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Live Updates from No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Ole Miss in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

Score updates and analysis from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, as the Crimson Tide takes on the Rebels.
Theodore Fernandez|
SEC Basketball Tournament Bracket
SEC Basketball Tournament Bracket | BamaCentral

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Alabama Crimson Tide

NASHVILLE — After a season that disappointed by just about every metric, Ole Miss has rattled off consecutive wins for the first time since January to advance to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The Rebels' success means they will be Alabama's Friday evening opponent, giving the Crimson Tide what appears to be an easier matchup compared to the anticipated game against either Georgia or Texas.

Ole Miss has played its best basketball of the year this week to beat those two teams, as Chris Beard's squad simply outplayed the Longhorns and withstood a late push from the Bulldogs last night to hang on for the win.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CT, but could be pushed back depending on what time Tennessee and Vanderbilt finish their contest.

Follow along for live updates and analysis from Bridgestone Arena as the Crimson Tide looks to punch its ticket to the SEC Tournament semifinals:

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Second Half:

5:48 - Play has gotten very physical as of late, with Mallette hitting the ground twice in a 45 second span. Ole Miss leads 73-68.

7:24 - Ole Miss hit a three to get the lead back up to seven at the under-eight media break.

8:58 - Labaron Philon sparks a 7-0 Alabama run to cut the deficit to four points, the smallest of the half. He drained an open three, got inside positioning for two on the next possesion, and then gave Bol Bowen a perfect lob, which he emphatically threw down. Ole Miss calls a timeout. Philon leads the team with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting.

11:47 - London Jemison sprints headfirst with his head down into a charge. He's played recklessly this half, which sums up the entire period for the Crimson Tide. Alabama trails 63-51. The free throws have continued to be a problem, as the team has now missed seven to Ole Miss' two.

12:47 - Things are trending very poorly for Alabama. Rushed offense, clunky play, and a lack of team basketball have been the catalysts for a 2-for-10 start to the half. The Rebels continue to just hit shots, and the lead is back up to 13 at 63-50.

14:00 - Ole Miss 60, Alabama 50. Ole Miss just continues to respond to everything Alabama does. The Rebels have 12 shots to Alabama's eight, outrebounding the Tide by three to start the half.

18:59 - Philon scores Alabama's first four points, with a three and a split trip to the line. Alabama is 8-for-13 from the line, and can't afford to leave many more points on the table in this kind of game.

Halftime: Ole Miss 47, Alabama 41

Ole Miss is up six at the break, behind double-figure halves from Malik Dia, AJ Storr and Patton Pinkins. Holloway and Philon are leading Alabama with 12 each. The rebounding disparity has balanced itself out slightly, but the Rebels lead 20-14 on the boards.

Halftime box score
Halftime box score | BamaCentral

First Half:

After a free-throw heavy end to the half, Alabama trails by six. The Tide ended the half on a 14-6 run. Things could be significantly worse for the Crimson Tide.

Noah Williamson makes an instant impact, forcing an Rebel miss and then drawing a foul on a putback attempt. He went 1-of-2 from the line.

1:57 - Alabama has settled in after the sluggish start to the game. The Rebels have finally started missing shots and Philon has led the offensive response with two buckets inside, coupled with a Houston Mallette three. Alabama is on a 10-2 run and now trails by just six. Noah Williamson is entering the game.

4:58 - Ole Miss leads 41-27, largest lead of the night. Everything is going right for the Rebels, who have shot 59% from the field. Just five of the team's 27 attempts have been threes.

6:50 - Travis Perry gets inside on Holloway for a bucket to extend the Rebel lead to 13. Ole Miss continues to impose its will offensively. Philon responds with a three to cut it to 10.

7:47 - Houston Mallette dives headfirst onto the floor for a loose ball, forcing a jump ball. The arrow belongs to the Rebels.

7:54 - Ole Miss 33, Alabama 22. The Rebels are 13-22 (59%) from the field. They have outrebounded the Tide 15-6.

8:43 - Ole Miss has made six in a row. Everything's falling for the Rebels, who now lead 31-20.

