The No. 7/7 Alabama men's basketball team won its third straight game, defeating Ole Miss 84-62 in its Southeastern Conference home opener Tuesday night. With the win, the Crimson Tide improves to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in SEC play.

Alabama's 12-2 start to the season is UA's best since the 2014-15 campaign. 

The Crimson Tide's defense was exceptional throughout the contest, holding the Rebels to just 34.8 percent (24-69) from the field and only 8.3 percent (2-24) from beyond the arc. 

The Crimson Tide had five players in double figures, led by Brandon Miller's game-high 17 points. Mark Sears added 16, including nine in the opening half, combining with Jaden Bradley (14), Jahvon Quinerly (11) and Noah Clowney (10) to lead the offensive effort.

Alabama's bench provided the spark for the offense in the opening 20 minutes, scoring seven points within the first 10 minutes. After starting out the night 3-10 from the field, the Tide quickly got hot, shooting 70 percent (14-20) the remainder of the half. 

Leading 14-12 in the early going, Alabama used three separate 7-0 runs throughout a span of 11 minutes to result in outscoring the Rebels 30-11 over the final 11:24 to head into the break with a 44-23 lead.