 ppg) and Keon Ellis (11.7 ppg). The trio combines to account for 54 percent (43.3 of the 80.2 points per game average), 70 percent of the three-pointers made (145 of 208), 51 percent field goals made (330 of 643) and 54 percent of the total free throws made (190 of 351).
The Tide youth has also shined this season. A pair of freshmen in guard JD Davison and center Charles Bediako have both been impressive during their rookie campaign. Davison, a consensus five star and McDonald's All-American, ranks second on the team in assists (3.9 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a strong inside presence, collecting 6.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-leading 1.5 blocks a game. Meanwhile, sophomore Juwan Gary has also been impressive in his second year at UA, averaging 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Alabama was picked to finish second in the league in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Kentucky was the preseason favorite to win this year's regular season title, followed by the Tide, Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn to round out the top five. Both Quinerly and Shackelford were named to the SEC Preseason First Team.
The Tide holds an all-time record of 1,731-1,077-1 (.616), which includes an 819-634 (.565) record in SEC play. By capturing its 800th SEC win, Alabama joined Kentucky as the only two teams in conference history to reach the milestone. UA also became the third team in the SEC and 34th team in NCAA history to reach 1,700 program wins. Only Kentucky and Arkansas have more wins than the Crimson Tide.

About Ole Miss

The Rebels come into Wednesday night's contest sporting a 12-11 overall record on the season and a 3-7 mark in SEC play. The Rebels are coming off a split of a two-game road swing that was highlighted by a 76-72 victory at then-No. 25 LSU on Feb. 1. Most recently, Ole Miss dropped a 62-57 overtime decision at Florida last Saturday which marked just the second loss in the Rebels' last five contests.
Ole Miss is currently rated No. 100 by KenPom.com and No. 104 in the NCAA NET Rankings (as of 2/7), The Rebels own a record of 1-7 when playing Quad 1 competition, with the lone victory coming last week at LSU (No. 16 NET). However, this will mark just the second home game for Ole Miss against a Q1 opponent (lost vs. Auburn, 80-71). The Rebels are 5-1 vs. Q2 teams, 1-2 vs. Q3 and 5-1 vs. Q4 opposition.
Ole Miss boasts a balanced scoring attack with four players who average 9.5 points or better. Senior guard Jarkel Joiner leads the team in scoring average at 13.1 points per game including 14.9 ppg in league play. Freshman Deshaun Ruffin was second in scoring (12.6 ppg) and led the team assists (3.4 apg) and steals (2.3 spg), however, his solid rookie campaign ended abruptly with a season-ending knee injury suffered in last week's win at LSU.
Starting guard Matthew Murrell is the third Ole Miss player to average in double figures at 10.6 points per contest and is the team's top three-point shooter (41-of-106, 38.7 percent). Center Nysier Brooks adds 9.5 points a game and leads the Rebels in rebounding (8.0 rpg), blocked shots (1.2 bpg), field goal percentage (.588) and total field goals made (90).
As a team, Ole Miss is outscoring the opposition by 1.6 points per game (67.3-65.7) while shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from beyond the arc and 71.5 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, the Rebels are giving up 65.7 points per game which ranks sixth in the SEC, while allowing the opposition to shoot 43.2 percent from the floor and 29.7 percent from deep, which is third-best in the league.
Head coach Kermit Davis is in his fourth season at the helm of the Ole Miss program and owns a 63-53 (.543) mark. The 2019 SEC Coach of the Year, who is now in his 27th year as a head coach, has compiled a record of 532-316 (.627).

Alabama-Ole Miss Series Notes

Wednesday's game will mark the 183rd meeting on the hardwood in series history and the only meeting between the two schools during the regular season. The Tide has won four straight in the series, however, UA has won just once in the last eight trips to Oxford, Miss.
That one victory over the last eight played at Ole Miss came in Nate Oats' first year at Alabama two years ago when the Tide captured an impressive 103-78 victory at The Pavilion. At the time, the 103 points was the most scored by the Crimson Tide in a road game that did not go to overtime in program history.
More recently, Alabama opened the 2020-21 SEC season against Ole Miss in Coleman Coliseum by taking an 82-64 victory. Jahvon Quinerly led UA with 24 points off the bench as the Tide secured its 800th SEC win in program history. A full box score from that contest can be found below.
With four consecutive wins in the series, the Crimson Tide has improved to a 124-58 lead in the all-time series. The 182 all-time games ranks as the third-most games UA has played against any one opponent in program history, while the 124 victories by the Tide is the second-most victories against an opponent in program lore.
Ole Miss is one of three teams, along with Mississippi State (129) and LSU (113), that UA has won 100 or more games against.
In addition to capturing four consecutive wins in the series, the Crimson Tide has won six of the last seven overall entering Wednesday night's showdown. Prior to Alabama's recent run over the past seven games, Ole Miss had beaten the Tide in five of the previous six contests.
Alabama will make its fourth appearance in the Pavilion at Ole Miss, owning a 1-3 mark in the building. The Tide opened the arena back on Jan. 7, 2015, falling by a final score of 74-66.
Despite earning its first-ever win in The Pavilion in 2019, the Tide has lost seven of its last eight games that have been played in Oxford, Miss. Alabama dropped each of its last five games in the Tad Smith Coliseum before losing the first two games in The Pavilion. The Rebels own an all-time lead of 43-38 when playing Alabama in Oxford.
The series began during the 1920-21 campaign.

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