Alabama Blows Out Bulldogs on Way To SEC Tournament Semifinals

The Crimson Tide had one of its best defensive performances since January in the dominant win over Mississippi State.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Slow starts were an issue for Alabama during the final stretch of the regular season, but the Crimson Tide left little doubt who was gonna win its first matchup of the SEC Tournament with the way it came out against Mississippi State Friday.

Alabama opened the game on a seven-point run, and never looked back on the way to a dominant 72-49 win over the Bulldogs in Bridgestone Arena to secure a spot in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

"It was a good start to the tournament," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "Obviously we didn’t play very well last time against A&M, but we’ve bounced back pretty well off losses all year."

Jahvon Quinerly, who was inserted in the starting lineup for the first time all season, hit Alabama’s first 3-point shot, and the team made five of its first seven. Things cooled off from beyond the arc after that point, but it helped the Crimson Tide build up a sustainable lead.

"He’s our point guard, he’s our leader, so we’ve got to match his energy," forward Noah Gurley said about the first shot from Quinerly. "So when he hit it, we knew it was on from there.”

Alabama led by 20 at halftime, and despite not shooting particularly well in the second half, the Crimson Tide never let the Bulldogs got closer than 14 points. After an 8-0 run pulled Mississippi State to within 14, Alabama head coach Nate Oats put back in the starters. Mark Sears hit his first 3-pointer of the game, and Noah Clowney hit one the next possession to push the lead back to 20. 

Because Alabama was able to build up such a large lead, it allowed Oats to rest his starters for a majority of the second half while simultaneously providing bench guys valuable postseason minutes.

With the starters out, Alabama struggled offensively, but the defense kept Mississippi State wrapped up in an ugly second with both teams going on large scoring droughts.

It was the fewest points allowed by Alabama since the blowout 101-44 win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 31. Oats said the team was locked in on defense. 

Brandon Miller once again led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 18 points. He also have nine rebounds and five assists. Gurley and Charles Bediako both added 11 points. 

Alabama will face the winner of the Missouri/Tennessee game in the semifinals Saturday at noon. 

"A lot of guys stepped up and contributed," Oats said. "Proud of our team. We've got one down. We're going to take it one at a time. We've been here in Nashville before. It's a fun tournament. Whoever we end up playing's going to be a tough game tomorrow."

How it happened...

Second Half

FINAL: No. 1 Alabama 72, No. 9 Mississippi State 49

• 1:39- Miller hits a 3-pointer to put Alabama up 23 points, and Oats takes the starters out.

• 3:00- At the final media timeout: Alabama 63, Mississippi State 43
• Back-to-back 3s from Sears and Clowney push the lead back to 20. 

• 3:54- Sears hits his first basket of the game, and it's a big one. The 3-pointer ends a five-minute scoring drought for the Crimson Tide and pushes the Alabama lead back to 60-43

• 4:59- Alabama has all its starters back out on the floor as State is on an 8-0 run. 

• Alabama has made just one of its last 11 shots from the floor. 

• 6:39- Miller checks back in for the first time since exiting at the 12:49-mark.

• Mississippi State on a mini 6-0 run to pull it within 16 at 57-41

• 7:57- Alabama leads 57-38 at the under-8 media timeout

• 8:07- Bulldogs hit their first 3-pointer on a shot from Jeffries. Alabama leads 57-38

• Oats really letting Alabama's bench soak up  a lot of minutes here in the second half with the Crimson Tide holding a big lead and preparing for another game tomorrow.

• 9:48- Mississippi State misses a free throw for the first time. The Bulldogs were previously 11 of 11. Alabama leads 54-35

• Dom Welch is down on the court after a hard collision on the court. He is assisted off the court by the training staff. He isn't putting any pressure on his right knee.

• 11:47- Alabama leads 54-33 at the under-12 media timeout

• 14:31- First media timeout Alabama leads 50-29. State will be at the line out of the break
• Gurley with the lone 3-pointer for Alabama so far in the second half.

• First basket of the second half goes to Bediako to push the Alabama lead back to 20, 43-23 Crimson Tide

Halftime Notes

• Brandon Miller is Alabama's leading scorer with 11 points and is two rebounds away from a double-double. He also has 4 assists. 
• On his birthday, Charles Bediako has 9 points and 4 blocks, well above his season average. 
• Alabama held Mississippi State to 26 percent shooting from the floor. 
• The Crimson Tide made more 3s in the first half (8) than in any of its last four games total.
• Mississippi State did not make a 3-pointer in the first half. 

First Half

HALFTIME: No. 1 Alabama 41, No. 9 Mississippi State 21

• 0:03- Nate Oats takes his use-it or lose-it timeout with Alabama holding a 41-21 lead.

• 0:18- Miller hits a 3-pointer, and Alabama is now doubling up on Mississippi State at 41-19. The Crimson Tide fans in Bridgestone are up on their feet for this first-half performance.

• 1:20- Bediako is now Alabama's leading scorer after a nice basket and foul. He misses the free throw, but the Crimson Tide still leads 35-19

• Nimari Burnett is in for the first time out of the media timeout, and he grabs an offensive board. It ends up leading to a Miller 3-pointer. Alabama 29, State 15

• 3:52- Alabama 26, Mississippi State 15 at the final media timeout of the first half

• 4:27- Davis finally ends State's scoring drought. Alabama 26, Mississippi State 15

• 4:38- Timeout Chris Jans after a make from Gurley. Alabama has pushed the lead to 26-13, and the Bulldogs haven't scored in over seven minutes of game time. 

• Interesting lineup for Alabama right now: Griffen, Welch, Bradley, Clowney and Gurley

• 6:06- Alabama 24, Mississippi State 13 at the under-8 timeout
• The Bulldogs haven't scored in almost six minutes. Really good defense by Alabama so far, especially Bediako down low. 

• 6:26- Dom Welch drains a 3-pointer, and Alabama has pushed the lead to 24-13
• Alabama had missed seven 3s in a row before that shot from Welch

• A layup from Bediako ends a nearly four-minute scoring drought for the Crimson Tide. Alabama leads 21-13
• Both teams have gotten really cold from the floor.

• Alabama has missed its last five shots from the floor, still holds a 19-13 lead

• 11:42- Alabama leads Mississippi State 18-13 at the under-12 timeout
• Quinerly has 8 points for Alabama. Deshawn Davis leads the Bulldogs with 6

• 11:42- First foul called against Mississippi State this game. It goes against Tolu Smith, and Bediako will be at the line after the timeout. 

• 12:26- Quinerly hits his second 3-pointer of the game. Crimson Tide shooting 57 percent from beyond the arc, and Alabama leads 18-11

• 13:33- Gurley hits a 3-pointer, and Alabama extends the lead to 13-6
• First basket for Gurley in almost a month. 

• Nick Pringle and Noah Gurley check into the game for Alabama. Sears and Miller take a break on the bench. 

• 15:06- Miller hits his first 3 and gets his first basket. Alabama leads 10-4

• Rylan Griffen and Jaden Bradley check in for the Crimson Tide out of the timeout.

• 15:35- Alabama 7, Mississippi State 4 at the first media timeout. 
• Alabama had the chance to go up 9-0 after a steal from Quinerly, but he turned the ball over, and State scored on the other end. 

• No slow start for the Crimson Tide today. Alabama gets out to a 7-0 lead

• Quinerly steps into a 3-pointer and drills it on Alabama's first attempt of the game. Alabama leads 5-0

• An aggressive drive to the basket from Noah Clowney scores Alabama's first bucket of the day. Alabama 2-0

• Mississippi State wins the opening tip, and this game is underway. 

Starting Lineups

Alabama

• Jahvon Quinerly
• Mark Sears
• Brandon Miller
• Noah Clowney
• Charles Bediako
• Quinerly gets his first start of the season

Mississippi State

• DJ Jeffries
• Dashawn Davis
• Shakeel Moore
• Camei Matthews
• Tolu Smith

Pregame

• The team is presented with the regular season trophy by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey after warmups.

• In Nate Oats' pregame interview on CTSN, he said Jahvon Quinerly would be starting in place of Jaden Bradley today. 

• Today's officials: Don Daily, Pat Adams and Todd Austin

• The Crimson Tide has taken the court for warmups. 

• A solid group of Crimson Chaos students has already gathered courtside. 

How to Watch Alabama vs. Mississippi State

Who: No. 1 Alabama (26-5, 16-2 SEC) vs. No. 9 Mississippi State (21-11, 9-10 SEC)

When: 12 p.m. CT, Friday

Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee

TV: ESPN

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 132-78

Last Meeting: Alabama swept Mississippi State in the regular season, but the second meeting in Tuscaloosa was a lot closer than the first matchup. The Bulldogs held a seven-point halftime lead, but Alabama made the comeback in the second half.

Last Time Out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide lost its regular season finale at Texas A&M. Alabama really struggled from the beyond the arc again, only shooting 19 percent. Turnovers were also costly for the Crimson Tide with 18 total.

Alabama also once again got off to a slow start and faced a 15-point deficit in the second half. Despite the poor shooting and turnovers, the Crimson Tide came all the way back to take the lead late in the game, but could not hold on for the win.

Last Time Out, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs went to overtime against Florida in Thursday's first game in Nashville, which is a good sign for the Crimson Tide, who will be coming off a six-day break between games. After a wild final few minutes with multiple lead changes and ties, a Tolu Smith layup was the game-winning basket with five seconds left in overtime. Smith had 28 points for the Bulldogs.