From the Sideline – Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Preview

If the weather cooperates (big IF), and Alabama and Ole Miss actually play their scheduled men’s basketball game on Tuesday night, it’s a game that has serious ramifications for both teams – albeit for very different reasons.

A loss to Alabama, and the NCAA push by Ole Miss takes a serious hit.

A loss to the Rebels, and Tide fans (along, perhaps, with the players themselves) will wonder from where the next victory will come.

Bama has now dropped six of its last seven games, including four straight. While it might be the Vegas favorite at South Carolina, the Tide’s confidence would have to reach a new low should they go into that Saturday game riding a five-game skid.

For Ole Miss, Andy Kennedy’s team can ill-afford a setback to a team with an RPI outside of the Top 100 if they hope to earn an at-large spot in the NCAA field. A loss wouldn’t eliminate the Rebels from the picture, but it certainly would make the margin for error much smaller down the stretch.

The good news for Alabama is that the Tide is playing the way they were prior to double-digit losses to Mizzou, Auburn, and Tennessee.

The bad news? They still aren’t playing well enough to win.

But they are playing well enough to give themselves some hope. And at 9-14, hope is at least something to still hang onto.