Battle-tested Alabama comes to Oxford for a tip-off against Ole Miss basketball

Ole Miss basketball battled to an overtime loss on the road at Florida in what looked like a game from decades ago with a regulation ending tie at 48-48 and a final 62-57.

The Rebels (12-11, 3-7 SEC) are really in a spot where a home game is good news as Ole Miss has an OK record of 10-5 at the SJB Pavilion. Additionally, Alabama (14-9, 4-6 SEC) comes into this game on a four-game road losing streak.

Let’s not kid ourselves though, the Tide are favored by five or six points, and Bama beat No. 2 Gonzaga and also topped No. 4 Baylor in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. At one point in the season, this team was in the top ten nationally, and coach Nate Oats is guiding his team through the toughest schedule in the nation.

I’m not trying to be some kind of Bama fanboy, because it would make me so damn happy to see a win tonight. I’ve got American paper money on the Rebels to beat the spread, and honestly the O/U at more than 140 points seems high as well - take those for what they’re worth.

Matthew Murrell and Tye Fagan led the way against Florida, and fans saw the return of Jarkel Joiner after more than a month off due to injury. Joiner needs to shake the rust off and get back to his 12 to 15 points per game as soon as possible for this offense to get into some kind of momentum.

The Rebels are pretty salty at home - don’t forget a tight game vs. Auburn earlier this year plus wins over Florida and Mississippi State. As of today’s rankings, this is a Quad 1 game in the NET rankings where Ole Miss currently sits outside the top 100 (No. 104) and Alabama sits at No. 23.

The Tide need this win to shore up a 1-5 road record and to avoid honestly a pretty bad loss to an inconsistent Ole Miss team. Expect them to get out to an early lead but the Rebels to keep it tight until late.

Odds

Line: Alabama -5
Over/Under: 143.5

How to watch

Where: SJB Pavilion, Oxford, Miss.
When: 7:30pm CDT
TV: SEC Network
Online streaming: WatchESPN