Crimson Tide Vanquishes Rebels in the Pavilion

OXFORD, Miss. - Despite a poor performance shooting from the floor against head coach Chris Beard's tough, gritty play from the Ole Miss Rebels, the Alabama Crimson Tide was able to escape the Sandy and John Black Pavilion with a 93-74 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels. Ole Miss's style of play can often frustrate opposing teams, with players defending the full length of the court and picking the pocket of ball handlers. It presented Alabama problems early, but after the second-half adjustments by Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide, Alabama handled its business on the road.

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The first half saw the Crimson Tide trailing by nine early, and it looked like Alabama would struggle all night after the Tide shot just 25% from the floor and 21.7% from three-point range. However, Alabama matched Ole Miss's physicality under the basket, with both teams collecting 24 rebounds in the first half. Alabama star sophomore Labaron Philon led the way for Alabama in the first half with nine points as Alabama shockingly took a two-point lead into the halftime break.

In the second half, the three-point shooting of Latrell Wrightsell Jr. came to life, making six of ten shots from deep and scoring 18 second-half points, helping the Crimson Tide outscore the Rebels 61-44 in the second half. Head coach Nate Oats and the team made phenomenal adjustments in the second half as Alabama shot 55% from three-point range and 52.9% from the floor. Alabama big man Aiden Sherrell also scored double-digit points in the second half with 11 points.

Alabama advances to 17-7 (7-4 in SEC play) with the victory over the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide's next game will come on Saturday, February 14, against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

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_.