AI-assisted summary Alabama basketball defeated Mississippi State 88-84 on Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide had four players score in double digits, led by Chris Youngblood with 23 points. Alabama has the opportunity to take advantage of the Bulldogs, down top scorer Hubbard who left the court hopping on his right leg without putting any weight […]
- Alabama basketball defeated Mississippi State 88-84 on Wednesday night.
- The Crimson Tide had four players score in double digits, led by Chris Youngblood with 23 points.
Alabama has the opportunity to take advantage of the Bulldogs, down top scorer Hubbard who left the court hopping on his right leg without putting any weight on his left foot. There was no contact on the play that caused the sophomore’s exit.Derrion Reid (lower body) was questionable in Tuesday’s SEC availability report, but Oats said the five-star freshman looked the best he has in practice through the stretch that’s seen him miss four straight games.Houston Mallette (knees) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (Achilles tendon) remain out for the Crimson Tide.Back from the locker room, Hubbard came in clutch for Miss. State with a layup on Alabama’s fifth turnover of the game, which was committed by Sears. The basket tied the scoreboard up at 37 with about 2 minutes to halftime.
Location: Humphrey Coliseum, Starkville, MSMississippi State starter Kanye Clary was sidelined after suffering a lower leg injury on Dec . 4 and was ruled out for the remainder of the season on Tuesday before the game.Starting for Miss. State are Claudell Harris Jr., Josh Hubbard, Cam Matthews, RJ Melendez and Michael Nwoko.LOOKING AT THE LINEUP:Will Alabama basketball’s Mark Sears start after benching? Nate Oats doesn’t ‘really know’
A well-timed personal foul on Riley Kugel saw the Crimson Tide awarded a one-and-one on the bonus, but Mouhamed Dioubate missed the free throw. As luck would have it, Alabama got a one-and-one again after a personal foul on Josh Hubbard. Youngblood went 2-for-2, giving UA an 87-84 lead.Sears is rebounding from a scoreless performance against LSU with a well-balanced game at Miss. State, complementing his stat line with a rebound and four assists.Expert NFL playoff picks: Unique data and betting insights only at USA TODAY
Score updates for Alabama basketball vs Mississippi State
Free throw line proves make or break for Alabama basketball at Miss. State
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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Nate Oats asks a lot from players in practices for Alabama basketball.Oats expected a big night in Starkville for big man Clifford Omoruyi and All-American guard Mark Sears after standout performances in practices before Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4 SEC). Still, the starting lineup for Alabama (18-3, 7-1) wasn’t sealed going into the game. Especially after Sears’ viral second-half benching against LSU this past Saturday.
Mouhamed Dioubate in to save the day for Crimson Tide
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 29Second-chance points keep the Crimson Tide with the chance to win, up 77-76, as it outscores the Bulldogs,14-8.
Alabama and Miss. State all tied up again with less than 10
Back-to-back treys for the sophomore reclaimed the lead for Miss. State, up 8-3 after Hubbard’s contributions with a little over 18 minutes left in the first half.
Auburn transfer Aden Holloway silences the Hump
An open three for Labaron Philon after a tip-in layup by big Aiden Sherrell see Alabama just one point behind the Bulldogs with 15 minutes to halftime. Sherrell scored again after rebounding a layup attempt by the sophomore Holloway before the latter gave the lead back to the Crimson Tide, ahead 17-15, with his first three of the evening.
Chris Youngblood gets his second consecutive start for the Crimson Tide alongside regulars Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson and Cliff Omoruyi.
Nate Oats gives Sears starting nod for second-half
After the fact, Oats said the Rutgers transfer Omoruyi was at risk of being benched after halftime as well.
Alabama on top in Starkville heading into locker room
Players were expected to get the message that no one member of the Crimson Tide, including the head coach, is above the other, according to Oats.In the opening statement of his Tuesday press conference, Oats said he thought the team’s last two practices were the “best two practices back-to-back we’ve had before a game all year.”
Bulldogs tie it up against Alabama with 2 minutes to halftime
With 5:36 to halftime, the All-American drained a 28-footer to extend Alabama’s lead to 35-27. There was a collective sigh of relief from Sears on the floor to a smiling Oats and company on the bench.
