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Live Updates: No. 6 Alabama Basketball at Mississippi State

The Crimson Tide looks to clinch the SEC regular-season title on Saturday night versus the Bulldogs
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Second Half

  • Alabama defeats Mississippi State 64-59 and wins its first SEC regular-season title since 2002. Quinerly finished with a game-high 19 points and Jones hauled in a career-high 14 rebounds.
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  • Petty scores two from the line. 12 seconds left.
  • Shackelford makes the first but misses the second. Johnson misses the triple for the Bulldogs and Petty corrals the rebound.
  • Shackelford is now headed to the charity stripe.
  • Stewart makes both. 61-57 Alabama with 24.8 seconds to go.
  • Ellis sinks both but Stewart is fouled by Rojas on his drive to the hoop.
  • Ellis is fouled. The Bulldogs have to extend this game at the free-throw line now.
  • Stewart makes both foul shots. Alabama up four, 59-55.
  • Rojas fouls Stewart, sending him to the line.
  • That might be the dagger. Rojas connects on a three-pointer from the corner and it's 59-53 Alabama with 38 seconds to go.
  • Quinerly can't convert the layup, but Ado hurls up an air-ball on the Bulldogs' offensive end.
  • Rojas draws a charge from Johnson and we have hit the final media timeout. Alabama still leads by three with 3:22 remaining.
  • Molinar drives through the lane and scores. The deficit it now cut to three, 56-53. 
  • Fountain gets the offensive board and putback on Stewart's miss. 56-51 Alabama.
  • Shackelford just went coast-to-coast untouched for the easy two.
  • Ado blocks Bruner's shot and it turns into a layup by Molinar on the other end. 
  • Stewart makes 2-of-3 and Alabama's lead is down to seven, 54-47.
  • Jones just picked up his third foul. He fouled Stewart on a three-point attempt.
  • At the under 8-minute media timeout, Alabama is holding on by a score of 54-45. Offense has gone cold for the Crimson Tide as it has only made one of its last 10 attempts. The good news is Mississippi State hasn't scored from the field in the last 4:21 of play.
  • Stewart nets the first but the second one rims out.
  • Jones and Petty have committed fouls within seconds of each other and Stewart is now at the charity stripe.
  • Alabama misses two shots at the rim after the timeout.
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  • Jones dives on the floor for a loose ball and gets the timeout called. 8:10 remaining with Alabama still up 10. The Crimson Tide bench has been fired up all night and it stayed that way after the latest hustle play.
  • Molinar makes one of two from the line. 54-44 Crimson Tide.
  • No one for the Bulldogs can stay in front of Quinerly. His latest layup gives him 19 points.
  • Alabama just forced Mississippi State to commit its 13th turnover of the game. There's still over 10 minutes to go. 
  • Reese responds with a wide-open triple from the corner. 52-41 Alabama.
  • As the shot clock is expiring, Smith nails a floater for the Bulldogs.
  • It will be Mississippi State ball when play resumes but its 49-39 Alabama at the under-12 minute media timeout.
  • Reese and Primo have checked back in.
  • Gary is called for an offensive foul and that's his second.
  • Rojas nets both shots. 49-37 Alabama.
  • After a jumper by Stewart, Rojas was fouled underneath the basket on the shot attempt and will shoot two.
  • Rojas just threw down a two-handed slam, the assist from Quinerly. 
  • Smith powers his way through Rojas and lays it in. Timeout MSU.
  • Alabama gets a steal and Shackelford makes a layup on the other end in transition. 45-33 Crimson Tide.
  • Quinerly scores his first points of this period with a nice finger roll.
  • At the under-16 minute media timeout, Alabama owns a 41-33 advantage.
  • Quinerly and Rojas are the first two subs for the Crimson Tide in this half.
  • Shackelford scores three points from the charity stripe. Alabama back in front by ten.
  • Stewart connects on a jumper and its now 36-29 Alabama. MSU not going down without a fight.
  • Smith gets the offensive board and the tip-in.
  • A quicker pace to begin this half as Shackelford and Ado have traded baskets. 36-25 Alabama.
  • Stewart gets in the lane and finishes at the rim. 
  • Both teams will roll out the same starters to begin the second half.

