How to Watch: No. 4 Alabama Basketball at No. 14 Mississippi State

In this story:
Mississippi State Bulldogs' Josh Hubbard was not only one of the best freshmen in the SEC last season, but one of the top guards as well due to his scoring ability. This year seems to be no different as he leads Mississippi State with 16.3 points per game. He's averaging roughly six more points than the team's runner-up and that's also roughly the same range for his team-high 31.4 minutes per night.
Nevertheless, Hubbard's had some help as four other players are averaging at least nine points per game. The Bulldogs have six active players averaging over 21 minutes per game with two others just a couple of moments on the floor less than that and it's helped them achieve the No. 14 spot in the AP Poll.
No. 4 Alabama men's basketball will head to Starkville for a road matchup against No. 14 Mississippi State on Wednesday night. It'll be Alabama's ninth ranked opponent of the season.
How to Watch: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 14 Mississippi State
Who: No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. CT.
Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Miss.
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
TV: SEC Network
Series vs. Mississippi State: The Crimson Tide leads 135-77 with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 6, 1913. Alabama is 42-58 all-time on the road against the Bulldogs and is 9-1 in the last 10 overall matchups.
Last meeting with Mississippi State: The Crimson Tide dominated the Bulldogs 99-67 at home on Feb. 3, 2024. Mark Sears (21 points), Aaron Estrada (15), Mouhamed Dioubate (14) and Jarin Stevenson (14) combined for 64 points. Dioubate and Stevenson's efforts came off the bench as the latter went 4-for-6 from behind the arc. This was Alabama's second game against Mississippi State last season as the Crimson Tide also won 82-74 on the road on Jan. 13, 2024.
Last time out, Alabama: No. 4 Alabama men's basketball outlasted LSU 80-73 on Saturday night. Alabama may have won a game against one of its biggest rivals, but the benching of Preseason All-American guard Mark Sears for the entire second half was the main story from the game. Nevertheless, fellow guards Aden Holloway and Chris Youngblood filled in nicely with 19 and 14 points respectively. Alabama forwards and bigs Clifford Omoruyi, Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Dioubate were practically silenced in the first half, but each of them shined on both ends in the second period to pull the Tide away late.
Last time out, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs escaped South Carolina with a 65-60 overtime win on Saturday. Riley Kugel and KeShawn Murphy combined for 28 points off the bench while Josh Hubbard (12 points), Claudell Harris Jr. (11) and Michael Nwoko (11) also scored in the double-digits. Mississippi State was up 55-51 with two minutes left in regulation, but couldn't increase the margin which led to overtime.
Alabama Stat Leaders
- Points: Mark Sears (18.1)
- Rebounds: Grant Nelson (8.4)
- Assists: Mark Sears (4.8)
Mississippi State Stat Leaders
- Points: Josh Hubbard (16.3)
- Rebounds: KeShawn Murphy (7.2)
- Assists: Cameron Matthews (3.8)
Read More: Three Takeaways From Alabama Basketball's Tense Win Over LSU
Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023.
Follow HunterDeSiver