The No. 4/5 Alabama men's basketball team cruised to a 72-49 win over Mississippi State in Friday's Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 4/5 Alabama men's basketball team cruised to a 72-49 win over Mississippi State in Friday's Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena. The Crimson Tide's 23-point victory over the ninth-seeded Bulldogs was its third-largest margin of victory in the UA's tournament's history.
The Crimson Tide led from start-to-finish, building a 20-point halftime advantage and extended its lead to as many as 25 points in the second half. Alabama finished the game with 21 assists and 12 made three-pointers, both of which stand second-most in an SEC Tournament game in program history, while its 37 three-point attempts set a program tournament record.
Freshman
Brandon Miller, who was named as a Naismith Trophy semifinalist prior to the contest, led Alabama with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Jahvon Quinerly made his first start of the season and finished with 10 points, four assists and a pair of steals.
Noah Gurley added 11 points off the bench while
Charles Bediako added 11 points and five blocks in the win.
The Tide improved to 27-5 this year, matching the program record of most wins in a season, while Mississippi State falls to 21-12 on the year.
HEAD COACH NATE OATS POSTGAME COMMENTS
"It was a good start to the tournament. We obviously didn't play very well last time we were out at Texas A&M, so we needed to bounce back. We've bounced back off losses pretty well all year. I think the margin of victory after a loss is 20-plus points. We did that again today. The question is can we continue to play like this for the next two days. But I thought our guys were very focused. They were really into the defensive end, which is what we needed. We made a change in the lineup, obviously. Took our Sixth Man of the Year in the SEC (Jahvon Quinrely) and put him in the starting lineup. I just thought we were struggling offensively to start games. We get to the end of the four-minute media timeout, have two points, three points. Lastly, it was Charles' birthday today. Our guys are great. They gave him a big, huge birthday celebration this morning, sang to him. He finished with five blocks on his birthday, too. I thought he controlled the paint pretty well. He won the hardhat for all the blue-collar points."