TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 14/13 Alabama men’s basketball team wraps up its two-game road trip on Wednesday in Oxford, Miss., against Ole Miss at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The Crimson Tide looks to remain atop the Southeastern Conference, as UA currently is tied with Tennessee for first place in the SEC.
The contest features two potent offenses led by two of the best scorers in the SEC in Alabama’s Mark Sears (No. 1, 20.4 ppg) and Ole Miss’ Matthew Murrell (No. 5, 17.1 ppg). Both squads have been exceptional from three-point range this season, with the Rebels shooting 37.7 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks No. 21 in the country, and the Tide is shooting 37.9 percent, ranking 15th in Division I.
The Broadcast
Wednesday’s game is set for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff and will be aired on ESPN2 with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play), Dane Bradshaw (analyst) and Alyssa Lang (sideline) on the call.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Notes You Need To Know
- Since head coach Nate Oats arrived at Alabama in 2019-20, the Crimson Tide has won a league-best 60 SEC contests
- The Crimson Tide is one win away from back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 2012-2013
- Alabama has not lost back-to-back SEC games since March 5, 2022 (vs. Texas A&M and at LSU)
- Alabama has scored 100 points in eight games this season which is the most by an SEC school since Kentucky’s 1995-96 team (nine games)
- UA has scored 80 points vs. conference opponents in eight straight games, the third-longest streak in the SEC in the last 30 seasons (Kentucky had 10 in 1995-96 and 9 in 2016-17)
- Over the last five seasons, the Crimson Tide has posted 10 games converting 18 or more three-pointers in a game, the rest of the SEC has a combined five games during that span
- Mark Sears is one of three Division I players and the only Power 5 player that has 550 points, 115 rebounds, 110 assists and 60 three-pointers this season
- Sears is one of five players in Division I and the only guard that is scoring 20 points per game while averaging 50 percent from the field
- Sears has recorded 20-points or more in 17 games this season and is the most since James “Hollywood” Robinson in 1992-93 (18 games)
- Sears ranks No. 1 in the SEC in scoring (20.4 ppg), No. 5 in field goal percentage (50.9) and No. 7 in assists (4.1 apg)
- Alabama is one of three schools (Purdue and Wright State) in the country that has two players on its current roster that has scored at least 1,700 points throughout their career in Sears (1,905 points) and Estrada (1,827 points)\
About Ole Miss
- Head coach Chris Beard holds one of the highest career winning percentages in college basketball, ranking 12th among active head coaches with 10 or more years of experience at 70.7
- Ole Miss ranks fifth in college basketball averaging 6.0 blocks per game
- Jamarion Sharp averages 2.4 blocks per contest, which ranks No. 10 in Division I and No. 1 in the SEC
- Matthew Murrell has scored 1,386 career points during his time at Ole Miss, which ranks No. 18 in program history
- Murrell ranks No. 6 in program history with 207 career three-pointers made
- The Rebels matched the program record for best start to a season and longest overall win streak, going a perfect 13-0 in non-conference play (also in 2007-08)
- Ole Miss is aiming to record the 13th 20-win season for the Rebels since 2000. Beard would become the 29th coach in SEC history to win 20 games during their initial season.
- Ole Miss is converting 37.7 percent from the three-point line, which ranks third in the SEC and No. 21 in the country
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