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

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats breaks down the Rebels' small-ball play style as each of Ole Miss' top four scorers are under 6-foot-6.
Feb 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) drives to the basket as Mississippi Rebels guard Matthew Murrell (11) defends during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Feb 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) drives to the basket as Mississippi Rebels guard Matthew Murrell (11) defends during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
In this story:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No. 4 Alabama men's basketball is off to a stellar 3-0 start against this season's best conference in college basketball.

Only three teams in the SEC hold this undefeated status and Ole Miss, Alabama's opponent on Tuesday evening, is one of them.

"Ole Miss has been good," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said during Monday's press conference. "If you look at SEC-only games, they've got the best defense in the conference. They've been doing an unbelievable job of shutting teams down. Our offense is going to have to be on point. They turn people over quite a bit.

"Ole Miss has a lot of really good players. Ole Miss has seven guys who have scored 1,000 points or more in their career. We're gonna have to guard the ball. We're gonna have to do a good job with the personnel and the scouting report, but they're good."

Rebels head coach Chris Beard is truly embracing the small-ball play style as each of his top four scorers are under 6-foot-6. Despite the team size, opponents have struggled to score inside the paint and these quick playmakers are fast swipers of the basketball to create steals. Oats commended these four players as a couple of them were also recruiting/transfer targets for the Crimson Tide head coach and his staff.

"Matthew Murrell, who we tried to recruit out of high school, we were unsuccessful, he went to Ole Miss and he's had an unbelievable career there I've got a ton of respect for him," Oats said. "He's tough, physical, can shoot at a high level and can get to paint. He's really good. [Sean] Pedulla, who we also tried to recruit as a transfer––decided to go to Ole Miss. Super skilled, really tough, I love him and I think he's a great player. Those two guys are both good.

"They bring [Jaylen] Murray off the bench. He's got a lot to his game––he's quick, he's explosive, he can get in the paint, he's going to be a tough cover. He's a jet. He can shoot threes. [Dre] Davis, I mean he's really good too. They put someone in the starting lineup (Davis or fellow guard Davon Barnes) and bring someone off the bench."

Here's the tale of the tape for the four Ole Miss guards on a per-game basis:

  • Sean Pedulla: 31.9 minutes, 14.1 points, 44.2 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep, 3.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.3 steals
  • Jaylen Murray: 31.6 minutes, 11.8 points, 43.8 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from deep, 2.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals
  • Matthew Murrell: 30. 2 minutes, 11.5 points, 43.5 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from deep, 3.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.1 steals
  • Dre Davis: 26.3 minutes, 10.7 points, 46.5 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from deep, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.2 blocks

The Crimson Tide faced another guard-focused offense just a few days ago when Alabama narrowly defeated Texas A&M on the road. Oats admitted that his team "didn't do a good job" against Aggies guard Zhuric Phelps (24 points), but Alabama did well "for a large part" of the SEC opener against Oklahoma and the Sooners' centralized backcourt. He's hoping Alabama plays against Ole Miss' guards like the Tide did against Oklahoma.

"We're going to have to do a good job," Oats said. "They've got really good guards and [I've got] a good ton of respect for their staff, but they do a really good job of moving you around with a lot of motion concepts and then they're attacking. So you're busy guarding some action and the action's got some real players in it. We can't ignore it. You've got to have some good on-ball defense because sometimes your help side gets a little distracted with trying to guard their motion. We've got to do a better job of not being distracted while still knowing how to guard that.

"They run a good offense, they've got good players and we've got our work cut out for us tomorrow...this game is going to go a long ways in determining who's gonna be in the mix to win the SEC championship as we continue to move through conference play."

Read More: How to Watch: No. 23 Ole Miss at No. 5 Alabama Basketball

Ole Miss at Alabama Basketball Official Injury Report

Mark Sears Named SEC Basketball Co-Player of the Week


Published
Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023