Alabama men’s basketball knocked off the Ole Miss Rebels 93-74 at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion on Wednesday, despite a slow start from the field.
The Crimson Tide scored just 32 points in the opening half but erupted for 61 second-half points, largely thanks to guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who led the team on offense with 21 points on 7/14 shooting. He also tied his career high in made 3-pointers with seven, which he recorded in the team’s blowout win over Missouri on Jan. 27.
Wrightsell’s stellar night also followed an early exit in the team’s 96-92 win over Auburn on Saturday.
“I think he’s just been very mature,” head coach Nate Oats said of Wrightsell postgame. “Obviously, you see the frustration when he goes out of the games. I thought he was ready to play at Auburn. He goes out, can’t play the rest of the game, but right back in the training room, getting his rehab back in, and he looked great tonight.”
The game was Alabama’s first since center and former G League player Charles Bediako was denied a preliminary injunction that would have kept him eligible to play. Oats shared postgame that Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard attended the team’s shootaround on Tuesday and handed him a letter written to Bediako following the ruling.
Oats called Beard’s letter to Bediako one of the “classiest moves” he had ever seen from an opposing coach.
Alabama began the first half with a poor shooting performance, knocking down just 3/14 from the field and 2/10 from 3-point range with 11:34 to play. The shooting lull continued for the Crimson Tide over halfway through the first half, having made just 4/19 attempts from the field.
Ole Miss joined the Crimson Tide in the shooting struggles as the half neared its end, shooting just 12/33 from the field in the opening 20 minutes. As the Rebels cooled off, though, the Crimson Tide began to find rhythm.
The Crimson Tide ended the half on a 21-10 scoring run, which gave it a 2-point lead at the break, despite shooting just 8/32 in the first half. Star guard Labaron Philon Jr. led the team with 9 first-half points, although he shot just 2/6 from the field in the opening period.
Momentum from the end of the first half carried into the second, as Alabama began the latter half with a 10-4 run. Its lead ballooned to 15 points with 10:06 left in the half, which prompted Beard to call a timeout.
The Rebels cut the lead down to 7 points with 7:36 to go, but could not silence Wrightsell and the red-hot Crimson Tide offense, which quickly extended its lead back to double digits. Alabama’s lead did not dip below 10 for the remainder of the evening, and soared to 22 points with 27 seconds to play. The Crimson Tide later dribbled out the clock and sealed a third straight SEC victory.
“I think our leadership’s understanding what’s expected out of this program and where the expectations are and where we got to get this thing to,” Oats said.
Alabama will return to the hardwood on Saturday night, hosting the South Carolina Gamecocks at Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on SEC Network.
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