Ole Miss basketball faces Alabama on Tuesday night

Ole Miss hoops takes a short road trip to Tuscaloosa this week before the Rebs meet Iowa State in Oxford in this year’s installment of the Big 12-SEC challenge. The Rebs are currently deep into their 2018-19 schedule, and this here gauntlet will be a good indication of whether the Basketsharks are ready or not for NCAA tournament play.

The week kicks off Tuesday night against a Bama team that has struggled most of the season but did notch a home game against Kentucky at the beginning of the month. The Tide is a poor shooting club and has struggled with holding onto the ball for stretches this season. Their strength is on the glass, where they rank 41st nationally in offensive rebound rate.

It certainly helps that Ole Miss big men Bruce Stevens and Dominik Olejniczak are coming off their best games of the season, having combined for 27 points with 12 rebounds in a win over Arkansas on Saturday.

“I just hope they keep playing like that,” Kermit Davis told the Clarion-Ledger on Monday. “I thought both of them were different but they both affected the game in such a big way. To get that kind of production, they’ve both had really good moments. But that was their most complete game.”

How to watch

Tip-off: 8 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN U
Online: WatchESPN

Suggested reading

• Ole Miss drummed Arkansas out of Oxford
• Previewing the week ahead for Rebel hoops
• Ole Miss comes in at No. 20 in the AP Poll