By Chris DePew
TideFans.com staff
March 1, 2017
Where to watch: Ole Miss (18-11, 9-7 SEC) at Alabama (16-12, 9-7) – Today 7:30 p.m. Central, Coleman Coliseum, SEC Network
Who to watch: Jimmie Taylor. There will be plenty of sentimental moments on senior night and Taylor may well start at center ahead of Donta Hall, but there’s serious work to do against the Rebels’ Sebastian Saiz. The SEC’s best rebounder (10.8 per game) is one of three Ole Miss players averaging 14 points or better per contest, and already had 18 double-doubles this season. If Taylor (and Hall) can’t get their share of rebounds, at a minimum they have to block Saiz from finding an easy path to the basket so that Bola Olaniyan can do work on the glass. The best way to defend Saiz may well be getting him in foul trouble, and Taylor will have to have a top offensive game to pressure him into reaching in.
What to watch for: Signs of life on offense in the first half. There are junior high school squads that break the 20-point barrier in the first half with regularity, and there is no excuse for a college team in a multi-bid league to fail to do so. After hyping its undefeated record when holding teams to under 63 points, Bama has now lost back-to-back games when doing so as the growing offensive ineptitude has been too much to overcome. The Rebels’ defense isn’t LSU-level bad but it is more generous than many of the teams the Crimson Tide has seen lately, and it is crucial for Bama’s confidence that it find two or three plays it can consistently run to produce baskets and or trips to the foul line.
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