The No. 8/9 Alabama men's basketball team picked up its fourth win over a Top 25 opponent.
rolltide.com
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 8/9 Alabama men's basketball team picked up its fourth win over a Top 25 opponent, Wednesday night in Starkville, Miss., defeating No. 21/20 Mississippi State 78-67 to kick off the Southeastern Conference schedule.
The Tide (11-2) had four players score double-figures, led by
Mark Sears scoring a game-high 20 points.
Brandon Miller recorded his second straight double-double and third of the season scoring 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds against the Bulldogs (11-2).
Alabama's defense was exceptional to open the game, as the Bulldogs missed their first seven field goal attempts and didn't convert a field goal until the 15:49-mark. Both teams struggled on offense, combining to shoot 6-28 (21%) in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Tide took the lead with 9:17 left in the first half off a
Mark Sears three-pointer and the Tide's defense would hold Mississippi State scoreless for over five minutes. It was a tight ballgame all throughout the first half, with the biggest lead in the first 20 minutes was eight points (Alabama lead 29-21). The Crimson Tide went into the break with a 34-30 lead.
The Crimson Tide used a 7-0 run early in the second half to take their first double digit lead of the game (46-37) with 14:46 left in the game. The Tide's offense continued to find its rhythm throughout the second half, jumping out to a 17-point lead (70-53), its largest lead of the game with just over five minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs were able to climb back and cut the Tide's lead to single-digits with 2:38 left in the game but Alabama was quickly able to regain its double-digit lead and come away with the victory.
HEAD COACH NATE OATS POSTGAME COMMENTS
"Before we get going on the game I just wanted to address the
Darius Miles situation, he is out with a personal matter and we are supporting him through it. We are not sure how long he will be out but we are supporting him through it and trying to help him through it so that is why he was not on the bench tonight. As far as the game goes, they are a tough team and make it difficult on you. They turn people over and we had 19 turnovers and obviously that is not good, but I thought we were able to overcome them by how hard we played. We outrebounded them and they really hang their hat on how hard they play and how well they rebound and for us to outrebound them and I thought our defense was better than theirs. We chart blue collar points, and we had 14 more collar points than them, so I thought our effort was really good. We made some tough plays and got on the floor and I was proud of our guys because we overcame some good shooting nights from their guys; KeyShawn Murphy went 3-3 in the first half and we knew he could shoot but (Will) McNair stepped out and hit a three on us so that maybe counteracted the fact that Tolu (Smith) couldn't hit a free throw, which obviously helped us. Different things went different ways, but I thought our guys stepped up; I thought Brandon (Miller) and Mark (Sears) hit big shots late when we needed them. I thought Jaden (Bradley) did a great job running the team, he ended up with seven assists, which is big for us, and I thought he was aggressive against the press. I thought our depth really helped us, we had guys in foul trouble and Charles (Bediako) gets in foul trouble early in the second half and (Nick) Pringle has to play a lot more minutes than he is used to, and I thought he did well with them so I am proud of the team. Road wins are not easy to get in this league by the evidence of the other games tonight. The are some really good teams that went on the road and couldn't win so we went on the road against a Top 25 team and able to come out with a convincing win. I think it speaks to what our guys were able to do, especially on the defensive end."
TEAM STATS
- The Crimson Tide won its fourth game over an AP Top 25 opponent this season
- The Tide picked up its second road win over an AP Top 25 opponent this season (
- Brandon Miller finished with his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds
- Alabama's 78 points is the most Mississippi State has allowed an opponent to score this season (Previous high was 66 by Nicholls)
- The Tide outscored Mississippi State 26-18 inside the paint
- Dom Welch made his first appearance of the season for Alabama, playing nine minutes
- Jaden Bradley recorded seven assists, tying his season high
- Charles Bediako matched his season high in blocks with three tonight
FIRST HALF
- Mark Sears and MSU's KeShawn Murphy led all scorers in the first half with nine points each
- Alabama outscored the Bulldogs 16-2 inside the paint
- The Tide shot 75% (6-8) from the free throw line while State shot 31% (5-16)
- Mississippi State's bench outscored Alabama's bench 17-7
SECOND HALF
- The Tide shot 50% (14-28) from the field in the second half, including 47% from beyond the arc (8-17) led by Miller and Sears scoring 11 points apiece
- Alabama's defense limited Mississippi State to 22% (2-9) from three-point range
- The Crimson Tide shot 80% (8-10) from the charity stripe while the Bulldogs converted 65% (13-20)
UP NEXT
- Alabama will continue SEC Conference play as it returns home to face Ole Miss on Jan. 3
- The Crimson Tide will tip-off against the Rebels at 8 p.m. CT with the contest airing live on the SEC Network
