Kermit Davis Discusses Jarkel Joiner, Previews Matchup with Alabama

The Rebels fell to Florida on Saturday, but their focus now lies on the Crimson Tide.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Kermit Davis' Ole Miss Rebels are looking to bounce back from an overtime loss to Florida when they play host to Alabama on Wednesday night.

Davis was made available to media on Tuesday afternoon where he discussed the return of point guard Jarkel Joiner as well as the challenge of facing the Crimson Tide this week.

"The team played with unbelievable effort [against Florida]," Davis said. "The competitive nature was fantastic. I'm so proud of Jarkel. He still had some rust, but it's going to take some time. As far as his back, he felt good. It's going to take him a week or so to get back into playing shape."

Alabama brings a strong offensive team into Oxford on Wednesday, and given Ole Miss' offensive struggles at times, the Rebels are working on resolving those issues prior to tip-off.

"Alabama leads our league in free throw attempts and threes attempted," Davis said. "We've got to be good with ball security and rebound the ball well, but we've got to go score some points."

Although the Rebels sit at 12-11 overall and 3-7 in league play, Davis pointed out how close his team has been to pulling off some big road wins this season, and he emphasized that there are still chances to help right the ship in the back half of the season.

"We've been a really good practice team and got a great locker room," Davis said. "Huge sense of urgency against Florida, but we didn't get it done. I keep telling our team that we were a play away at Tennessee and at Florida. We've still got a lot of great opportunities, and you never know what can happen."

Ole Miss and Alabama are scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. CT at the SJB Pavilion on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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