New on Sports Illustrated: Ole Miss, Alabama set for conference clash in Tuscaloosa

Two teams coming off bounce-back wins will meet in a Southeastern Conference opener Tuesday night when Ole Miss visits Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Ole Miss (5-1) rebounded from a tough, three-point loss at Dayton by routing Tennessee-Martin 90-43 last week, while the Crimson Tide (5-3) responded to a two-point setback at Western Kentucky by cruising past East Tennessee State 85-69.

The 47-point margin against UT-Martin was the largest winning margin for Ole Miss since a 92-45 rout of Morris Brown in 2001. KJ Buffen and Jarkel Joiner scored 16 points each to lead four double-figure scorers for the Rebels, who dominated the boards 45-21, their biggest rebounding advantage in 12 years. Luis Rodriguez led the way with nine rebounds.

"I was proud of our team," Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said. "After a disappointing loss, our team handled it maturely. We guarded well. The ball moved, and we played good in transition."

The Rebels held the Skyhawks to just 30.4 percent from the field while shooting 59.3 percent overall and 40.9 percent from 3-point range, both season bests.

Buffen and Joiner each have scored in double figures the last three games with their 16 points against UT-Martin their season highs. Devontae Shuler leads the Rebels in scoring with his 14.8 average after his six-point effort against the Skyhawks.

The Tide struggled early in their win over East Tennessee but came alive in the second half behind the shooting of sophomore Jaden Shackelford. Shackelford scored 16 of his season-high 26 points in the second half as the Tide outscored the Buccaneers 49-34 over the last 20 minutes after leading only 36-35 at the half.

Shackelford entered the game averaging only 12.3 points and shooting 31.4 percent from long range, but hit a career-high eight 3-pointers in 13 attempts.

"I thought we played really well in the second half," Bama coach Nate Oats said. "We haven't been able to hit shots for a lot of games this year, so it was nice to see Shack get going from 3. He got us going and that second half he had was huge. It makes things a lot easier when shots are going in."

Herbert Jones scored only eight points but is second in scoring for Bama behind Shackleford (14.0 ppg) with a 13.3-point average.

--Field Level Media