Rebels hope to keep winning season streak

By By Carver Rayburn / staff writer
March 3, 2003
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. The Crimson Tide used a balanced offensive attack against Ole Miss on Sunday that gave Alabama a 86-63 victory at Coleman Coliseum. Antoine Pettway, Kennedy Winston, Erwin Dudley and Maurice Williams all scored in double digits to lead Alabama to much needed victory Sunday.
Big Dance vs. Little Dance
Alabama (16-9, 6-8) has two remaining games against South Carolina and a hot LSU squad. The Tide desperately needs the two victories to be considered for an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss head coach Rod Barnes said that with a little help from that committee and a couple of wins from his team, the Rebels could receive an invitation to play in the National Invitational Tournament.
Rebel Streaks
Ole Miss is currently riding on a plethora of streaks. The only problem is, none of the streaks are enjoyable if your an Ole Miss fan.
Ole Miss added to its losing streak on Sunday to bring a total of nine straight to its record, the longest since 1992.
Rod Barnes and his squad also continue to have trouble getting a win at Coleman Coliseum. The Rebels are 0-5 at Alabama in Barnes' fifth season at Ole Miss.
The Rebels may also may end another streak if the team continues to lose games. The Rebels are on the verge of missing post season play for the first time in six seasons.
Barnes feels that his team still has a shot.
Home Cooking
Ole Miss shot 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the entire game on Sunday compared to a 16-of-24 effort by the Crimson Tide.
Ole Miss did not shoot its first free throw until the 2:04 mark in the first half.
Alabama was whistled for 14 fouls compared to 24 for the Rebels.
Close Calls
Ole Miss has lost nine straight games and with the exception of the Kentucky, Florida and Alabama games, Ole Miss has lost by an average of 5 points.
In the past two years, 16 of the Rebels 23 losses have been by 7 points or less.
Bama Boards
Erwin Dudley is currently ranked as Alabama's fourth all-time rebounding leader. Dudley scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds on Sunday to give him 1,147 for his career.
Dudley also leads the SEC with 150 rebounds on the season. that's good enough for an average of 9.5 per game.
Alabama came into Sunday's game with the fifth best rebounding margin in the SEC.
The Crimson Tide out rebounded the Rebels 30-27.