OXFORD – As conference play gets underway, the contenders are being separated from the pretenders, and in Tuesday night’s upset win at No. 4 Alabama, No. 21 Ole Miss made a strong case as a contender in 2025.
Chris Beard’s squad turned in a clean effort on all fronts to overcome a four-point halftime deficit, holding Alabama to just 28 points in the second half to win 74-64 for the first top-five road win in program history.
“I’m proud of our players for a lot of reasons,” said Beard. “Top of the list, I do believe Alabama is one of the best teams in the country. This is our second year at Ole Miss, we came here to build a program that can compete with teams like this, and tonight, we did more than compete.
Going into the night, Alabama was No. 1 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 91.1 points per game. The Tide also entered as one of the country’s most dominant rebounding teams, ranking No. 2 nationally in total rebounds and No. 8 in offensive boards.
Beard and his staff drew up a plan to slow the nation’s fastest offense, attack the glass on both ends and generate offense with patience and balance. The Rebels checked every box, holding the Crimson Tide to a season-lows in points (64) and offensive rebounds (4), and their second-worst rebounding total (39), while five finished in double figures offensively for Ole Miss, led by Malik Dia’s 23-point, 19-rebound double-double.
“We were really concerned with their offensive rebounding,” said Beard. “I think we held them to four offensive rebounds, one of those was late.
“We wanted to take care of the basketball, we did (it was a) low-turnover game,” he added. “We wanted to have balanced scoring, we had five guys in double figures.
“If you’re going to win a big-boy game, this was a first-place type game,” Beard concluded, “then you have to have some special performances.
Alabama opened as a 9.5-point betting favorite for this contest, but behind that balanced effort and Dia’s star power, Ole Miss flipped the spread with a 10-point road victory against a Final Four team from a year ago.
Now, Ole Miss stands atop the SEC at 4-0 alongside the only other unbeaten team in league play, No. 1 Auburn. The road doesn’t get any easier for Ole Miss. The Rebels remain on the road against another ranked foe in No. 15 Mississippi State this weekend. Then No. 11 Texas A&M comes to town. The top-ranked Tigers, No. 8 Kentucky and No. 6 Tennessee are all coming to the SJB Pavilion as well—but all now know what the Rebels are capable of.
