Rebels suffer 84-62 road loss at No. 7 Alabama
TUSCALOOSA – The Ole Miss men’s basketball team recorded its third straight loss Tuesday night in an 84-62 beatdown from No. 7 Alabama on the road. The Rebels are now 0-2 to start SEC play.
Ole Miss led for 3:13 early in the first half, but the Crimson Tide took over the rest of the way and the score never seemed close. They shot 35% for the game, including shooting 2-24 (8%) from three-point range.
One big plus in the stats column is the rebounding, as the Rebels outrebounded the top rebounding team in the nation 48-39, including 17-9 on the offensive boards. However, this number can very much be attributed to the lackluster shooting performance from the Rebels.
Head coach Kermit Davis believed that they got the same, if not better, looks from the field as Alabama, but his team just could not knock the shots down.
“I thought we had a lot of A-range shots. We had an inability to make them. We had wide-open step-in threes. We had shots right around the rim. We’ve got to make open shots.”
Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis
The offensive struggles have been a trend lately for Davis’ Rebels. His team has been unable to score 70 points in the last five games, four of which were losses.
“Offensively, I think what we are doing is good, but we’ve just got to make shots. [We need to] keep giving guys confidence and shoot shots that they can make. I was pleased with a lot of the shots that we got. We just have to make them.”
Coach Kermit Davis
The Rebels had a good offensive spurt in the second half, going 7-8 from the field for a small stretch. However, the spurt did not cut the lead down much, so it was insignificant in the long run.
Ole Miss’ leading scorer was forward Jaemyn Brakefield with 14 points. He also tacked on nine rebounds. Brakefield pointed out something that Alabama did well as something the Rebels could use for improvement.
“With Alabama, their guards [Mark] Sears and [Brandon] Miller were really good at penetrating, getting people in the air, and making plays out of that,” Brakefield said. “What we do is we drive and try to force a lot of tough things when we should do just what they did.”
Brakefield also attributed the loss to a lack of intensity in a top ten road environment.
“We did not come out with as much intensity that we were emphasizing the whole week. We knew they were a tough team, so the whole game plan was to match their toughness and their intensity. We came out slow, and we didn’t match it.”
Ole Miss forward Jaemyn Brakefield
The other two Rebels in double-figures were guard Daeshun Ruffin and forward Theo Akwuba. Ruffin scored 13 points on 5-13 shooting, but he fouled-out of the game with 1:57 to go. Akwuba tacked on 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Next Up
The Rebels (8-6, 0-2 SEC) will look to end their three-game losing streak this Saturday in Starkville against Mississippi State. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. on CBS.
Trevor Terminie
Trevor is a senior at Ole Miss pursuing a degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Sports Communication and Promotion. He has previous experience covering sports for another site, including a variety of Ole Miss sports. Growing up in New Orleans, La., he has the Pelicans and Saints running through his blood. He also grew up in an LSU family, but his love for Ole Miss continues to grow. Trevor hopes to cover sports back in his hometown after college. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
