Bama Central

Live Updates From No. 18 Alabama Basketball at Mississippi State

Score updates and analysis from Starkville, Mississippi, as the Crimson Tide takes on the Bulldogs in Humphrey Coliseum.
Hunter De Siver|
Alabama Basketball in Humphrey Coliseum
Alabama Basketball in Humphrey Coliseum | Obtained from Alabama Basketball's X/Twitter

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Alabama Crimson Tide

STARKVILLE, Miss. — No. 18 Alabama will play its 17th game of the regular season, and the fourth of SEC play, on Tuesday on the road against Mississippi State.

The Crimson Tide swept the Bulldogs in both meetings last season, as former Alabama guard Chris Youngblood's only two games with 20-plus points came against Mississippi State. And while Youngblood is now with the Oklahoma City Thunder organization, Josh Hubbard, who scored 38 points in the first game against Alabama in 2025, is still with the Bulldogs.

Hubbard currently leads the SEC in points per game this season with 22.8. Alabama guards Labaron Philon Jr. (21.3) and Aden Holloway (18.6) rank third and fifth, respectively, in this stat category and field.

Alabama is coming into Tuesday night following a home loss to Texas. The Crimson Tide is 1-2 against the conference, and a road victory could help turn the Tide around. Can UA head coach Nate Oats and company get the job done?

Follow along for live updates and analysis from Humphrey Coliseum. Be sure to refresh your browser as the most recent events will be placed at the top of this page.

FINAL: Alabama 97, Mississippi State 82

Second Half

  • Aiden Sherrell also has a career high with 22 points.
  • New career high for Labaron Philon with 30 points (and counting).
  • Mississippi State fans are starting to hit the exits.
  • TIMEOUT (12:00 2H): Alabama 62, Mississippi State 51: Josh Hubbard is heating up a bit for the Bulldogs, as he's up to 14 points, including the last six in a 6-0 run for MSU. Hubbard leads the SEC in points per game with 22.8.
  • Mississippi State forward Brandon Walker was assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected from the game after fouling Alabama forward Amari Allen.
  • TIMEOUT (15:58 2H): Alabama 53, Mississippi State 39: Alabama has continued to shine with a 16-3 run and counting. Freshman forward Amari Allen only has 5 points tonight, but he's grabbed 9 rebounds in 19 minutes on the floor.
  • TIMEOUT (18:00 2H): Alabama 47, Mississippi State 36: Alabama starts the second half on a commanding 11-2 run. Labaron Philon Jr. (17) and Aiden Sherrell (14) have led the way with 31 combined points tonight. Crimson Tide fans in the crowd are starting to take over with "Let's go Bama" chants.

HALFTIME: Alabama 36, Mississippi State 34

5 Standout Halftime Stats from Alabama-Mississippi State:

  • Alabama closed the first half on a 21-5 run
  • Time with lead: MSU 16:14, Alabama 57 seconds
  • Both teams are tied at 24 rebounds but MSU leads 9-5 on offensive glass
  • Every Alabama player with a minimum of one minute has two rebounds
  • Neither team is shooting over 40 percent from the field

First Half:

  • Mississippi State calls a timeout with 6.8 seconds left in the first half, and Alabama walk-on Preston Murphy Jr. will play this final defensive possession.
  • Alabama is on a 17-3 run and has tied it at 32-32 with 2:35 to go. "Let's go Bama" chants start in the Hump.
  • TIMEOUT (3:50 1H): Mississippi State 32, Alabama 27: Mississippi State went nearly three minutes without a field goal and Alabama took advantage offensively. The Crimson went on 12-3 run between this media timeout and the last one. Labaron Philon leads with 8 points.
  • Houston Mallette converted his first field goal since the Kentucky game after shooting a combined 0-for-6 against Vanderbilt and Texas.
  • TIMEOUT (7:58 1H): Mississippi State 29, Alabama 15: Mississippi State is now dominating Alabama on the glass and it's showing on the scoreboard: Total Rebounds: MSU 20, Alabama 9; Offensive Rebounds: MSU 7, Alabama 1.
  • TIMEOUT (11:56 1H): Mississippi State 17, Alabama 10: Alabama is really struggling offensively, as it's 3 of 12 to start this one, including 1 of its last 8. Mississippi State is doing a great job of slowing the Crimson Tide's renowned fast pace. Nate Oats calls over the officials during the timeout to show them something on the iPads, and they then head to the monitors.
  • Aden Holloway ends a nearly 4-minute scoring drought for Alabama after making one of his two free throws.
  • TIMEOUT (15:39 1H): Mississippi State 10, Alabama 6: 2 of 5 start from the field for the Crimson Tide, as Aden Holloway has made both of his attempts (5 points). Mississippi State holds a narrow 5-3 lead on the glass, including 2-0 on the offensive boards.
  • Alabama forward London Jemison gets the scoreboard running after hitting one of his two free-throw attempts.
  • Alabama vs. Mississippi State is underway in Starkville!

