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Ole Miss Shows Life Early, Then Alabama Turns It Into a Rout

Published

7 months ago

on

Ole Miss men's basketball vs. Alabama, February 2, 2026. | Ole Miss Athletics

Another new starting lineup produced the same result Ole Miss has seen for most of the season. The Rebels had their moments against Alabama — especially in the first half — but those good vibes vanished after the break as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 93–74 win.

The losing streak is now at six, and whatever hope Ole Miss had of playing its way back into the NCAA Tournament picture is fading fast.

Here’s a half‑by‑half breakdown of Wednesday night’s game.

First Half

Your opinion of Ole Miss’s first half probably depends on whether you’re a glass‑half‑full or glass‑half‑empty person.

The half‑full crowd will point to how Ole Miss led for most of the half, outshot Alabama, turned it over only three times, and went toe‑to‑toe on the glass with one of the nation’s best rebounding teams. Alabama’s leading scorers combined for just 13 points on three total field goals, and the Crimson Tide’s 32 points marked their lowest first‑half output of the season.

The half‑empty crowd will counter with the scoreboard. Despite all that went right, the Rebels still trailed 32-30 at the break. Alabama lived at the line, going 11‑for‑12 on free throws. For that group, the rest of the numbers don’t carry much weight.

AJ Storr gave Ole Miss a major lift off the bench, pouring in a game‑high 13 points on 5‑of‑7 shooting. Eduardo Klafke was everywhere, grabbing five rebounds and bringing the kind of energy Chris Beard has been looking for all season.

But whatever positives Ole Miss can claim from the first 20 minutes are muted by the simple fact that it wasn’t enough to take a lead into halftime.

The good news is there’s room for improvement. The Rebels need more scoring options, because outside of Storr, no one had more than four points.

Second Half Reaction

Some of the needed improvements showed up after halftime, but even if Ole Miss had checked every box, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Alabama caught fire in the second half, shooting 53% from the field, 55% from three and 93% at the free‑throw line. The Crimson Tide also controlled the glass, winning the rebounding battle 20–15.

But among all of that, the free throws hurt the most. Alabama went 24‑for‑26 at the line — more than enough to offset its top two scorers combining for just eight made field goals.

It also helps when Latrell Wrightsell Jr. erupts for 18 second‑half points, all six of his field goals coming from beyond the arc. That’s the kind of heater few teams can survive.

On the Ole Miss side, Storr carried the load, accounting for 36% of the Rebels’ scoring. He finished with 27 points on 10‑of‑17 shooting, and the only other significant contribution came from Klafke, who added 12 points (5‑of‑8) and nine rebounds while logging a team‑high 31 minutes.

Senior Malik Dia (considered by some the Rebels’ best player entering the season) played just eight minutes, finishing with two points (1‑of‑6) and five rebounds.

Ole Miss Top Performers

  • Points: AJ Storr, 27
  • Rebounds: Eduardo Klafke, 9
  • Assists: Ilias Kamardine, 5
  • Steals: Ilias Kamardine/AJ Storr, 1
  • Blocks: Eduardo Klafke, 2

Next Up

The Rebels’ losing streak is now at six games and they’ll look to break that streak against a team it’s already beaten once this season. It also happens to be their biggest rival.

Ole Miss will host Mississippi State on Saturday at SJB Pavilion. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Basketball

Ole Miss Basketball Appears in First Look at Expanded NCAA Tournament Field

Published

4 months ago

on

May 8, 2026

By

Ole Miss Men's Basketball during the game against Mississippi St. at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi on January 17, 2026. | Ole Miss Athletics

Most college sports fans saw Thursday’s news that the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are expanding to 76 teams. Eight additional teams will be added to what is currently the First Four, turning it into a 24‑team play‑in stage with 12 games across two days. The winners will join the 52 teams already slotted into the traditional first‑round bracket.

We already talked about what expansion means for both Ole Miss programs, and it’s still way too early to know which teams will actually benefit next season. But you know that won’t stop anyone from trying.

NCAA.com analyst Andy Katz posted his first 76‑team projection Friday morning, based on his initial Power 44 rankings for 2026‑27. Katz or his model must really like what Ole Miss has done this offseason. The Rebels show up at No. 39 in the Power 44 and land as a No. 10 seed in the South quadrant.

Again, it’s early. The last season ended a month ago. Ole Miss shouldn’t start booking hotel rooms in Pittsburgh just yet.

Still, this tells us two things about Ole Miss and the new tournament format.

First, it’s going to be hard for a middle‑of‑the‑pack SEC team to miss the field now. Second, if the bracket had been at 76 teams this past season, the committee would’ve had a real decision to make about the Rebels.

Maybe they get in. Maybe they don’t. Did they deserve a spot? Probably not, and adding eight more at‑large bids doesn’t change that much.

But the future looks better now for Ole Miss.

