Ole Miss Rebels vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Preview and Open Thread

For a conference that is much maligned in the national basketball press (and probably with good reason - but just hear me out), wins on the road in the SEC are really tough to come by. Only Florida has a winning record on the road among SEC teams. The Rebels are 4-4 this year outside of Oxofrd, with two of those road wins being against SEC teams - Vanderbilt and South Carolina. The Rebels are looking to get to 5-4 in that regard tonight, as they travel to Alabama in what isn't necessarily a "must win" but rather a "mustn't lose" for the program's NCAA chances.

With Ole Miss' top-50 RPI victory over Missouri this past Saturday, Andy Kennedy's Rebs are again in control of their own basketball destiny. That should make your nervous about tonight, but then again Alabama's not particularly formidable an SEC foe. The Tide are 9-14 (3-7 SEC) on the year, but all of their wins have come at home. They don't do anything particularly well (to put it nicely) on offense, but they do average 4.6 blocks and 7.0 steals per game on defense. They're led on offense by guard Trevor Releford, who is averaging 18.3 points per game along with 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

But, even if Alabama isn't particularly impressive, we can't help but sweat this one out. This has "oh what in the hell did we go about losing that one for" written all over it.

What

Ole Miss Rebels vs. Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball

Where

Tuesday, Feb. 11
8 p.m. CT

Where

Coleman Coliseum
Tuscaloosa, AL

TV

ESPNU

Radio

Oxford: 93.7 FM 
Memphis: 87.7 FM, 560 AM 
Jackson, Miss.: 97.3 FM 
Complete radio listings

Satellite Radio

Sirius 85
XM 85

Online

WatchESPN
Rebelvision (subscription required, audio only)