Oxford, Miss. ? Alabama brought out the best in Mississippi — again.

Aaron Harper scored a career-high 28 points to lead Mississippi to a 76-57 victory over No. 15 Alabama on Tuesday night, the third straight season the Crimson Tide has been blown out at Tad Smith Coliseum.

“Before you ask, I can’t explain it,” Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes said of his team’s homecourt success against the Tide. “This is a great win to beat a team that was No. 1 in the country.”

Alabama (12-4 overall, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) couldn’t overcome off nights by both of its stars. Reigning SEC player of the year Erwin Dudley scored 13 points, and leading scorer Maurice Williams had another poor showing in his home state with nine points on 4-of-11 shooting.

Justin Reed and David Sanders had 15 points each to complement Harper’s 9-for-15 shooting for Ole Miss (11-4, 2-2).

“Coach has been calling my number, and I’ve been answering the call,” Harper said.

The Crimson Tide fell to 0-3 away from home in the SEC and lost its fifth straight at Tad Smith, including embarrassing losses the previous two seasons by margins of 34 and 28. Alabama has lost three of four overall.

“I wish I had some magic formula I could just whip out, but sometimes you find yourself in a place you don’t want to be,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. “That’s where we are right now.”

When the Crimson Tide fell behind 10-2 and went four minutes without a basket, it looked again like the three-hour drive from Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Oxford had somehow left the team sluggish.

But Williams led a 17-2 run with a three, a layup and a floater in the lane, and it looked like the Tide finally would shake off the Tad Smith malaise.

It turned out to be the only highlights for the Jackson native and former state high school player of the year.

No. 14 Indiana 69, Ohio State 51

Bloomington, Ind. — Relying on tough defense and 15 points from Marshall Strickland, Indiana beat Ohio State to earn a split in the season series. The Hoosiers (14-3, 4-1 Big Ten) won their third straight, all without leading scorer Bracey Wright. Wright sat out because of a nerve injury in his back.

No. 16 Notre Dame 71, Providence 65

Providence, R.I. — Chris Thomas scored 23 points and Matt Carroll had 21 as Notre Dame won on the road for the first time this season.