First Half

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  • Thanks to a tenacious defensive outing by the Crimson Tide so far, the Bulldogs are shooting an abysmal 28.1 percent from the field. Alabama is also winning the rebounding battle, 26-19.
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  • At intermission, Alabama leads Mississippi State 34-21. 
  • Mississippi State coughs the ball up and Ellis takes up down the court and throws it to Quinerly who scores the layup.
  • Rojas converts both shots.
  • Rojas is fouled hard by Fountain and Alabama is in the bonus.
  • Smith cannot complete the and-one and its 30-21 Alabama. 
  • Quinerly answers with a triple from the corner. He's up to 13 points.
  • Molinar pulls up from the foul line and hits. 27-19 Crimson Tide. 
  • Ado is at the line after the foul by Shackelford and he scores one.
  • Ado backs Bruner down in the post and connects but Shackelford nets a triple on the other end. 27-16 Alabama.
  • Alabama is super locked in on defense right now. Mississippi State has missed nine of its last 11 shot attempts. Effort and energy is a whole step up compared to Wednesday night in Fayetteville.
  • Primo is called for a charge and that's his second foul. 3:42 to go as we head into the final media timeout of the half.
  • Petty connects on both shots, extending Alabama's lead back to ten.
  • Petty is fouled by Smith and he will shoot two.
  • A putback by Ado cuts Alabama's lead to 22-14 with 4:20 remaining.
  • Quinerly just took three Bulldog defenders to the rim and somehow scored. He's now in double-figures with 10 points.
  • Out of the break, Rojas turns it over and Johnson nets the Bulldogs first three-pointer of the night. 20-12 Alabama.
  • Great hustle by Gary to dive on the floor and get a loose ball. Alabama calls a timeout.
  • Alabama is now 15-1 run over the last five minutes of action. Gary just threw down a hammer and its 20-9 Crimson Tide with 7:10 left to play.
  • Ben Howland calls a quick timeout after Quinerly buries a triple from the right wing. 16-9 Alabama. The guard has eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.
  • Quinerly doesn't miss this time. He puts Alabama up 13-9 with that layup.
  • Gary scores 1-of-2 at the line. Bruner gets the offensive board but Quinerly is called for a moving screen.
  • Gary is heading to the free-throw line after the foul by Post.
  • Bruner gets a steal and throws it up to Quinerly who misses the easy two on the reverse layup.
  • Quinerly puts the Crimson Tide in front, 10-9, with a long three-pointer. 
  • Post swats Quinerly's shot and it goes out of bounds. We have reached the under-12 minute media timeout. Alabama is 1-of-10 on its last ten attempts.
  • Former Alabama player Javian Davis has checked in for Mississippi State.
  • Fountain is at the charity stripe and he scores only on. 9-7 Bulldogs.
  • Juwan Gary and James Rojas are checking in for the visitors.
  • Alabama's scoring drought ends with a layup from Primo.
  • Smith misses the free throw.
  • Reese misses an easy layup, which leads to Smith scoring from underneath the basket on the other end as he fouled by Primo. 8-5 Bulldogs.
  • Out of the break, Post misses a three-pointer for MSU.
  • Josh Primo, Jahvon Quinerly and Alex Reese are the Crimson Tide's first subs.
  • At the first media timeout, it's still 6-5 MSU and Alabama has missed its last five shot attempts and hasn't scored in 3:30. However, the Bulldogs have only made one of its last seven shots.
  • A put-back tip in by Molinar gives the Bulldogs the lead, 6-5. The Crimson Tide is 2-of-9 from the field.
  • Alabama has the early edge on the boards, 5-2, after three minutes of action.
  • Petty drills a triple front the top of the key. 5-2 Alabama.
  • Shackelford drives in the lane and scores. 2-2.
  • Shackelford can't convert and Smith hits a layup on the other end. 2-0 Bulldogs.
  • Alabama forces a shot-clock violation on MSU's first possession.
  • Ado wins the tip for the Bulldogs.

Pregame 

  • Mississippi State starters: Jalen Johnson, Iverson Molinar, D.J. Stewart Jr., Abdul Abo and Tolu Smith.
  • It is Ellis' second start of his career.
  • Alabama starters: Herbert Jones, John Petty Jr., Jordan Bruner, Jaden Shackelford and Keon Ellis.
  • Tonight's officials are Mike Nance, Chuck Jones and Robert Felder

Game Preview

There's no time for the Alabama men's basketball team to sulk after a 81-66 road loss to No. 20 Arkansas.

The Crimson Tide would have clinched the outright Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a win over the Razorbacks, but now standing in its way of ending an 19-year title drought for the program is a trip to Starkville to face Mississippi State inside Humphrey Coliseum on Saturday (5 p.m, SEC Network)

One more win from Alabama or a loss by Arkansas are all the Crimson Tide needs to win the league crown. There is no scenario for a shared title.

Coach Nate Oats and company got the better of the Bulldogs, 81-73, when they came to Tuscaloosa back on Jan. 23 behind 17 points from senior wing Herbert Jones.

Mississippi State is on a two-game winning streak, having defeated Ole Miss and South Carolina by a combined 31 points.

During those two contests, guard D.J Stewart Jr. averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 assists, four rebounds and 1.5 steals.

Defensively, the Bulldogs are holding opponents to only 40.5 percent from the field, which ranks third in the SEC, and 32.7 percent from three-point range, which is eighth.

Mississippi State is also the best defensive-rebounding team in the league, only allowing the opposition to grab 31.3 rebounds per game.

No. 6 Alabama at Mississippi State

Where: Humphrey 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 was upset by No. 20 Arkansas, 81-66, inside Bud Walton Arena on Wednesday night. Forward Jordan Bruner scored a team-high 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Ultimately, the free throw disparity — the Razorbacks' 43 foul shots to Alabama's eight — was the difference.

Last time out, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs destroyed South Carolina, 69-48, at home on Wednesday thanks to 15 points from D.J Stewart Jr. and 11 points from center Abdul Ado. Mississippi State's defense held the Gamecocks to only 29 percent from the field on 18-of-62 shooting.

The series: The 136th meeting. Alabama leads the all-time series with a record of 85-50 and has won 15 of the last 20 matchups. However, Mississippi State has won three straight in Starkville dating back to Feb. 6, 2018.

More on the last meeting: Back on Jan. 23, all five Alabama starters, led by wing Herbert Jones, finished in double-figures and combined for 68 points to propel the Crimson Tide over the Bulldogs, 81-73. Freshman guard Josh Primo connected on four triples and recorded 16 points and three rebounds. Stewart dropped a game-high 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting.