Alabama Basketball: Streak continues as Tide passes reality test

Alabama Basketball: Mississippi State made the Crimson Tide work hard Saturday night but the Crimson Tide remained unbeaten in the SEC.

The ninth in a row for Alabama Basketball was more of a slog than dance. For much of the game, Mississippi State controlled the pace and played tough team defense. In the end, it was the Nate Oats’ system prevailing more than anything that led to the win.

Both teams took 61 shots from the floor in the game. The Bulldogs, with an offense not designed around long-range shots, attempted only 14, threes. The Alabama Crimson Tide shot 34 times from outside the arc. The overall shooting percentage for the teams was close. The Crimson Tide shot 46 percent. The Bulldogs made 44 percent. Made threes were the difference. On 41 percent made threes, the Tide got 42 points. Hitting just 29 percent outside the arc, the Bulldogs produced 12 points.

Mississipi State had a slight advantage in rebounding and free throws. What drove Ben Howland’s team was 38 points in the paint compared to 26 for the Crimson Tide.

The Alabama basketball leading scorers were Herbert Jones with 17 and Josh Primo with 16 points. John Petty (12), Jaden Shackelford (12) and Alex Reese (11) were the other double-figures scorers for the Tide. Herbert Jones was the leading Tide rebounder with five boards, Keon Ellis, Alex Reese and Jaden Shackelford each had four rebounds for the Crimson Tide.

Speaking after the game, Nate Oats said,

"Great start to the year. DIdn’t quite play as well as we have been, you have to give MSU some credit. They’re really well-coached.It’s actually good to play some close games, too. We’ve been hitting shots at a pretty high clip and blowing some teams out, so it’s good to have to execute some late-game stuff."

Another superlative for the Alabama Crimson Tide was distribution and ball movement. In a slower pace game, created by the Bulldogs, making the extra pass on possessions was key to the victory. Nate Oats highlighted the assist stats.

"The 21 assists on 28 Field Goals, the ball is really moving."

With James Rojas not available for a medical reason, Keon Ambrose-Hylton was needed and his contribution provided a boost. Alex Reese had one of his best games, As Oats explained,

"Really happy for Reese. High in points, minutes on the year. Did a great job defensively when we needed him to. Hit the one 3PT which is big. Contribution tonight was more defense, rebounding, keeping us together."

Not every win can be an easy win. Coming off the blowout of LSU, the hard-fought, 81-73 win over Mississippi State was a test for the Crimson Tide. They passed, so the win streak goes to nine games. Perhaps more important, the Crimson Tide won on a night when John Petty Jr. was 4-for-12 and Jahvon Quinerly was 1-for-7.

Up next for the Tide are the Kentucky Wildcats, Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa. The Cats got a big win Saturday, taking down LSU in Lexington.