Live Updates: Mississippi State at No. 18/16 Alabama Crimson Tide Basketball
Second Half
- Alabama defeats Mississippi State, 81-73.
- After the Bulldogs steal the inbounds pass to only trail by three, Petty cans a three-pointer from the wing. That should just about do it. Alabama up six with 31 seconds left.
- Shackelford and Stewart trade three-pointers and Howland calls another timeout. 76-71 Alabama. The Crimson Tide has only made two of its last eight shot attempts from the field.
- He makes both shots and the Bulldogs still trail Alabama, 73-68, with 1:50 to go.
- Stewart is headed back to the free-throw line after being fouled by Reese.
- A free throw from Jones extends Alabama's lead back to double-digits, 69-59.
- Jones just recorded a nice block on Molinar as the shot clock was expiring.
- In case you missed it, Reese now has a brace on his left knee. He has been grimacing in pain at times throughout.
- After that three-pointer, Jones is now tied for a team-high 14 points. Alabama leads 68-59 at the under-8-minute media timeout.
- Shackelford answers with a three-pointer from the corner. Alabama up 65-57 with 8:10 on the clock.
- Matthews stops a drought of almost five minutes for the Bulldogs with a shot that is called for goal-tending.
- Mississippi State has missed its last five shots from the field.
- Jones throws the pass up to Reese who scores the easy basket. Alabama up 58-51 with 10:46 on the clock.
- Smith buries a triple from the wing and Alabama's lead is down to only three points, 54-51, with 13:18 to play.
- Jones completes the old fashioned three-point play.
- Jones scores a tough basket as he is fouled. He'll shoot one after we return from the media break. 53-46 Alabama with 14:59 to go.
- Two-point baskets by Smith and Stewart cut Alabama's lead to four.
- Molinar scores two from the free-throw line.
- A tricky layup by Primo gives Alabama an 11-point advantage.
- Petty banks home a triple and Alabama is back out in front by nine, 47-38.
- Petty fouls Stewart while he is shooting a three and Stewart sinks all three shots.
- Shackelford gives Alabama its biggest lead of the evening with a driving layup and the Bulldogs call another timeout, 44-35.
- Reese opens the scoring in the second half with a layup, 42-35 Crimson Tide.
First Half
- Stewart makes both foul shots and the Crimson Tide will take a 40-35 lead into the locker room. Primo leads Alabama with 12 points while Stewart has a game-high 15 points.
- Gary fouls Stewart while he is shooting with 0.5 on the clock.
- Primo is now 4-of-4 from three-point range and Alabama leads 40-33.
- Petty just made his second three-pointer of the night and Howland calls a timeout for MSU. 35-33 Crimson Tide with 2:06 remaining.
- After Matthews makes a tough basket in the lane, Primo is found wide open in the corner by Shackelford and he buries the three. 32-31, Alabama.
- Davis misses again from the charity stripe.
- Davis misses the first shot and Jones checks in for Gary.
- Former Alabama player Javian Davis will be at the free-throw line for the Bulldogs when play resumes after the final media timeout.
- Jones has re-emerged from the locker room and is currently on the training bike.
- Stewart ties it up at 29 with a layup.
- After Petty's three-point jumper, Alabama has now hit four of its last five shot attempts and has a 29-27 lead.
- Jones just took a massive fall and stayed on the ground in pain. Now, he gets up and trots off into the locker room.
- Jones is at the charity stripe and he misses the first shot but makes the second. 23 all.
- Molinar's three was now called a two-pointer. 23-22 MSU.
- A three-pointer from Molinar gives the Bulldogs a 24-22 advantage at the under-8 timeout. 7:22 to go.
- Jones with another fast-break dunk. Alabama on top, 20-19.
- Jones gets a block then catches the pass of the rebound from Ellis and dunks it home on the other end.
- Ellis knocks down a triple after the layup by Smith. 19-16 Bulldogs.
- Gary sinks both shots after the break. Alabama within four, 17-13.
- Gary will be headed to the free-throw line after the latest media timeout. 17-11 MSU with 11:31 left. Alabama hasn't scored in the last 3:06 of game time and is 1-of-7 from the field during this stretch.
- Stewart's layup puts the Bulldogs up 17-11.
