When you play Mississippi State, your defensive scouting report starts and stops with star guard Josh Hubbard, one of the leading scorers in the SEC. Despite the Bulldogs' under .500 record, Hubbard is capable of getting hot and leading them to wins against anyone.
It was only a week ago that Hubbard dropped 35 first-half points against Auburn en route to a 46-point night in State's win over the Tigers.
Alabama is plenty familiar with Hubbard's ability to fill it up. A year ago in Tuscaloosa, Hubbard dropped 38 points and nearly led the Bulldogs to the upset.
On Wednesday night, Alabama completely shut down Hubbard, holding him to just 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field as the Crimson Tide built a 30-point halftime lead over the Bulldogs and cruised to a 100-75 win.
Alabama smothered Hubbard from the opening tip with one of its most impressive defensive efforts of the season. The overall stats won't bear out how impressive it was because State, which came in ranked 262nd in the country in 3-point shooting percentage, knocked down 15 from beyond the arc.
But Alabama's effort on the defensive end against Hubbard never allowed Mississippi State to be in the game.
In his postgame press conference, Oats specifically called out three Alabama players, showering them with praise for their individual efforts against the Bulldogs' star.
“Our defense on Hubbard was great in the first half," Oats said. "Other than one play when we just kind of fell asleep on him, gave him the three. He scored three points, and then he ended up getting 11, which, for him, who just had 46 on Auburn, out-scored their entire team in the first half. I thought our guys were really locked in and did a pretty good job. That’s Holloway, Wrightsell, Bethea, and everybody else that was helping.Â
Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell, and Jalil Bethea led the way defensively against Josh Hubbard
Latrell Wrightsell is one of Alabama's top defenders, so his performance on Hubbard wasn't surprising. But Aden Holloway and Jalil Bethea delivering that kind of defensive effort is an excellent sign.
It's the second straight game that Oats has specifically shouted out Holloway for his defense. The junior guard is turning up his intensity on that end of the floor, and it is making a noticeable difference.
Bethea's performance is vindication for Oats, who surprisingly mentioned Bethea as someone he thought could be a good matchup for Hubbard on Monday and Tuesday. It was an early sign that Labaron Philon was unlikely to play, and Oats pumped Bethea full of confidence and made sure he was locked into the defensive scouting report.
"His effort on defense, go look at what he did on Hubbard, who’s one of the most dynamic scorers in the country," Oats said of Bethea. "He’s got length, athleticism, toughness, and a will to fight, a will to compete. I like where he’s at right now.