No. 21 Ole Miss stifles No. 4 Alabama on the road to headline marquee slate of SEC games


FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - JANUARY 08: Malik Dia #0  of the Ole Miss Rebels celebrates with Dre Davis #14 after a play in the second half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on January 08, 2025 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Rebels defeated the Razorbacks 73-66.  (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – JANUARY 08: Malik Dia #0 of the Ole Miss Rebels celebrates with Dre Davis #14 after a play in the second half of a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena on January 08, 2025 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Rebels defeated the Razorbacks 73-66. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

In a spotlight night for the SEC, No. 21 Ole Miss was the biggest winner on Tuesday.

Mississippi went into Alabama and knocked off the No. 4 Crimson Tide with a 74-64 stunner. The upset over the nation’s highest-scoring team highlighted a marquee night in the SEC with saw three matchups of teams ranked in the top 25.

In Auburn, the top-ranked Tigers cruised to an 88-66 win over No. 21 Mississippi State despite playing without injured star Johni Broome, who’s sidelined with what head coach Bruce Pearl deemed a “significant sprain.” As Ole Miss secured victory in Tuscaloosa, No. 8 Kentucky was fighting off an upset bid by No. 11 Texas A&M in Lexington.

But the night in the SEC belonged to the Rebels, who pulled off the win in a hostile road environment. With their corresponding wins, Mississippi and Auburn both improved to 4-0 as the only remaining undefeated teams in SEC play. The road win for Mississippi was the first in school history on the road over a top-5 team.

Alabama was in control early and opened up a 36-32 halftime lead. But junior forward Malik Dia powered Mississippi with an 23-point effort highlighted by a critical and-1 late in the game. With Mississippi holding a 56-51 lead inside the final eight minutes, Dia attacked Alabama’s Grant Nelson with a baseline drive.

Nelson met him at the rim and blocked his shot. But Dia gathered the rebound for an and-1 layup through an Alabama double team.

He sunk the free throw to quiet the Alabama crowd and maintain control of the game for Mississippi. An Alabama team that leads the nation with 91.1 points per game never threatened again. And Ole Miss announced itself as a threat in an SEC that features five top-10 teams and nine ranked in the top 25.

Mississippi’s defense was the reason why Tuesday night. Ole Miss held Alabama 27.1 points below its nation’s best scoring average of 91.1 points per game. It forced a Crimson Tide team that averaged 12.6 turnovers per game into 21 giveaways. And it limited the Tide to 42.6% shooting from the field and a 25% (5 of 20) effort from 3-point distance.

Thanks to the turnovers and limiting Alabama to four offensive rebounds, Mississippi secured a 70-47 advantage in field-goal attempts. Ole Miss shot just 38.6% (27 of 70) from the field, but it didn’t matter because they dominated the ball. Mississippi limited Alabama to 28 points after halftime.

This is a breaking story that will be updated.



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