- Keon Ellis, Keon Ambrose-Hylton, Jahvon Quinerly, and Juwan Gary are Oats' first subs of the night.
- The Bulldogs have a four-point lead now after baskets by Molinar and Smith, 15-11. MSU has made six of its last seven shots from the field.
- Stewart and Reese trade three-pointers. 11 all.
- Out of the timeout, Shackelford misses a layup and Ado scores an easy two on the other end. All tied at 8.
- Jones draws a charge foul on Johnson and we head to the first media break with 15:52 to go.
- Molinar hits again and its 8-6 UA.
- A steal by Petty leads to another triple by Primo.
- Molinar breaks the tie with a step-back jumper, but Primo gives Alabama the lead with a three-pointer of his own. 5-4 UA with 16:47 left.
- Shackelford gets a steal and goes coast-to-coast for the easy two and we are tied.
- After Reese misses a wide-open three-pointer, the Bulldogs come down on the other end and score a layup by Ado.
- Mississippi State wins the tip.
Pregame
- Alabama football enrollee Ga'Quincy McKinstry was dressed out in street clothes during warmups. He practiced with the team over the past few days.
- Bulldogs starters: Iverson Molinar, D.J Stewart Jr., Aboul Ado, Tolu Smith, and Jalen Johnson
- Crimson Tide starters: Herb Jones, Alex Reese, Jaden Shackelford, John Petty Jr., and Josh Primo
- Alabama forward James Rojas is out tonight with an undisclosed medical condition.
Game Preview
The last time the University of Alabama and Mississippi State met on the hardwood, the Crimson Tide was a bubble team in search of a much-needed win and the Bulldogs were firmly in NCAA tournament consideration.
Oh how the tables have turned.
Alabama has won eight straight games, boasting a 12-3 record and first place in the Southeastern Conference. Its 7-0 start in league play is the best since the 1986-1987 season.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State is 9-6 on the year with a 4-3 record in SEC play, losers of two of its last three and coming off of a 64-46 thrashing at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels.
It isn't all bad for the Bulldogs as it does have wins over No. 19 Missouri, Florida, and Georgia and one of its losses came in double-overtime to Kentucky.
Both Mississippi State guards Iverson Molinar and DJ Stewart Jr. are averaging 17.4 points apiece, with forward Tolu Smith grabbing 8.8 boards each time out.
A win for the 18th-ranked Crimson Tide would tie the longest SEC-winning streak for the program since the 1975-1976 season.
Saturday's game will also be a special one for Bulldogs forward Javian Davis who was a member of the Crimson Tide for the last two seasons before transferring to Starkville.
Mississippi State at Alabama
Where: Coleman Coliseum
When: 5 p.m. CT, Saturday
TV: SEC Network
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network
Online: ESPN.com
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide put a historic beating on LSU, knocking down a school and SEC record 23 three-pointers on its way to a 105-75 victory on Tuesday night. Senior guard John Petty Jr. tallied a season-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from beyond-the-arc, while guards Josh Primo and Jahvon Quinerly both poured in 22 points. Both of them added six triples. It was the eighth-straight win for Alabama, pushing the Crimson Tide to 7-0 and in first place of the SEC.
Last time out, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs couldn't overcome Devontae Shuler's 22 points and were dominated by arch-rival Ole Miss, 64-46, on Tuesday evening. Guard DJ Stewart led MSU with 18 points and three rebounds while forward Tolu Smith added 10 points, six boards, and two assists. As a whole, Mississippi State shot 28.6 percent from three-point range (4-of-14) and 34 percent from the field (18-of-52) to fall to 9-6, 4-3 SEC on the year.
The series: This will be the 135th meeting between these two schools. Alabama leads the series all-time with a record of 84-50. The Crimson Tide has won the last four meetings in Tuscaloosa with the Bulldogs last victory inside Coleman Coliseum coming on Feb. 20, 2016. Overall, Alabama has won 12 of the last 16 meetings between both schools dating back to Feb. 25, 2012.
More on the last meeting: Mississippi State protected its home court against Alabama at Humphrey Coliseum last February with an 80-73 win behind 21 points and 12 rebounds from forward Reggie Perry. The Crimson Tide lost Petty early on in the first half of that contest with an elbow injury. Alabama guard Kira Lewis Jr. dropped 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block.
