Ole Miss Big Man Shoots His Shot, Says Rebels Will Make Final Four After Monster Road Win At Alabama

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Ole Miss traveled to Alabama on Tuesday night as a Top 25 team. While one ranked team going on the road and beating a ranked opponent is a regularity in college hoops, the Rebels' win over the Crimson Tide wasn't just different, it was historic.

Ole Miss, a 10-point underdog ahead of tip-off, entered Tuesday's contest having last won in Tuscaloosa during the 2014-15 season. The Rebels were also 0-34 all-time in previous road games against Top 5 teams. History, on top of Alabama's roster being filled with freak athletes who can score at will and Ole Miss' biggest weakness being rebounding, every sign pointed to the Crimson Tide successfully defending home court.

Ole Miss' recipe for success, or to even just keep the game close, was not to get dominated on the glass and create chaos on the defensive side of the court. The Rebels checked both those boxes by creating 21 turnovers and keeping the rebound margin within two. 

Another glaring statistic turned out to be Ole Miss out-scoring Bama in the paint 36-30, and that effort was led by the Rebs' big man Malik Dia. The Belmont transfer had a game-high 23 points to go along with a whopping 19 rebounds, as he was the key piece in leading Ole Miss to the 74-64 win, and one of the biggest victories in recent program history. 

Dia was rightfully feeling himself during his postgame interview with the SEC Network, and when asked about this Ole Miss team's ceiling, he went ahead and guaranteed this bunch was a Final Four team.

"I think we're really good, the ceiling is Final Four, and we're going to the Final Four. I'm believing it and I'm saying it," Dia said.

Chris Beard is now in his second season as the head coach in Oxford, and while he won 20 games a year ago, he has this team operating at a different level. For the first time in a very long time, Ole Miss looks like an essential lock to make the NCAA Tournament in mid-January. 

A 4-0 start in the SEC, the deepest conference in college hoops, coupled with a road win against a Top 5 team and zero bad losses in the non-conference, and Ole Miss basketball is in unprecedented waters with 14 games left in the regular season.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.