Tuesday night's matchup was a must-win for Alabama basketball against Mississippi State if the Crimson Tide wanted to keep hopes alive of an SEC regular season title and a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
It was good to see they treated it as such. Alabama dominated from start to finish, putting together one of their best overall halves of the season in the first 20 minutes against the Bulldogs and rolling to a 53-27 halftime advantage.
Alabama's defense was relentless in the first half, holding State star guard Josh Hubbard to 7 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Hubbard dropped 38 on the Crimson Tide in the first meeting in Starkville.
Offensively, Alabama hit 11-of-20 from three-point range and dished out 15 assists on 18 made baskets. The game was essentially over at the half, inducing Jon Rothstein's Alabama victory tweet with 20 minutes still to play.
Nate Oats. My Cousin Vinny.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 26, 2025
Predictably, Alabama let its foot off the gas in the second half, particularly on defense, but the outcome was never in doubt. The Crimson Tide rolled to a 111-73 win over the Bulldogs thanks in large part to high-efficiency shot-making. Alabama connected on a season-high 22 three-pointers.
Alabama improved to 23-5 and 12-3 in the SEC with the win. With Florida's loss to Georgia, the Crimson Tide is back alone in second place in the conference standings.
3 Takeaways from Alabama's dominant win over Mississippi State
3. Alabama's effort on defense is what it will take for this team to accomplish its goals
After a rough first 10 minutes against Kentucky on Saturday, Alabama has defended at an elite level since then. You can forgive a few second-half defensive lapses in the midst of a blowout against the Bulldogs, but when it mattered the Crimson Tide was elite on that end of the floor.
Alabama switched and communicated as good as they have all season. They stayed in the hip pocket of every Bulldog. Freshman guard Labaron Philon set the tone with some exceptional on-ball defense of Hubbard in the first half.
Cliff Omoruyi took a lot of heat for his performance at Missouri, but he has been outstanding on both ends two games in a row. He had eight points and eight rebounds, including four on the offensive end. He was aggressive in defending on picks.
Grant Nelson struggled again on offense, but he too played a strong game defensively.
If Alabama can play with this level of effort on that end of the floor moving forward, they'll be tough to beat down the stretch.
2. What did Mississippi State do to Chris Youngblood in a previous life?
The Tuscaloosa native has torched Mississippi State in the two meetings this season. He is a combined 14-of-21 from three-point range in two games against the Bulldogs. He scored 23 points in Starkville last month and followed that up with 27 points tonight at home.
Alabama started the game a little slow offensively but Youngblood and Mark Sears got it going and the avalanche followed. The two combined to hit 8-of-11 threes in the first half as the Crimson Tide raced out to a 26-point halftime lead and never looked back.
This version of Youngblood raises the ceiling for Alabama. He's a proven shot maker at this level and the floor spacing that comes with his ability to shoot is a huge plus for the offense.
1. Nate Oats' lineup change has unlocked the best version of Mark Sears
Mark Sears' 30-point game streak ends at two. But he and Oats will take the double-double instead. Sears finished with 21 points and 10 assists to go along with three steals. He continues to fight hard on the defensive end. Everyone knows what he is capable of on the other end.
Sears went cold in the second half and only hit 1-of-6 from deep, but he connected on 4-of-6 in the first half and helped the Crimson Tide build an insurmountable lead.
Things have unlocked for Sears since Oats made the decision to add another ballhandler into the starting lineup. For most of the year, Jarin Stevenson has started at the three with Oats preferring to play a bigger lineup. That's left Sears with too much on his plate as a creator and limited floor spacing, too.
Now, Labaron Philon has entered the starting lineup next to Sears and Youngblood. This has allowed Sears to play more off the ball and get more catch-and-shoot chances. He's thriving.
And this version of Sears makes Alabama a legitimate National Title contender.