Starting Lineups:

Alabama:
G Labaron Philon Jr.
G Aden Holloway
F London Jemison
F Amari Allen
F Aiden Sherrell

Mississippi State:
G Josh Hubbard
G Shawn Jones Jr.
G Jayden Epps
F Achor Achor
C Quincy Ballard

Pregame:

  • Alabama head coach Nate Oats said told Crimson Tide's Sports Network that there's a chance that walk-on Preston Murphy Jr. plays tonight for defensive possessions against Mississippi State, as the Crimson Tide has eight scholarship players available.
  • Alabama forward Taylor Bol Bowen, who is unavailable for tonight's road game against Mississippi State, has a brace on his wrist.

Alabama will have an at-most 8-man rotation of scholarship players against Mississippi State:
G Labaron Philon Jr.
G Aden Holloway
G Houston Mallette
G Jalil Bethea
F Amari Allen
F London Jemison
F Aiden Sherrell
C Noah Williamson

Alabama's Final Availability Report:

  • Collins Onyejiaka — Out
  • Davion Hannah — Out
  • Latrell Wrightsell Jr. — Out
  • Taylor Bol Bowen — Out
  • Keitenn Bristow - Out

Mississippi State's Final Availability Report:

  • Everyone is available

Officials: Pat Adams, Byron Jarrett, A.J. Desaj

How to Watch: Alabama at Mississippi State

Who: No. 18 Alabama (11-5, 1-2 SEC) at Mississippi State (10-6, 2-1 SEC)

What: Alabama's fourth game of SEC Play (second on the road)

When: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 8 p.m. CT

Where: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, Miss.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

SiriusXM: Channel 81 (Alabama), Channel 380 (Mississippi State)

Series: Alabama leads 137-77, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 6, 1913.

Last Meeting: Then-No. 6 Alabama obliterated then-No. 24 Mississippi State 111-73 at home on Feb. 25, 2025. This victory gave the Crimson Tide the season sweep as it defeated the Bulldogs on the road that January. UA created a 19-9 lead midway through the first half and never looked back. Alabama's backcourt duo of Mark Sears and Chris Youngblood combined for 28 of the Tide's 53 points at halftime. These two helped lead the Crimson Tide to a season-high 22 threes as they combined for 12 of them. Youngblood led the way with seven makes from deep in a season-high 27-point outing.

Last time out, Alabama: The then-No. 13 Crimson Tide fell to Texas 92-88 at home on Jan. 10. play. Alabama's highly touted backcourt duo of Labaron Philon Jr. (21 points) and Aden Holloway (18) combined for 39 points, but they each missed a pair of free throws. The Crimson Tide went a very efficient 11 of 12 from the free-throw line in the first half, but an abysmal 8 of 15 in the second. Texas was led offensively by Jordan Pope’s 28 points, including 20 in the second half alone. Longhorns guard Tramon Mark tallied 16 in the first period.

Last time out, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs were crushed by Kentucky 92-68 on the road on Jan. 10. Josh Hubbard, who leads the SEC in points per game (22.8), tallied 20 points with five assists. Forward Achor Achor logged 13 points and 11 rebounds, but Mississippi State's all-around effort wasn't enough. Kentucky's Otega Oweh and Malachi Moreno were the top-2 Wildcats in points, assists and steals, while Denzel Aberdeen and Kam Williams still combined for 30 points.

Alabama Stat Leaders

  • Points: Labaron Philon Jr. (21.3 on 53.2 FG%)
  • Rebounds: Amari Allen (7.4, including 1.9 offensive)
  • Assists: Labaron Philon Jr. (5.1 with 2.9 turnovers)

Mississippi State Stat Leaders

  • Points: Josh Hubbard (22.8 on 42.8 FG%)
  • Rebounds: Achor Achor (7.1, including 2.4 offensive)
  • Assists: Josh Hubbard (3.8 with 2.3 turnovers)

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

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.

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