The Ole Miss Rebels (8-5, 0-1 SEC) visit Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-2, 1-0) Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET (SEC Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Ole Miss vs. Alabama odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Ole Miss is coming off a 63-59 conference-opening loss to then-No. 10, now-No. 9 Tennessee Wednesday, however, the Rebels did cover the spread as 7.5-point home underdogs. This came a week after a stunning 66-65 upset by North Alabama in which Ole Miss was a 23-point home favorite. While the game vs. the Vols was close, the Rebels are struggling and a date with the Crimson Tide doesn’t bode well.
Alabama’s last game was a 78-67 road victory Wednesday at Mississippi State, which ranks 4th in the country in points allowed per game (54.5). After having the New Year’s weekend off, the Crimson Tide are back on their home floor and will look to continue firing away from 3-point land to drive up the score against a lesser opponent. While the Tide only hit 34.3% of their 3-point attempts (ranking 153rd), they’re not afraid to shoot ’em — they average 29.4 attempts per game (ranking 7th in the country and 1st in the SEC). Alabama, which ranks 15th nationally with 83.2 points per game, will score and score a lot in this game vs. Ole Miss. It will be up to the Rebels to keep pace.