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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

THE NO. 21 OLE MISS REBELS AND THE MISSOURI TIGERS

Hotty Toddy! No. 21 Ole Miss stunned No. 4 Alabama, 74-64, in the Rebels’ first top-five road win in program history.

• Ole Miss entered the night 0-34 all-time on the road against top-five teams. It had also lost 16 straight games against top-five teams overall, with the last win back in 2001 against No. 5 Florida.
• The Rebels forced 21 turnovers and committed just seven while also grabbing nine offensive rebounds and allowing just four. As such, the visitors attempted 23 more field goals than the hosts.
• Those numbers are a feature, not a bug: Chris Beard‘s team is in the top dozen nationally in turnover rate on both ends, traits that will serve it well come March.
• Aside from the 21 turnovers, Alabama shot just 43% (20 for 47) from the field and 25% (5 for 20) from 3. It’s still early in SEC play, but Ole Miss leads the conference in 3-point defense.
• Malik Dia was on a rampage all night and finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds. The last player to put up those numbers against a top-five team was Udoka Azubuike back in 2020.

Ole Miss has seven players with at least 1,000 career points. It has experienced guards and has active, skilled wings. In Dia, a Belmont transfer via Vanderbilt, the Rebels might have unearthed a star big man, too. Alabama came in averaging over 91 points, tops in the nation, but was absolutely stymied.

“It was the type of victory that should serve as a warning shot to the rest of the league and the country that the Rebels are for real,” David Cobb writes.

Not to be outdone, Missouri went to Gainesville and outlasted No. 5 Florida, 83-82, with Caleb Grill‘s team-high 22 points off the bench leading the way. The Tigers jumped out to a 19-point lead and held on, with Grill and Mark Mitchell (15 points) helping finish things off. Coming off a brutal 8-24 season, Dennis Gates added several transfers, including Grill (Iowa State) and Mitchell (Duke), and it has paid massive dividends. Missouri already beat then-No. 1 Kansas in early December.

It’s the first time since 2008-09 — when the Tigers made the Elite Eight — that they have two top-five wins in the same season.

Just another night in the absolutely loaded SEC.

😃 Honorable mentions

🏀 And not such a good morning for …

THE NBA’S WINTER OF DISCONTENT

With the NBA trade deadline 22 days away, teams are trying to figure out what they’ll be — buyers … sellers … or neither — and several of the league’s most prominent franchises and players are having trouble with that.

Let’s start with Jimmy Butler, who made his intentions quite clear in a face-to-face meeting with Pat Riley: He wants to be traded, and he’ll only pick up his $52.4 million option for next season if it leads to a deal. Butler, who was suspended seven games earlier this month for “conduct detrimental to the team,” has only elicited underwhelming offers so far, an issue for both him and Miami.

Zion Williamson has also been detrimental to the Pelicans, and the oft-injured forward was suspended over the weekend for being late for a team flight. It’s far from the first time he’s been tardy, coach Willie Green said.

In his latest NBA Hater Report, Brad Botkin says both stars are being selfish. 

• Botkin: “Williamson plays basketball about as often as a middle-aged father trying to grab some light cardio down at the YMCA a couple times a month, and yet, on the rare occasion when he actually is healthy and available to play, he can’t bother himself to show up on time. … It has been widely reported that Butler is upset the Heat didn’t extend him on a long-term contract this past summer. Boo-hoo. Butler is 35 years old. … If Butler thinks he’s so valuable, he can pass on his $52.4M contract for next season and become a free agent. Let’s see if a team he wants to play for is willing, or even able, to pay him what he thinks he’s worth.”

The Lakers, meanwhile, have already made a trade this season, but after a blowout loss to the Spurs, Sam Quinn season-long flaws remain … and are getting exposed.

The Warriors have already made a trade this season, too, but Stephen Curry says they shouldn’t make a “desperate” move, even as they’ve lost 18 of its last 25 games and slipped below .500 this season. Brad says Golden State, as currently constructed, is a lottery team. Ouch.

We finish our tour of NBA angst in the Big Apple, where the Knicks have lost five of seven to finish the first half 26-15. While that’s still plenty good — third in the East, in fact — Josh Hart attributed the team’s recent defensive struggles to a “lack of urgency.”

😟 Not so honorable mentions

🏈 Why each wild-card winner can keep winning

The countdown to the NFL’s divisional round games is well underway, and six of the eight team preparing for those games already have a playoff win under their belt. Jordan Dajani broke down why any of the six wild card winners could win the Super Bowl, and it’s pretty straightforward why the Ravens can do it.

• Dajani: “Baltimore outrushed Pittsburgh 299-29. … Derrick Henry rushed 26 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns, while Lamar Jackson picked up 81 yards on 15 carries. … Henry isn’t your typical running back. He actually gets better as the season goes on. In 2019, Henry carried the Titans to an AFC Championship appearance. … Now that he’s paired with Jackson and this Baltimore defense, the Ravens absolutely could make a ‘run.'”

If you want more on the Ravens’ showdown against the Bills, we debated Jackson vs. Josh Allen for MVP.

Here’s more to put a bow on the first round:

🏆 10 most impactful players in College Football Playoff National Championship

From 12 to two. Ohio State and Notre Dame are the last teams standing from the inaugural 12-team playoff, and ahead of their title game matchup Monday, Shehan Jeyarajah ranked the 10 most impactful players. The top player, Jeremiah Smith, was very quiet in the Buckeyes’ win over Texas. You know who wasn’t quiet?

• Jeyarajah: “2. Jack Sawyer, DE, Ohio State — Ohio State needed a defender to step up and take a Joey Bosa-like role on the defense line, and Sawyer has delivered. During the College Football Playoff run, Sawyer has posted 4.5 sacks and consistently terrorized opposing linemen. Against Texas, Sawyer forced a strip-sack of Quinn Ewers and returned it more than 80 yards for a game-sealing touchdown. He has been the best defensive player in the College Football Playoff.”

Whoever wins will be the 11th College Football Playoff national champion. Chip Patterson ranked the previous 10 winners, and in a very, very close call, No. 1 is …

• Patterson: “1. 2020 Alabama (13-0) — Five Alabama players were unanimous All-Americans, two were Heisman Trophy finalists and DeVonta Smith made history as the first wide receiver to win the award since Tim Brown. A 52-46 shootout win against Florida in the SEC Championship Game was the only one-score result of Alabama’s 13-game campaign; the Crimson Tide defeated opponents by an average of 29.1 points per game.”

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

🏒 Hurricanes at Sabres, 6 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Knicks at 76ers, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 9 Kansas at No. 2 Iowa State (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 No. 23 Georgia at No. 6 Tennessee (M), 8 p.m. on SEC Network
🏒 Oilers at Wild, 8:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV
🏀 Warriors at Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN