Alabama Basketball Star Out for Mississippi State Game

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said guard Labaron Philon Jr. was "obviously banged up" during the LSU game, and he'll rest against the Bulldogs.

Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. drives in the second half of the game against Arkansas on Feb. 18, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama superstar guard Labaron Philon Jr. will not suit up for Wednesday night's home game against Mississippi State, per the SEC final availability report.

Philon was listed as questionable on Tuesday evening's initial availability report despite head coach Nate Oats not mentioning a potential injury during the press conference earlier that day. That said, he was listed as "probable" the day before the LSU game, and although he played, he did not play a major role on the scoreboard.

Philon joins guard Davion Hannah (medical condition), forward Keitenn Bristow (leg) and center Collins Onyejiaka (medical condition), who have each and will continue to be out for the foreseeable future. Oats recently said that a medical redshirt for Bristow "has been discussed."

While the sophomore led UA in assists with five, he only scored eight points on 2 of 8 from the field, including 0 of 3 from deep. Philon's scoring total is significant, as he failed to score at least 10 points for the first time this season. But his appearance on the availability report is partly due to his quiet outing.

"Baron's obviously banged up," Oats said during the LSU postgame press conference. "He played a lot of minutes on Wednesday night [against Arkansas]. We held him out of practice. It's a lot about basketball — bumps, bruises — he just couldn't get loose.

"He didn't practice. We didn't practice on Thursday, we just did video and short work. Through Friday, he didn't practice at all. We were hoping he'd feel better today, and he did, but he wasn't anything close to where he needs to be.

"So, it'll be good to have tomorrow off. We'll have to try to manage his workload during practice on Monday and Tuesday and see where we get him on Wednesday [against Mississippi State]."

Based on Oats' quote after the LSU game, this seems like more of a resting opportunity for Philon. No. 17 Alabama took down Mississippi State 97-82 on the road on Jan. 13. The Crimson Tide is tied for second in the SEC standings, while the Bulldogs are in 12th.

Philon was one of 30 Division I players named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Late-Season Team and is joined by six other players from the Southeastern Conference.

Philon comes into Wednesday averaging 21.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game this season.

This Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Late-Season Team isn't the only list that Philon is featured in, as he's previously been named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 10 Midseason List and to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 List.

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