Mississippi State sees first-half exit for standout guard
Trailing by one after Keshawn Murphy hit 18 points total against the Crimson Tide, Mississippi State coach Chris Jans took a timeout with 48.6 seconds remaining. With the ball in his hands, Sears stared down Shawn Jones Jr. before slinging it to Grant Nelson, who went for the dunk only to be denied on a shooting foul for Cam Matthews.Time: 8 p.m. CT
No repeat of scoreless night against LSU for Mark Sears
Another Sears turnover saw the Bulldogs just one point away from evening out the scoreboard at 61, but Miss. State fans buzzing in the stands fell silent shortly following the Keshawn Murphy dunk as Auburn transfer Aden Holloway watched his fourth basket of the game go in to keep Alabama on top, 63-60, with 11:53 to go.Chris Jans opted to sub in Claudell Harris Jr. with 5:23 left in the half. Hubbard re-entered the game with 2:50 to halftime.
Chris Youngblood 3-pointer puts Alabama basketball back on top
Alabama basketball made waves in the college hoops scene last weekend when Mark Sears was benched for the second-half against LSU. Here’s the latest on the Crimson Tide in the headlines:
Alabama freshmen helping Crimson Tide stay with Miss. State early
Here are the game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Wednesday:
Miss. State’s Josh Hubbard heating up early
Heading into Wednesday’s game at Mississippi State, his requests were a little more intense. So was the contest at Humphrey Coliseum. No. 5 Alabama came out of the Hump with an 88-84 victory.
Turnovers take seconds to turn up for Alabama basketball
As the ball left Jarin Stevenson’s hands and rolled into the hands of RJ Melendez, Alabama mounted its first turnover of the evening less than 30 seconds in, seeing Miss. State score its first points. The second-chance dunk was soon answered by a trademark Youngblood 3-pointer for a Crimson Tide lead.
Starters announced for Alabama basketball vs Miss. State
“We’ve been on these guys,” Oats said. “I think they’re starting to get it.”Sears inched Alabama back in front with a 3-pointer after Hubbard put Miss. State on top from the free throw line. Hubbard responded with a trey of his own to take the lead back, but Chris Youngblood tied it up at 70 for the Crimson Tide with his fifth trey of the evening, shooting over 70% beyond the arc.
What time does Alabama basketball vs Mississippi State start today?
PICKS AND PREDICTIONS:Why Alabama basketball could use big night from Aden Holloway at Miss. StateHolloway has 12 points, highlighted by three treys, splitting a team-high with Sears and Youngblood.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
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Delivering from downtown, Youngblood looked like the three-point shooter he was at USF and Kennesaw State that made him a coveted transfer portal target. Youngblood’s deep three put Alabama on top, 23-21, for its first lead since the top of the half.
Alabama vs Mississippi State betting odds
Youngblood led UA with 12 points.
- Spread: Mississippi State (-1.5)
- Moneyline: Mississippi State (-120) | Alabama (+100)
- Over/under: 164.5 points
Alabama vs Mississippi State injury updates
The SEC Network will televise Alabama basketball vs Mississippi State, which can be streamed through ESPN+ and Fubo.
Alabama went off-roading with less than five minutes to go. Dioubate picked up his sixth offensive rebound of the game, leading 16 for Alabama against 12 for Miss. State, and scored on the play The sophomore has eight total o-boards.After being denied the opportunity to stop another scoreless night against LSU, Sears got the starting nod for the second half against Miss. State. After the Bulldogs chased down the Crimson Tide from the free throw line, Sears showed up with a signature three to nudge Alabama’s lead back to seven points with 16 minutes on the clock.
Next five games for Alabama basketball
- Feb. 1: Georgia, 3 p.m. CT
- Feb. 8: at Arkansas, 7 p.m. CT
- Feb. 11: at Texas, 8 p.m. CT
- Feb. 15: Auburn, 3 p.m. CT
- Feb. 19: at Missouri, 8 p.m. CT
Next five games for Mississippi State basketball
- Feb. 1: Missouri, 12 p.m. CT
- Feb. 8: at Georgia, 5 p.m. CT
- Feb. 11: Florida, 6 p.m. CT
- Feb. 15: at Ole Miss, 5 p.m. CT
- Feb. 18: Texas A&M, 6 p.m. CT
Alabama basketball in the headlines
A 6-0 run for the Crimson Tide offense gave Alabama a decent-enough 44-39 advantage going into the locker room. Had UA not left five points at free throw line, Miss. State’s deficit could’ve been that much greater.
Also Nelson got a trip to the free throw line, both of his attempts bounced off the rim.Alabama ended up with four double-digit scorers in Chris Youngblood, who led the team with 23 points, followed by 17 for Sears, 15 for Grant Nelson and 12 for Aden Holloway.
