An SEC road win against a tough team is never a reason to complain. Alabama Basketball prevailed Wednesday night in Starkville, by fighting hard and making key plays throughout the game.
In the 88-84 win, the Crimson Tide had four players in double figures. Chris Youngblood scored 23 points and made 7-of-10 three-point shots. He also iced the game with two free throws late. Mark Sears aced a bounce-back test with 17 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Grant Nelson had 15 points and seven rebounds. Aden Holloway had 12 points and two assists.
In just 18 minutes of play, Mo Dioubate scored four points, and grabbed nine rebounds; plus two assists, a block, and a steal. Dioubate edged out Sears for the Hard Hat Award. Talking about Dioubate after the game, Nate Oats said, "He’s just the winner. He finds his way on the floor, and he makes us play him."
Alabama crafted a 'refuse to lose' performance in three ways. The Crimson Tide was hot outside the arc, led by Chris Youngblood's torrid shooting, Alabama made 48% of its 31 three-point shots. The Crimson Tide outrebounded the Bulldogs 41-35, with an offensive rebound advantage of 17-13. The 17 offensive boards led to 14 second-chance points, compared to eight for Mississippi State.
Alabama Basketball still needs defensive improvement
Effort was not an issue for Alabama on defense, but the results showed the Crimson Tide still has defensive weaknesses. Mississippi State guard, Josh Hubbard scored 38 points. Little Alabama did to slow him worked. Hubbard went into the game as a career 38.4% shooter and shot 50% against Alabama. Nate Oats praised Hubbard after the game and added, "We didn’t do a very good job on him, but man, he made some tough shots... We gotta do a better job on defense, obviously, but we definitely made some big plays elsewhere to make up for the fact we didn’t do a very good job on Hubbard."
Credit State for playing tough and well. Not many teams would be able to win in Starkville with Hubbard pouring in points as he did Wednesday night. It was a good win for the Alabama Crimson Tide, but also another game that showed Alabama Basketball is not yet, where it needs to be to contend for championships.