Alabama is going to have to play a lot better basketball than that if it wants to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Another similar performance will make for a short trip to March Madness — maybe as short as the one-game visit to the SEC Tournament.
Ole Miss, despite being the No. 15 seed in the conference tournament, outplayed No. 2 seed Alabama. As a result, the Rebels defeated the Crimson Tide 80-79 on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament.
“The whole team needs to understand this stuff is not easy in March,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “Everybody is playing for their lives. Ole Miss, as soon as Ole Miss loses, their season’s over … Guys were thinking because we were able to rest for six days, we were going to be able to run these guys out of the gym. It didn’t happen.”
Now, Alabama will head back to Tuscaloosa and await its NCAA Tournament fate. The NCAA Selection Show airs at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Here are notes and analysis from the SEC Tournament game between No. 2 seed Alabama and No. 15 seed Ole Miss:
Alabama struggles to slow hot Ole Miss in first half
The Rebels showed no signs of fatigue despite playing their third game in as many days.
Instead, the hot streak continued for Ole Miss, which looked energized and brought momentum from two upsets the past two days over No. 10 seed Texas and No. 7 seed Georgia. That fueled a potent offense that put Alabama on its heels early and often.
The Crimson Tide defense gave Ole Miss too many good looks far too often.
“When you’re not playing hard enough to get stops on the defensive end, it doesn’t matter if they’re playing their third game in a row and you’re fresh, you end up with a loss, which is what we ended up with tonight,” Oats said.
By halftime, three Ole Miss players had already hit double figures in scoring. Every time the Crimson Tide got some offensive momentum, the Rebels seemed to answer. Alabama’s defense had trouble keeping Ole Miss in check in the first half long enough to be able to take over the game.
The Rebels averaged close to 1.5 points per possession for much of the first half, which is a strong mark. By halftime, Ole Miss led Alabama 47-41.
The Crimson Tide improved its defense in the second half, limiting the Rebels to .917 points per possession. But Ole Miss’ strong first half did enough damage, considering Alabama outscored Ole Miss 38-33 after halftime.
Ilias Kamardine the difference in second half
The most ridiculous shot was the falling-backward 3-pointer Kamardine hit at the shot-clock buzzer. But he did more than that for the Rebels.
He was the difference-maker in the second half in a game where every bucket mattered in the final minutes. Kamardine produced some grit down the stretch as Alabama’s defense struggled to stop him late.
Kamardine finished the second half with 14 points, making 6 of 11 attempts.
“It’s not just the freshmen that need to learn how to win in March,” Oats said. “It’s everybody. We got to get back to playing hard, fully locked into the stuff we have full control over, and making effort plays on both ends of the floor, defensive effort plays, offensive rebounding effort plays. We didn’t do a good job of that. Ole Miss did a much better job of that than we did today.”
Alabama falters on final possession
As badly as many things went for the Crimson Tide throughout the game, Alabama had a chance to win it and take its first lead in the final second of the game.
Ole Miss missed a free throw with nine seconds left, and Alabama grabbed the rebound, trailing by one.
Labaron Philon, Alabama’s best player, had the ball with enough time to try and make something happen, down one. No desperation heave would be needed. Just a little Philon magic.
But as he moved through the lane toward the bucket, he didn’t take the shot. Instead, he passed to Aiden Sherrell who couldn’t find a way to get off a clean shot with the Ole Miss defense swarming him.
“I saw him down low trying to give him an opportunity to go with the ball,” Philon said. “I gave him the opportunity. Those guys, like coach said, they was playing with a lot of confidence. Just, like, in that moment just trying to make the right play really. Just trying to win a game. Those guys came up with the stop.”
The Rebels deserve credit for their defense on that possession, but Philon’s decision to pass proved unfruitful.
Hindsight is 20-20, but the decision to pass might haunt Philon for a bit. He’s one of the nation’s best players after all. The ball was probably best in his hands for the final shot.
