By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
The No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels return to the court this evening at Coleman Coliseum as they face the Alabama Crimson Tide in an SEC tilt. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
Ole Miss (14-3, 4-1) is coming off an 84-67 win over Arkansas. Senior Terence Davis and junior Breein Tyree combined for 40 points while Bruce Stevens and Dominik Olejniczak added 27 points from the five spot.
Davis is averaging 19.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg over the last four games, recording a pair of double-doubles in that stretch. Tyree is one of three SEC players to rank in the conference’s top 10 in scoring (2nd-17.5 ppg), field goal percentage (5th-49.7) and free throw percentage (6th-83.1).
The duo account for 42.4 percent of the Rebels’ scoring; each averages 17.8 ppg in conference play (tied for second in the SEC).
The Rebels’ head coach Kermit Davis became the first coach in school history to win his first three SEC games and only the second coach in school history to win 13 of his first 15 games at Ole Miss.
Alabama enters with an 11-6 record and a 2-3 mark in SEC play. The Crimson tide split a pair of road games last week, defeating Missouri 70-60 (Jan. 16) before dropping a tight contest to No. 3 Tennessee 71-68 (Jan. 19).
Freshman guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads Alabama in scoring at 14.2 ppg and shoots at an 84.1 percent clip from the charity stripe. John Petty follows at 12.1 ppg with the majority of his scoring coming from three-point land. Leading the team in threes made, 37 of Petty’s 67 made field goals have been beyond the arc. Donta Hall’s nine double-doubles lead the SEC. The senior is averaging 11.4 ppg and 9.0 rpg, including a conference-best 11.0 rpg in SEC play.
Coach Avery Johnson is in his fourth season as Alabama’s head coach, making the transition to college hoops after seven seasons as a head coach in the NBA.
Tonight’s matchup will be the 179th meeting between the two schools. The Crimson Tide holds a 120-58 lead in the series, which began in 1921, but the Rebels have won four of the last six against Alabama.
Ole Miss won last season’s matchup 78-66 in The Pavilion (Jan. 23, 2018), but the Crimson Tide took the last meeting in Tuscaloosa 70-55 (March 1, 2017).
Fans can watch all the action of the game on ESPNU or listen to the call on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
