How to Watch: SEC Opener, No. 8 Alabama Basketball at No. 21 Mississippi State

The Crimson Tide makes the transition from playing a brutal non-conference schedule to opening league play.
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The basketball world has been wondering just how good Mississippi State really is this season, and figures to have a much better feel for it after the Bulldogs host the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday night. 

This is the first time since 2005 that Alabama and Mississippi State are meeting where both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25. However, the Bulldogs have only faced unranked opponents thus far. 

Their most impressive wins have been against Utah and Marquette in the Fort Myers (Fla.) Tipoff, and at Minnesota. First-year head coach Chris Jans guided his team to an 11-0 start, but closed non-conference play with its first loss.  

How to Watch Alabama at Mississippi State 

Who: No. 8 Alabama (10-2) at Mississippi State (11-1) 

When: 8 p.m. CT, Wedneday

Where: Humphrey Coliseum (The Hump), capacity 10,575

TV: SEC Network (Play-By-Play: Paul Sunderland, Analyst: Pat Bradley)

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, 130-78

Last Meeting: After Oats was ejected, the No. 25 Crimson Tide went on an 18-2 second-half run to pull out the 80-75 victory at Coleman Coliseum on Feb. 16. Four Alabama players reached double figures led by Jahvon Quinerly's 21 points and eight assists while center Charles Bediako scored a career-high 15 points, including six dunks, and matched a season-best of six blocked shots. Darius Miles and Jaden Shackelford also scored in double figures with 12 points apiece. The teams split their series last season  as MSU defeated Alabama 78-76 on Jan. 15.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide closed out non-conference play with a 20-point victory over Mo Williams’ Jackson State team, 84-64, Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide scored 51 second-half points and out-rebounded the Tigers 46-38. Alabama was led on offense by double-digit scoring by Noah Gurley (16), Mark Sears (15), Nick Pringle (14), Brandon Miller (10) and Charles Bediako (10). Jackson State trailed by one point at the break. The Tigers were led by Ken Evans Jr. who had 12 first-half points and finished with 19. After surrendering 10 first-half turnovers, Alabama made it a point of emphasis to attack the rim. The Crimson Tide outscored the Tigers 46-24 in points in the paint. Brandon Miller finished with his second double-double of the season, the freshman scored 10 points and grabbed a season’s best 14 rebounds 

Last time out, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs had its undefeated run during non-conference play end as they dropped a 58-52 back-and-forth affair to Drake during the inaugural Battle at the Vault hosted by the University of Nebraska on Dec. 20. Down 15-6 at the 10:38 mark of the opening half, the Bulldogs used 10 consecutive points and a 21-6 flurry during the opening half to build a 31-23 halftime advantage. State went up by as many as 10 points, 35-25, early in the second half. However, Drake outscored the Bulldogs by a 35-21 margin during the second 20 minutes. Drake drained 10 of its 21 field goals from three-point territory. As a team, the Bulldogs connected on 20-of-52 from the floor (38.5 percent), 7-of-19 from 3-point territory (36.8 percent) and 5-of-9 from the free throw line (55.6 percent).

Alabama leaders:

  • Scorer: Brandon Miller (19.3)
  • Rebounder Noah Clowney (8.8)
  • Assists Jahvon Quinerly (4.1)

Mississippi State leaders:

  • Scorer: Tolu Smith (15.6)
  • Rebounder: Tolu Smith (8.7)
  • Assists: Cameron Matthews (2.4)

Alabama Notes

  • Alabama (10-2, 0-0 SEC) has won 10 non-conference games for the first time since the 2014-15 season
  • UA enters SEC play ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Poll, the highest ranking entering conference play since the 2002-03 season (Ranked No. 4).
  • The Crimson Tide is 3-2 against AP Top-25 opponents this season, defeating then-No. 12 Michigan State (Nov. 24), then-No. 1 North Carolina (Nov. 27) and then-No. 1 Houston (Dec. 10)
  • Alabama’s three ranked wins before the New Year is a school record, bettering its previous high when it defeated two ranked teams in 2015 (knocked off then-No. 17 Notre Dame and then-No. 20 Wichita State)
  • Alabama is the first team since 1965-66 (Duke) with multiple wins over the AP No. 1 team before the New Year
  • Brandon Miller is averaging 19.3 points per game, the most by any freshman in the country and No. 34 overall
  • Alabama ranks No. 1 in the country in rebounds per game (47.5), defensive rebounds per game (32.7), No. 4 in offensive rebounds per game (14.8) and ranks No. 3 in rebound margin (+11.2)

Mississippi State Notes

  • Through 12 games, the Bulldogs (11-1, 0-0) are among the nation’s best surrendering 52.5 points per game (1st SEC,  3rd nationally) on a paltry 35.8 opponent percent field percentage (2nd SEC, 6th nationally).
  • State’s defense limited its first 11 opponents to 60 points or less. The Bulldogs were joined by 2011-12 Virginia as the only teams during the 2000s to limit their first 10 opponents to 60 points or less.
  • Historically at State, the 52.6 PPG allowed is the program’s lowest 12-game average in the modern era since 1955-56, which was Babe McCarthy’s first season with the Bulldogs.
  • Jans, a three-time WAC Coach of the Year, owns an impressive .778 winning percentage (154-44) in his seventh season as a NCAA Division I head coach, which ranks second among NCAA active coaches.
  • State’s returning group is highlighted by D.J. Jeffries, Cameron Matthews and Shakeel Moore. The quartet combined to average 49.3 percent of the team’s points, 48.4 percent of the team’s rebounds, 43.9 percent of the team’s assists, 52.9 percent of the team’s steals and 46.9 percent of the team’s blocks over 90 starts last season.

See Also: 

Nate Oats Wants Fewer Turnovers Against a Stout Mississippi State Defense

Alabama Basketball Moves Up One Spot in Latest AP Top 25, Coaches Polls

Kristy Curry: 10 Years in Tuscaloosa

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Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.