Alabama Basketball: Friday win moves Crimson Tide to SEC Semi-Final

Alabama Basketball sprinted out to an 11-point lead, eight minutes into the Mississippi State game and never looked back, cruising to an 85-48 victory.

Some television pundits expected Mississippi State to challenge Alabama Basketball on Friday. A few even predicted a Bulldogs’ upset. They could not have been more wrong. The Alabama Crimson Tide ran the bigger Bulldogs all over the court, taking away Mississippi State’s size advantage.

The Crimson Tide played well on offense. It played even better on defense. The Tide blocked seven shots and had 11 steals. Off of 18 Mississippi State turnovers, the Crimson Tide scored 30 points. The differential in bench points was astounding. Alabama Basketball bench players scored 47 points, compared to just five for the Bulldogs’ backups.

The 37-point win was the largest margin ever for the Crimson Tide in an SEC Tournament game. It was also the fourth-largest margin of victory, ever in any SEC Tournament game.

The joy of a lopsided victory was diminished with a possibly serious knee injury to Josh Primo. After the game, Nate Oats said,

"It’s something with the knee, but that’s all we know. I think they’re taking him to Vanderbilt. … Hopefully, it’s not a whole lot and we can get him back soon."

As has been the case often this season, Nate Oats highlighted his team’s defensive play.

"We didn’t shoot it unbelievably well, but we shot it well enough. I thought our energy was good. Defensively I thought we were really locked in for a good part of that game."

One of the plusses for the Crimson Tide was being able to rest its starters. John Petty Jr. played 19 minutes; Herbert Jones played just 17 minutes. Only two Alabama basketball players worked for half the game. Keon Ellis was in for 20 minutes and Jahvon Quinerly was in for 22 minutes.

Quinerly led the Tide in scoring with 14 points. Jaden Shackelford scored 13 points in 18 minutes of play. Off the Tide bench, Juwan Gary scored 11 points. In Herbert Jones’ limited action, he scored eight points, had seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals, two blocks and zero turnovers. As a team, the Tide turned the ball over only nine times.

What stood out the most on Friday was the Tide’s intensity and smart play. The game was another example the Crimson Tide has the potential of a deep NCAA Tournament run.

In a clash of two very different styles of play, the Tide destroyed the Bulldogs. Ben Howland has had a good career but the game may have passed him by.