10:36 - Ole Miss takes its biggest lead of the game at nine points as Augusto Cassia blocks a Holloway layup and Patton Pinkins drains a three on the other end. Amari Allen and Aiden Sherrell respond with buckets inside. Ole Miss leads 27-20.

Alabama's box score through eight minutes. Holloway has done the lion's share of the scoring.

Alabama box score
Alabama box score | BamaCentral

11:58 - After Holloway's first miss of the night, Wrightsell fouls the Rebel shooter. Ole Miss will have two free throws after the break with a 21-16 lead.

Wrightsell and Sherrell enter for Philon and Bol Bowen.

13:00 - Holloway is dialed. He's 4-for-4 with 10 points, but Ole Miss keeps responding. Alabama is yet to tie up the game up.

13:30 - Bol Bowen drains a corner three, from the same spot he drained five straight in pregame shootarounds. Ole Miss responds and leads 16-14.

14:10 - Aden Holloway scores the Tide's first two of the evening to cut the deficit to three.

London Jemison, Houston Mallette and Taylor Bol Bowen replace Aiden Sherrell, Latrell Wrightsell and Amari Allen.

15:02 - Ole Miss dominated the first five minutes on the glass. The Rebels have seven rebounds to Alabama's four. Ole Miss leads 14-9 at the under-16 media timeout, led by Malik Dia with eight. Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon are a combined 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and seven of Alabama's eight attempts have been three-pointers.

Pregame:

Alabama and Ole Miss will now tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Vanderbilt just defeated Tennessee, and Alabama is up next. The Crimson Tide has begun its shootaround. The game will not start for at least 50 minutes, as the arena has to be cleared out.

How to Watch: SEC Tournament Quarterfinal

Who: 2-seed Alabama (23-8, 13-5 SEC) vs. 15-seed Ole Miss (13-19, 4-14 SEC; 2-0 in SEC Tournament)

What: Alabama's first game in the SEC Tournament

When: Friday, March 13, 6 p.m. CT

Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee

TV: SEC Network

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

SiriusXM: Channel 190

Series: Alabama leads 126-91, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 13, 1921. The Crimson Tide is 8-2 in neutral environments against the Rebels.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide cruised past Ole Miss 93-74 on the road on Feb. 11. Alabama scored a season-low 32 points in the first half on 8 of 31 from the field (26 percent), including 5 of 23 from deep (22 percent). But a switch flipped in the halftime locker room, as the Crimson Tide nearly doubled its scoring output in the second half. Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. only had three points in the first half, but he proceeded to explode for 18 in the second period and finished the game shooting 7 of 13 from deep off the bench. Alabama forward Aiden Sherrell sparked the second-half run, scoring the first seven points by himself before finishing the game with 15.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide beat Auburn 96-84 in the regular-season finale at home on March 7. The win clinched Alabama the 2-seed in the SEC Tournament, as it needed to come out victorious in order to break the tie in the conference standings with Arkansas, which is now the 3-seed. Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon Jr. scored 21 points each. The duo helped the Crimson Tide get into the lane effectively, as Alabama outscored Auburn in the paint 58-32. The Crimson Tide out-rebounded the Tigers 42-28, including the use of 19 offensive rebounds for 24 second-chance points.

Last time out, Ole Miss: The 15-seed Rebels beat 7-seed Georgia 76-72 in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday evening. It was Ole Miss' second upset in as many days, as it took down 10-seed Texas in the first round. The Rebels came out firing and led by 14 at halftime. Nevertheless the Bulldogs found a way to make a comeback via a 20-2 run and even cut the deficit to two points, but no further. AJ Storr (19 points), Malik Dia (17) and Travis Perry (16) combined for 52 points, which accounts for 68 percent of Ole Miss' total.

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Theodore Fernandez
THEODORE FERNANDEZ

Theodore Fernandez is BamaCentral’s baseball beat reporter and a co-host of The Joe Gaither Show. He also works as a weekend sports anchor at WVUA 23 News in Tuscaloosa and serves as one of the station’s lead high school sports reporters. Fernandez is a news media student at The University of Alabama and is pursuing a master’s degree in sports management.

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