BamaCentral Courtside After Alabama's 100-75 Win Over Mississippi State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 17 Alabama took down Mississippi State 100-75 to extend the program's winning streak to seven games. The Crimson Tide shot the lights out in the first half, making 16 3-point shots to serve the Bulldogs an early knockout blow.

“I thought the first half was the best basketball we’ve played all year," Nate Oats said. "So, very encouraging. Philon was out. The ball was moving. It was crisp. Holloway and Wrightsell did a really good job taking care of it. Amari was hitting threes. As a team, we shot it well. In the second half, disappointed in the leadership. Didn’t think we played as hard, as well. I thought we played the scoreboard too much. I was really disappointed in the second half, but super encouraged by our mentality going into the game.

“Our defense on Hubbard was great in the first half. Other than one player when we just kind of fell asleep on him, gave him the three. He scored three points, and then he ended up getting 11, which for him, who just had 46 on Auburn, out-scored their entire team in the first half. I thought our guys were really locked in and did a pretty good job. That’s Holloway, Wrightsell, Bethea, and everybody else that was helping.

“Now, the rest of the team probably just played their best offensive game. They hit 13 threes outside of him. I’m guessing that’s 15 threes is probably the most they’ve done all year. We’ve got to do a better job when guys start catching fire. Grace has three. Achor has three. Multiple guys have two threes. We’ve got to do better than that on defense, guarding some of those other guys. But our defense on Hubbard was good."

The Crimson Tide saw numerous players step up in the absence of Labaron Philon, who Oats described as "game-to-game". Amari Allen led the team with 23 points, making 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Aden Holloway drove the offense with a 16-point, 10-assist double-double. Most importantly, Alabama saw forward Aiden Sherrell stay out of foul trouble, scoring 11 points and securing six rebounds.

Alabama looks to keep the win streak rolling as they travel to Knoxville for a rematch against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. The Crimson Tide has dropped five straight games to the Vols and looks to redeem a loss from earlier in the season.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral's Katie Windham and Joe Gaither provide thoughts and takeaways from the No. 17 Alabama men's basketball team's 100-75 home win over Mississippi State.