Andy Katz’s Initial Power 44

1. Duke

2. Florida

3. Michigan

4. Illinois

5. Tennessee

6. UConn

7. Arizona

8. Arkansas

9. Texas

10. Michigan State

11. Vanderbilt

12. Virginia

13. Kansas

14. Houston

15. Louisville

16. Alabama

17. Nebraska

18. Iowa State

19. Purdue

20. USC

21. Gonzaga

22. St. John’s

23. Miami (FL)

24. Indiana

25. Missouri

26. VCU

27. Saint Louis

28. UCLA

29. Ohio State

30. BYU

31. Iowa

32. Texas A&M

33. North Carolina

34. Providence

35. Baylor

36. Wisconsin

37. Auburn

38. Xavier

39. Ole Miss

40. Marquette

41. Texas Tech

42. Kentucky

43. Maryland

44. New Mexico

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Basketball

What NCAA Tournament Expansion Means for Ole Miss Basketball

Published

4 months ago

on

May 7, 2026

By

Ole Miss basketball players celebrate a SEC Tournament win against Alabama on Friday night. | Ole Miss Athletics

Missing the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments is about to get a lot harder.

Multiple outlets reported and the NCAA itself announced Thursday that the committees overseeing both tournaments have officially voted to expand the fields to 76 teams.

None of this should catch anyone off guard. The NCAA started exploring expansion about a year ago, and reports two weeks ago made it clear the process was in its final stages. Now it’s done. The new format will debut in 2027.

According to ESPN, top NCAA officials met with the tournament’s media partners to finalize the updated contracts before the vote. The committees required signed agreements before making anything official, and once those were in place, expansion moved forward.

The biggest change comes at the front end of the tournament. Eight additional teams will be added to what is currently the First Four. That round will grow into a 24‑team play‑in stage with 12 games spread across two days. The winners will join the 52 teams already slotted into the traditional first‑round bracket.

The NCAA is expected to rebrand the First Four language, but the structure stays familiar. The opening round will still include both automatic qualifiers and at‑large teams. All 16 seeds and half of the 15 seeds will make up half of the 24‑team group. The other half will come from the lowest‑seeded at‑large teams, including a mix of 11 and 12 seeds.

It’s a significant shift, but the goal is simple: more teams, more access, and fewer seasons ending on Selection Sunday with nothing to show for it.

What This Means for Ole Miss

On the women’s side, this doesn’t move the needle much. Yolett McPhee‑McCuin has raised the bar to the point where simply making the tournament isn’t the goal anymore.

Ole Miss wants to host a NCAA Regional for the first time in program history, and that standard doesn’t change with a bigger field.

The men’s side is a little different. It depends on the year. Two seasons ago, expansion wouldn’t have mattered. This past season, it would’ve changed everything.

Ole Miss finished 15-20 and sat at No. 80 in the NET. In a 76‑team bracket, that puts you on the bubble, and one more win in the SEC Tournament probably gets the Rebels into the field.

For programs in a league as deep as the SEC, the extra spots matter. The women’s side won’t feel much of a shift, but the men’s side absolutely will. Bubble teams in this conference won’t be living on the same razor’s edge anymore.

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Basketball

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Picture Comes Into Focus

Published

4 months ago

on

May 5, 2026

By

Ole Miss coach Chris Beard

It’s been two weeks since the transfer portal window closed, and after a slow start, Ole Miss is finally nearing the end of its roster‑building phase.

The Rebels have added seven transfers, plus TJ Clark who committed back in December. Four‑star recruits Jaron Saulsberry, Yohance Connor and Daniel Patton are also on the way this summer.

Those 10 newcomers will join Ilias Kamardine and Patton Pinkins, the only returning Rebels, to form the foundation of next year’s roster.

The question is whether that’s enough, and whether Chris Beard is actually done adding.

The honest answer is maybe and probably not.

Nobody knows yet if this group will be better or worse than what Ole Miss just put on the floor.

There’s no headline addition, but that doesn’t mean the roster can’t mesh, grow together and avoid needing a miracle run in March.

There’s also the chance it looks like last season, when the pieces never fully clicked.

Given the current guard‑heavy build, it feels likely Beard will look for more frontcourt help. Stefan Cicic gives Ole Miss a true 7‑footer and Santiago Trouet adds more size, but the Rebels could still use another proven interior presence.

One name to watch is former Florida Atlantic forward Devin Williams, who has reportedly met with Ole Miss over Zoom and is visiting Arizona this week. Williams finished fifth nationally in blocks last season at 2.58 per game, which would give Beard a real defensive anchor inside.

In the end, Ole Miss won’t know what this roster really is until the group gets on the floor together, but the picture is at least starting to take shape.

Beard has rebuilt almost the entire program for the second straight offseason, and there’s still room for one or two more pieces to round it out.

Whether this version ends up being better, worse, or simply different from last year’s team is impossible to know in May, but the next additions will tell us plenty about how the Rebels plan to finish the job.

Ole Miss Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker

Men

Outgoing

Incoming

  • Christian Brown, F, 6-8, Fr. (James Madison)
  • Stefan Cicic, C, 7-0, Fr. (Pepperdine)
  • Adam Clark, G, 5-10, Jr. (Seton Hall)
  • TJ Clark, G, 6-3 (Hermosillo)
  • Dasear Haskins, G, 6-8, So. (St. Joseph’s)
  • ND Okafor, F, 6-7, Jr. (Washington State)
  • Roman Siulepa, F, 6-6, Fr. (Pittsburgh)
  • Santiago Trouet, F, 6-10, Jr. (Arizona State)

Women

Outgoing

  • J’Adore Young, 6-4, C, Soph.
  • Sira Thinenou, 6-1, F, Soph.
  • Tianna Thompson, 5-10, G, Soph. (Baylor)

Incoming

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