Alabama Crimson Tide at Ole Miss Rebels
· NCAA Men's Basketball
66 - 74
Mississippi tops Alabama 74-66 in new arena
The first half didn't go as planned for the Rebels, so the 10th-year coach said he let loose a little fire and brimstone to get his players fired up.
"The lockers held up," Kennedy said with a grin. "And the chairs are pretty sturdy."
Ole Miss responded with a second-half rally to beat Alabama 74-66 in the first game at The Pavilion, the program's 9,500-seat, $96.5 million facility that replaces the outdated Tad Smith Coliseum.
Sebastian Saiz and Stefan Moody both scored 21 points in front of a sellout crowd. Saiz added 16 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, and shot 8 of 13 from the field.
Kennedy said it was Saiz's best game in three years with the program.
"Based on the circumstances, the enormity of the moment with this historic night in our program, he really stepped up and made hard plays," Kennedy said.
"This was awesome," Saiz said. "I think we've got some of the best fans in the country."
Alabama (9-4, 0-1) had a 40-32 lead at halftime thanks to a hot shooting touch from 3-point range, but Ole Miss slowly chipped away at the lead and dominated most of the final 10 minutes.
Alabama's Retin Obasohan led the Crimson Tide with 23 points. Arthur Edwards added 17.
Ole Miss slowly rallied in the second half and a Martavious Newby layup put the Rebels ahead 53-52 with about nine minutes remaining. The Rebels slowly pulled away down the stretch, with Saiz grabbing several important rebounds.
"We didn't rebound," Johnson said. "Their big guy Saiz did a great job. He was tough on us."
Moody is the first Ole Miss player to score at least 20 points in nine straight games since 1992. He shot 13 of 16 from the free-throw line. Tomasz Gielo added 12 points for the Rebels.
TIP-INS
Alabama: The Tide lost for just the second time in nine games. They have wins over Clemson, Notre Dame and Wichita State during that stretch.
UP NEXT
Alabama hosts No. 9 Kentucky on Saturday
Ole Miss hosts Georgia on Saturday
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 66 - 74 |
| 2nd 0:06 | Martavious Newby Steal. | 66 - 74 |
| 2nd 0:06 | Arthur Edwards Turnover. | 66 - 74 |
| 2nd 0:14 | Stefan Moody made Free Throw. | 66 - 74 |
| 2nd 0:14 | Ole Miss Deadball Team Rebound. | 66 - 73 |
Statistics
 ALA |
 MISS |
|
|---|---|---|
| 22-49 | FG | 23-55 |
| 45 | Field Goal % | 42 |
| 9-25 | 3PT | 4-15 |
| 36 | Three Point % | 27 |
| 13-18 | FT | 24-33 |
| 72 | Free Throw % | 73 |
| 30 | Rebounds | 37 |
| 8 | Offensive Rebounds | 15 |
| 22 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
| 10 | Assists | 14 |
| 10 | Steals | 9 |
| 7 | Blocks | 2 |
| 19 | Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 19 | Total Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Points Off Turnovers | 0 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 0 |
| 0 | Points in Paint | 0 |
| 24 | Fouls | 18 |
| 9 | Largest Lead | 10 |
Game Information
Location: Oxford, MS
Capacity:
2025-26 Southeastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 16-2 | - | 27-8 |
| Arkansas | 13-5 | 3 | 28-9 |
| Alabama | 13-5 | 3 | 25-10 |
| Vanderbilt | 11-7 | 5 | 27-9 |
| Tennessee | 11-7 | 5 | 25-12 |
| Texas A&M | 11-7 | 5 | 22-12 |
| Georgia | 10-8 | 6 | 22-11 |
| Kentucky | 10-8 | 6 | 22-14 |
| Missouri | 10-8 | 6 | 20-13 |
| Texas | 9-9 | 7 | 21-15 |
| Auburn | 7-11 | 9 | 22-16 |
| Oklahoma | 7-11 | 9 | 21-16 |
| Mississippi State | 5-13 | 11 | 13-19 |
| Ole Miss | 4-14 | 12 | 15-20 |
| South Carolina | 4-14 | 12 | 13-19 |
| LSU | 3-15 | 13 | 15-17 |