Aiden Sherrell 10th Double-Digit Performance Shows Alabama Can Win Without Bediako

Alabama basketball secured its third consecutive victory by beating Ole Miss on the road 93-74. The Crimson Tide put a slow start behind them and shot the lights out in the second half to keep building momentum in the program's first performance since Charles Bediako lost his eligibility case against the NCAA.

The Crimson Tide rolled out a four-guard lineup with center Aiden Sherrell serving as the team's only big man to open the game. Nate Oats played Taylor Bol Bowen off the bench in his place, leaving the team with a smaller lineup without being able to turn to Bediako.

"Aiden [Sherrell] leads us in plus minus with plus 23," Oats said. "He has 15 and six, two blocks. Aiden's been pretty good all year. We were trying to do a better job resting him when we could. Would like to play him closer to 30. They went real small late, which took away some of his minutes, and we just didn't play a big at all. He was probably trending more towards 30 minutes if they would've stayed with a traditional lineup.

"Happy for Aiden. Shoot, Noah's [Williamson] going to have to give us some good minutes. I thought he had a great screen to get his shooter open. I thought he gave us some real good minutes out there, he had a steal on defense. So, Noah played well. Then Taylor [Bol Bowen], hopefully, that 3 he hit late kind of gets him going. We need him to give us the small ball five. But I did think the switching, I thought our guards did a pretty good job of fighting their bigs sometimes inside on the switching, which we're going to have to do probably a little bit more of when Aiden's out of the game."

Sherrell's 15 point outing made for his 10th game this season scoring in double figures. He had only scored four points by halftime, but used a layup at the start of the second half to build confidence. The sophomore scored seven of his 15 in the opening run of play in the second half, following up his layup with a 3-pointer and two free throws.

Big Rell! pic.twitter.com/hjmK7yp0XM
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 12, 2026

The Crimson Tide big man has quietly become one of the team's most reliable free throw shooters, and he was once again that on Wednesday, making all six of his attempts from the charity stripe. Sherrell endured a rough six-game stretch in December, converting 7-of-18 from the line, good for 38 percent, but the seven-footer has gone 41-of-47 in his 10 SEC appearances, good for 87 percent.

Sherrell was effective in the blue collar points against the Rebels, securing six rebounds, blocking two shots, and getting a steal, but perhaps the biggest sign of growth came as he did it all while committing just one foul.

Sherrell had a strong performance in a much-needed win over Ole Miss. His confidence, rim protection, and rebounding are even more important now as Alabama basketball navigates life without Bediako