Ole Miss Continues Nashville Hot Streak, Takes Down Tide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Alabama men's basketball team finished the SEC regular season as the No. 2 seed, resulting in the Crimson Tide not playing until Friday in this week's SEC tournament. Alabama's foe, the 15-seed Ole Miss Rebels, had won two games to earn a rematch with the Crimson Tide from a regular-season bout that the Rebels lost at home.

In February, Alabama traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, for a matchup with the Rebels in the regular season. In that game, Alabama struggled from the floor, making just 26 shots on the night, with 17 coming from three-point range as the Tide shot 38% from deep range. The Tide also out-rebounded the Rebels 44-39, and turned the ball over fewer times.

Friday night was its own story, as Ole Miss dominated the glass, had a more effective second unit on the floor, and never trailed in the Rebels' 80-79 victory over the Crimson Tide. Ole Miss, a 15-seed in the SEC tournament, will now play in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon for a chance to play for an SEC title and an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

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The Rebels came out hot in the first half, tapping into the full potential that they showed in Wednesday's victory over Texas and Thursday's dominant first half against Georgia. The Rebels forced a handful of unnecessary errors from the Crimson Tide. The Rebels shot 51.4% from the floor and 37.5% from three-point range in the first half after starting with a 6-0 lead over the Tide after the first two possessions. In the first half for Alabama, Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway led the way with 12 points apiece, but after the hot start from the Rebels, Alabama being out-rebounded 20-14, the Tide found itself down six at the break.

Alabama finally started to wake up in the second half, but it was too little, too late. The Crimson Tide relied on its star sophomore, who has delivered time and time again this season, but the play by Ole Miss was too much for even him to overcome. Alabama tried to score fast from three-point range, something the Tide took advantage of in the first matchup with the Rebels, but shot just 31% from three in the second half en route to the loss.

Alabama consistently had to fight through contact all night, and the Rebels' physicality proved too much for Nate Oats' squad. Well-timed dunks from Aiden Sherrell and Taylor Bol Bowen kept getting Alabama within a possession or two, but the Rebels' Ilias Kamardine scored nine points by himself in the final two minutes to propel Ole Miss. Alabama was out-rebounded 42-36 on the night, yet again falling due to poor protection on the glass.

The next time we see the Alabama Crimson Tide will be in the NCAA Tournament.

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Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.