The Alabama Crimson Tide was victorious on Wednesday night in Oxford over the Ole Miss Rebels in a final score of 103-88.
It was the ninth time this season that Alabama put up over 100 points, tying an SEC record also held by the 1995-96 Kentucky Wildcats.
The game started very similarly to the way the disaster against Kentucky began: A severe lack of defense combined with the Rebels seemingly making every shot.
Alabama found itself down by 14 points in the middle of the first-half, but battled back during a stretch to close the first half on a 16-5 run and only trail by three at the break.
The Tide then would dominate most of the second half and though they would struggle for a few minutes to completely put it away, they would still secure a 15-point win.
Mark Sears was, as per usual, fantastic with 26 points along with five rebounds and four assists.
10 Points for @imcsears
📺: ESPN2#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/QVgW7yNFcp
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 29, 2024
But it was Aaron Estrada whole stole the show with his 18, 10, and 10 performance which was good for Alabama’s first triple-double by a player since Kira Lewis in 2020. Estrada also added four steals to go along with it.
Such a beautiful layup from 55 🤌🏼
📺: ESPN2#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/RxmLhr1Tzy
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 29, 2024
The Tide had six players in double figures including freshman guard Davin Cosby Jr., who scored 15 points on five made threes along with two critical shots down the stretch to seal the victory.
🗣️ DAVIN COSBY JR!!!!
📺: ESPN2#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/sfjPfiiGxB
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 29, 2024
Rylan Griffen added 14 points while Grant Nelson and Nick Pringle each put up 10.
Nate Oats after the game spoke about Alabama’s slow start and ability to overcome it.
“They were obviously much more ready to play than we were. Give them a lot of credit for having their guys ready to go, and we need to do a better job on defense out of the gate. We get down 14, I thought our guys showed a ton of character, a lot of grit,” Oats said.
Alabama now sets up for a showdown against Tennessee this weekend in a game that could very well decide the SEC regular season title with College Gameday in town.
The massive tilt will be at 7 P.M. CST on ESPN in Coleman Coliseum.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP
