No. 2 Alabama Basketball Overcomes, Outlasts Mississippi State 66-63

The Crimson Tide improves to 8-0 in SEC play despite sloppy play on both ends of the court.

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Updated:
Jan 26, 2023 1:01 AM EST
Original:
Jan 25, 2023

In this story:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.

No. 2 Alabama basketball was able to overcome and then hold off Mississippi State on Wednesday night, coming back from a seven-point deficit at halftime and beating the Bulldogs 66-63.

Over the course of the game, the Crimson Tide shot just 37 percent (21-of-57) from the floor and a tough 18 percent (5-of-28) from beyond the arc.

"The SEC's a tough league," Alabama coach Nate Oats said after the game. "That team's only won one game in the SEC — you saw how tough it was to get a win. Gotta give a ton of credit to Mississippi State. They came ready to play. I thought they had a great plan. They improved more than we improved from the first time we played them."

Mississippi State jumped out to an early 10-2 lead to start the game, propelled by a layup and a dunk by forward D.J. Jeffries. The Bulldogs jumped out to as much as 11 points ahead of the Crimson Tide, with stout defensive play and a high success rate in the paint keeping them ahead.

At halftime, Alabama trailed Mississippi State 36-29.

The second half was slightly better for the Crimson Tide, and slightly worse for the Bulldogs. Out of the gate, Alabama scored four to cut the Mississippi State lead to three. However, seven Bulldogs points — including a 3-pointer by guard Shakeel Moore — brought the game right back to a 10-point deficit for Alabama.

Over the next seven minutes, Alabama's offense finally got rolling, outscoring Mississippi State 15-3. A 3-pointer by Rylan Griffen at the 9:19 mark gave Alabama a 48-46 lead — the first of the game for the Crimson Tide. Slowly but surely, Alabama crept the lead out to as much as eight points, but a dunk and a layup by Mississippi State cut the Crimson Tide lead to just three points in the final seconds.

A block by Noah Gurley swatted the ball away, with a jumper by Bulldogs guard Eric Reed Jr. missing the mark and giving Alabama the win.

"I give our guys a lot of credit in the second half — they found a way to get a win in a tight game," Oats said. "We haven't had very many tight games so it's not the worst that we had to figure out how to win a close game — especially when you're down."

Three Alabama players shot in double-digits, with Jahvon Quinerly leading the team with 14 points. Noah Clowney and Brandon Miller tied for second-most points on the team with 13 apiece. Clowney also lead the team in rebounds with eight, followed by Miller with six.

Dom Welch was the only player for the Crimson Tide to record multiple 3-pointers, finishing the night shooting 2-for-3 from beyond the arc.

With the win, Alabama moves to 18-2 overall and is 8-0 in SEC play. Mississippi State, on the other hand, falls to 12-8 with the loss and is 1-7 in SEC play. Up next, the Crimson Tide will travel to Norman, Okla., on Saturday to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge (1 p.m. CT, ESPN).

How It Happened:

Second Half

Final: Alabama 66, Mississippi State 63

A missed 3-pointer by Sears gives the Bulldogs the ball back. However, they fail to score as the clock expires.

The Bulldogs have cut it to just 3 with another layup. 66-63 Crimson Tide with 49.3 seconds left in the game.

66-61 Alabama as MSU gets a dunk.

Quinerly stepped up to the line and drained one of two shots. 66-59 Alabama with 1:40 left.

Clowney was fouled on the way up to the basket and will head to the line for two shots. Clowney sank both. making it 65-57 Alabama with 2:15 left to play.

63-57 as MSU makes a bucket.

A drive to the basket by Sears gives Alabama 2. 63-55 Alabama at the final media timeout of the game.

Alabama is maintaining its lead, but Mississippi State isn't going away. 61-55 after two free throws by Quinerly. 4:48 left.

A field goal by Clowney forces MSU to call a timeout. Alabama now has its largest lead of the game, 57-53.

Dunk by Clowney good, Alabama takes a 55-53 lead. The majority of the crowd has been on its feet over the last five minutes of play.

Sears was just called for a blocking foul, his first personal. Smith headed to the free-throw line, where he made both shots. Tie game, 53-53 with 6:43 left.

Miller drains an opposed 3. 53-51 Alabama.

Quinerly stepped up to the line and made both shots. 51-50 MSU.

Davis hit three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer attempt by Griffen. 51-48 MSU with 7:49 left in the game.

MSU responds with a dunk. Tie game.

A 3-pointer from the corner by Griffen causes the crowd to explode. 48-46 Alabama. The Crimson Tide has its first lead of the game.

A short jumper by Rylan Griffen cuts the Bulldogs lead to 1. 46-45 MSU.

Miller makes two of three free throws. 46-43 MSU.

Miller was fouled on a 3-point attempt. The game breaks for the under-12 timeout, but he will be at the line when the game resumes. 46-41 MSU with 11:48 left to play.

Alabama is now in the bonus with 12:25 left to play. Clowney stepped up to the line and made both free throws. 46-41 MSU.

Alabama has seemingly forgot how to inbound the basketball this game. Nate Oats was just forced to call a timeout to avoid a foul, resulting in him stomping in frustration.

Bediako was just called for his fourth personal, Alabama's fourth team foul. Smith stepped up to the line and made one of his two shots. 46-39 MSU.

Another incredible block by Miller prevents a dunk by the Bulldogs. However it's still Mississippi State's ball.

An impressive block by Bediako gets Alabama the basketball back.

Welch is called for his first personal.

The crowd is on its feet at Miller makes a layup. 43-39 Crimson Tide. The Bulldogs respond with their own. 45-39 MSU.

Pringle steps up to the line and drains two free throws. 43-37 MSU at the 15:13 mark.

At the under-16 media timeout, Alabama trails 43-35. An offensive foul by the Bulldogs will give the Crimson Tide the basketball after the break.

Make that 43-33 with a dunk by Matthews.

A 3-pointer from Moore has the crowd disgruntled. 41-33 Bulldogs.

Jeffries silences the crowd with a two deep from the corner. 38-33 MSU.

Field goal by Clowney gets the crowd up on their feet. 36-33 MSU.

A skilled short jumper while coming around the end from Bradley starts the scoring of the second half.

Both teams are back on the court and we are about to start the second half.

First Half

Halftime: Mississippi State 36, Alabama 29

Welch sinks a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Sorry for the delay on the past few minutes of updates. the Wi-Fi in Coleman Coliseum appeared to go down for a short period. It is now 36-26 Mississippi State with 12.2 seconds left in the first half. Alabama will have the basketball when the game resumes.

At the final media timeout of the first half, Alabama trails MSU 31-22. The crowd has been itching for something to explode over, but the Crimson Tide hasn't been providing them with many opportunities.

Bediako is called for his third personal as Smith's basket finds a way into the hoop. Smith missed the and-1, rebounded by Alabama.

Clowney hit one of two free throws. 29-22 MSU with just under five minutes left in the first half.

Davis sinks a 3-pointer for MSU. Clowney was fouled on the opposite end and headed to line.

A layup by Miller gets the house rocking. 26-21 Bulldogs.

Sears sinks both. 24-19 MSU at the 6-minute mark.

Alabama is now in the bonus, and Sears steps up to the free-throw line.

Quinerly swishes a corner 3. 24-17 Bulldogs.

With 7:11 left on the clock, the Bulldogs are out to a 24-14 lead.

Nick Pringle slams down a dunk. 20-14 MSU.

Credit to Mississippi State. They are playing very solid defense thus far. The Bulldogs have also attempted just one shot from beyond the arc, but they haven't need it — they lead 20-11 at the 8:47 mark.

Bediako just got called for his second personal, an illegal screen. Ball goes right back to Mississippi State.

Jump ball, possession arrow to Alabama. The ball was knocked loose by Sears.

At the under-12 media timeout, the Bulldogs are in control with a 16-9 lead. Alabama is playing inconsistently on defense and just downright sloppy on offense. The Crimson Tide has scored just two of its last 11.

Dom Welch shoots a corner 3. However, Mississippi State responds with a dunk by Matthews.

Smith gets a layup. 14-6 Bulldogs.

A layup by Jahvon Quinerly gives the Crimson Tide just its second basket of the game. 12-6 Bulldogs.

Matthews missed two free throws for Mississippi State, but the Bulldogs wrangled in the rebound and ultimately scored a layup.

Clowney makes two free throws, and it is now 10-4 in favor of the Bulldogs.

So far tonight, Alabama is 1-of-6 from the floor.

Jump ball, Alabama will get possession. At the first media timeout, Mississippi State is out to a 10-2 lead.

Mississippi State is out to an 8-2 lead. Sloppy ball control by the Crimson Tide has led to two turnovers, and the Bulldogs have capitalized.

Brandon Miller just ignited the crowd with a highlight dunk. 2-2 tie at the 17:28 mark.

The Bulldogs get the first bucket of the game with a putback layup by Tolu Smith. 2-0 Mississippi State.

Mississippi State won the tip and we are underway.

Pregame

Alabama played a new pregame hype video before player introductions, and it included Charles Barkley's "Alabama's the best team in the country" quote. It goes without saying that the crowd loved it.

Starting five for Alabama:

Starting five for Mississippi State:

4-star power forward Donnie Freeman is in the building to watch the Crimson Tide on his official visit:

Nate Oats is ready with his 'RTR' Nike sneakers:

Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. CT

How to Watch Alabama vs. Mississippi State

Who: No. 4 Alabama (17-2, 7-0 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (12-7, 1-6 SEC)

When: 8 p.m. CT, Wednesday

Where: Coleman Coliseum

TV: SEC Network

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart; Analyst: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Series: Alabama leads, 131-77

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs played in each of their opening games of conference play on Dec. 28. Alabama came away victorious 78-67 at Humphrey Coliseum behind 20 points from Mark Sears and 19 points from Brandon Miller. The Crimson Tide led by four at half before pulling away in the second 20 minutes.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide defeated Missouri 85-64 in Columbia on Saturday night to remain unbeaten in SEC play. Noah Clowney led the charge with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Jahvon Quinerly came off the bench to add 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Last time out, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs lost their fourth game in a row on Saturday night against Florida in Starkville. Mississippi State trailed the Gators by 16 before crawling all the way back just to lose in the end.

Tolu Smith recorded another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Alabama leaders: