In a spotlight night for the SEC, No. 21 Ole Miss was the biggest winner on Tuesday.
Mississippi went into Alabama and knocked off the No. 4 Crimson Tide in a 74-64 stunner. The upset over the nation’s highest-scoring team highlighted a marquee night in the SEC with three matchups of teams ranked in the top 25.
In Auburn, the top-ranked Tigers cruised to an 88-66 win over No. 21 Mississippi State despite playing without injured star Johni Broome, who’s sidelined with what head coach Bruce Pearl deemed a “significant sprain.” In Lexington, No. 8 Kentucky held off No. 11 Texas A&M, 81-69.
Ole Miss stifles nation’s best offense
But the night in the SEC belonged to Ole Miss, which pulled off the win in a hostile road environment. With their corresponding wins, Mississippi and Auburn both improved to 4-0 as the only remaining undefeated teams in SEC play. The win for Mississippi was the first in school history over a top-5 team on the road.
Alabama was in control early and opened up a 36-32 halftime lead. But junior forward Malik Dia powered Mississippi with a 23-point, 19-rebound effort highlighted by a critical and-1 putback late in the game. With Mississippi holding a 56-51 lead inside the final eight minutes, Dia attacked Alabama’s Grant Nelson with a baseline drive.
Nelson met him at the rim and blocked his shot. But Dia gathered the rebound for an and-1 layup through an Alabama double team.
He made the free throw to quiet the Alabama crowd and maintain control of the game for Mississippi. Alabama never threatened again. And Ole Miss announced itself as a threat in an SEC that features five top-10 teams and nine ranked in the top 25.
Mississippi’s defense was the reason why on Tuesday night. Ole Miss held Alabama 27.1 points below its NCAA-best scoring average of 91.1 points per game. It forced a Crimson Tide team that averaged 12.6 turnovers per game into 21 giveaways. And it limited the Tide to 42.6% shooting from the field and a 25% (5 of 20) effort from 3-point distance.
Thanks to the turnovers and limiting Alabama to four offensive rebounds, Mississippi secured a 70-47 advantage in field-goal attempts. Ole Miss shot just 38.6% (27 of 70) from the field, but it didn’t matter because it dominated the ball. Mississippi limited Alabama to 28 points after halftime.
Mark Sears was the only Alabama starter to score in double figures as he tallied 11 points and five assists. He shot 2 of 8 from the field and 1 of 4 from 3. Aden Holloway added 15 points off the bench on a 5-of-6 effort from the field, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a poor scoring night from Alabama’s starters.
