Basketball Preview: Ole Miss

Tide Has "Must Win" Tonight Against Rebels

Alabama has made the NCAA Tournament five straight years. If the Crimson Tide does not win tonight you can kiss any hope of six straight years goodbye. Alabama enters the game at 19-9 overall, 6-8 in the SEC. To have a realistic shot at making the NCAA tournament, Alabama needs to win tonight, at Miss State on Sunday, and a game or two in the SEC Tournament next week. Basically, Mark Gottfried's club has to turn it around starting tonight. One more loss and all hope is out the door, unless the Tide wins the SEC Tournament and we all know that is as likely as Britney Spears staying in rehab for more than 48 hours.

Ole Miss(18-10, 7-7) has won five of its last seven and is currently tied for first with Mississippi State in the SEC West, with the Alabama a game back. The Rebels are coming off a road loss at South Carolina on Saturday, 76-63, and like the rest of the SEC West teams, have struggled on the road. That said, the Rebels were predicted to finish last in the Western division this season and the job first year coach Andy Kennedy has done has been outstanding, and he should be considered for SEC Coach of the Year if the Rebels finish the season strong.

This game should follow a familiar script for the Crimson Tide, meaning if they feed the ball into the paint Ole Miss should not be able to guard Jermareo Davidson and Richard Hendrix. That said, the Tide has not done a great job of that the last few games. Alabama must pick it up on the defensive end to win this, or any game, the rest of the season. Auburn looked like they were running a practice drill on Saturday where there is no defense on the floor and frankly, Auburn is not a good team. Hopefully Alabama can pull this one out and keep its tournament hopes alive.


Nicks Prediction: Alabama 71 Ole Miss 64