No. 5 Alabama Upset at Home by No. 21 Ole Miss To Drop First SEC Game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 5 Alabama basketball program slept walked through a midweek matchup against No. 21 Ole Miss and allowed the Rebels to mount a second half comeback to claim a 74-64 victory and deal the Crimson Tide its first conference loss of the season.

The Crimson Tide struggled offensively in the first half, turning the ball over 11 times, getting outscored in the paint and only managing two fast break points. Despite the poor performance Alabama still entered the break ahead by four as the Crimson Tide defense held Ole Miss to just 35 percent shooting and limited the Rebels to just two 3-point makes.

"Obviously, not one of our better showings," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "You've got to give Ole Miss a ton of credit. They came ready on the road, we did not come ready. I've got to figure out how to do a better job making sure our guys are ready to go. Our first 10 possessions we had seven turnovers. We've been having some issues with turnovers throughout the year, this defense turns people over and we didn't have our guys ready to go and got turned over, but maybe the most disappointing of the night in my opinion was our lack of effort on the offensive glass."

Alabama's turnover issue persisted into the second half, hampering any rhythm the offense hoped to find. The Crimson Tide set a new season high in turnovers, coughing up the basketball 21 times and inviting the Rebels to take control of the game by setting a new season low, scoring under 70 points for the first time this season.

Ole Miss hammered the Crimson Tide inside offensively, riding forward Malik Dia's 23-point, 19-rebound double-double. Dia's inside effort paired nicely with Jaylen Murry's outside effort where he chipped in 11 points on two made 3-pointers. The Rebels utilized Dia's inside presence to keep Alabama off the offensive glass and manufacture 12 second-chance points of their own.

Alabama's offense was a struggle for the entire roster as four different players committed three or more turnovers. The Crimson Tide's free throw woes also continued as they managed just 19-of-26 from the charity stripe, further complicating any scoring efforts.

The Crimson Tide was led by freshman Aden Holloway, scoring 15 points with six rebounds and three assists. Mark Sears chipped in 11 of his own but was just two-of-eight shooting from the floor along with five assists and four rebounds.

The Crimson Tide returns to action on Saturday as they'll travel to Lexington to take on the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats at 11 a.m. CT.

No. 5 Alabama Upset at Home by No. 21 Ole Miss To Drop First SEC Game

Alabama On SI

Alabama Basketball Welcomes Ole Miss on The Joe Gaither Show

Ole Miss at Alabama Basketball Final Injury Report

Alabama Has 'Work Cut Out' For Ole Miss' Backcourt Quartet