Alabama men’s basketball taught the Mississippi State Bulldogs to behave, and then some.
The Crimson Tide paired stifling defense with high-scoring offense to overwhelm Mississippi State early and often. Alabama turned that into a 111-73 victory at Coleman Coliseum, sweeping the regular-season series with the Bulldogs. Alabama also beat the Bulldogs 88-84 on Jan. 29.
On Tuesday, Chris Youngblood led Alabama with 27 points while Mark Sears tallied a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists.
Alabama made 22 3-pointers on 45 attempts.
Here are three takeaways from the game between No. 6 Alabama (23-5, 12-3 SEC) and No. 24 Mississippi State (19-9, 7-8 SEC).
Who needs layups?
Alabama not only paid attention to the scouting report but took advantage.
Mississippi State entered the week 88th in 2-point defense, per KenPom. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs ranked 299th in 3-point defense. It doesn’t take an elite basketball mind to know what type of shot would be best to target.
So Alabama attacked from beyond the arc. And attacked. And attacked and attacked. It’s one thing to chuck up a bunch of triples, and it’s another thing to actually make many of them. The Crimson Tide accomplished both early and often.
Alabama hit 11 of 20 (55%) from beyond the arc in the first half. Meanwhile, it went 1-for-7 on layups; Aiden Sherrell made the first with only a few minutes left before the break. The Crimson Tide didn’t really need layups, though. Alabama took a 53-27 lead going into the locker room, in large part because of those 3-pointers.
Youngblood and Sears hit four apiece before halftime to fuel the offensive onslaught that proved too much for Mississippi State to overcome.
Chris Youngblood throttles Mississippi State, pt. 2
There’s something about the Bulldogs that seems to fuel the Alabama guard.
Back in January in Starkville, Youngblood had his best performance to date in a Crimson Tide uniform. That day, he scored 23 points while making seven 3-pointers.
Then Youngblood followed it up with another stellar performance from beyond the arc. He scored the first points of the game for Alabama from deep and turned it into a four-point play, making the free-throw after being fouled. Youngblood cooked from there.
Youngblood finished the first half going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Then he made three more 3-pointers in the second half. That marked back-to-back games against Mississippi State where Youngblood had seven 3-pointers. He finished Tuesday 7-for-11 from deep.
First-half defense needed in March/April
If Alabama can replicate that defensive performance, it’s going to win a lot of postseason games.
The Crimson Tide stifled the Bulldogs early and often. Alabama matched intensity with persistence and made scoring difficult. In the first half, the Crimson Tide limited the Bulldogs to .750 points per possession. That’s an elite rate for a defense.
Mississippi State’s offense had more success in the second half, but the game was already out of hand for the Bulldogs.
That game, and the first half in particular, earns a spot among one of the best defensive performances this season for Alabama.
