Deep Dive Thread for Ole Miss

Alabama Gameday Poster courtesy of AlabamaMBB

The Rebels are coached in their 3rd season by Chris Beard, who looks to build on their Sweet 16 appearance last season. Ole Miss currently sits at 11-12 overall and 3-7 in conference and is currently in the middle of a 5-game losing streak in conference.

They are led in scoring by Kansas transfer 6-5 AJ Storr. Storr is averaging just under 14 per game and is doing a ton of damage from behind the arc, where he is shooting 37% from deep up substantially from his last 2 seasons. He does take a large number of mid-range shots, so Alabama will need to stay attached to him and not let him get going from inside the arc.

AJ Storr does not need much room to get his shot off. https://x.com/OleMissMBB/status/2018862793781395692?s=20

Their leading rebounder is 6-9 Malik Dia, averaging 13/6 this season. Alabama fans should know his name well as he went for 23 & 19 in his game in Coleman last season. Dia does a great job rebounding the basketball and getting to the foul line; Alabama will want to ensure they can keep him off the glass where he can make them pay.

Dia is a big man in the post but also has a pull up midrange game as well. https://x.com/OleMissMBB/status/2017755896290365490?s=20

Their 3rd leading scorer and leader in both assists and steals is 6-5 Ilias Kamardine. Kamardine is yet another foreign pro in college basketball, formerly playing at JDA Dijon in France last season. Kamardine has been fairly successful inside the arc at over 51% but has struggled from behind the arc at just over 30%. When Ole Miss has success, he often has a successful game getting his teammates involved with assists.

Kamardine and others are not afraid of taking tough contested 2s. https://x.com/OleMissMBB/status/2020232736406139151?s=20

Freshman 6-5 Patton Pinkins has seen his role increase substantially since the start of SEC play, averaging almost 30 minutes a game since then. He leads the country in turnover rate and also is shooting nearly 45% from behind the arc, good for 3rd in the conference. Pinkins is a guy Alabama will not want to let get going as he is capable of scoring well, going for 25 versus Oklahoma this season.

Pinkins is seen as the sharp shooter but isn’t afraid of pulling up inside the arc. https://x.com/OleMissMBB/status/2020231215903920256?s=20

High Point transfer 6-1 Kezza Giffa has had an up-and-down season in both his scoring output and his time on the floor but is coming off a game versus Texas where he went to the line 12 times and played almost 30 minutes. He is their second-best 3pt shooter on the team at 38% from deep and is looking to continue finding his role on this team.

Another guy who has seen his role increase recently is 6-5 Eduardo Klafke, who is coming off back-to-back double-digit scoring games totaling just 1 point under his scoring total from the previous 8 SEC games combined. His increased role has come with increased efficiency both inside and outside of the arc, and he has done a great job not turning over the ball.

Ole Miss has a super deep rotation and has been changing who sees substantial minutes. The other guys in their rotation you will see are 6-1 Travis Perry, 6-1 Koren Johnson, 6-8 Corey Chest, 6-8 Augusto Cassia, and 6-10 James Scott. Perry is the 3pt sharp shooter from Kentucky, Chest is a dominant rebounder from LSU, and Cassia and Scott are some of the front-court rotation, with Scott leading the team in blocks.

Ole Miss this season does a good job not turning over the ball on offense, but they do play one of the slower tempos in the country. Ole Miss has struggled with overall offensive efficiency due to their poor shooting numbers from 2 and them taking some of the most midrange shots in the entire country. Ole Miss has also struggled with sending teams to the foul line on defense, so keeping Alabama off the line will be a key for them.

Alabama should be able to take advantage of Ole Miss in a few areas. The offensive glass Ole Miss does a terrible job defending, as well as the aforementioned fouling, which Ole Miss has struggled with this season. Additionally, Ole Miss does not do a good job running teams off the 3pt line or preventing assists, which are both keys with Alabama’s offense.

My player to watch is Latrell Wrightsell. Coming off of a game in which Trelly had to miss the entire second half due to a scare, I do expect Trelly to be ready to play in this game. Additionally, I consider Trelly one of the best perimeter defenders that Alabama has, and his ability to defend AJ Storr and others will be very important in this game. My biggest reason is that I believe that open 3s will be available, and I know the type of success Wrightsell is capable of, and I expect it in this game.

Ole Miss is looking to find what works and hopes that they found something in the second half of the Texas game. They have shifted lineups all season and are trying to do whatever they can to fight and claw for wins in conference, and this game will be at home for them. However, I just do not see how Ole Miss will be able to score enough points to keep up with Alabama in this game.

Prediction: Alabama 90 - Ole Miss 74

I broke down this game in even more detail over on YouTube. Check it out and Subscribe for more Alabama Basketball. https://youtu.be/w1m7vF0Wg7I