Alabama
23-5,12-3SEC
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#24 Mississippi State
19-9,7-8SEC
Three-Point Shooting Propels No. 6/6 Alabama Past No. 24/24 Mississippi State, 111-73
2/25/2025 11:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide made a season-high 22 three-pointers in the dominant victory
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 6/6 Alabama men's basketball team used a prolific three-point shooting night to race past No. 24/24 Mississippi State, 111-73, Tuesday night inside Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide made a season-high 22 three-pointers in the victory, posting Alabama's largest margin of victory of the season.
Alabama's (23-5, 12-3 SEC) 22 three-pointers is the second-highest single-game total in program history and the most since the Tide connected on 23 three-pointers on Jan. 19, 2021, against LSU. Chris Youngblood led the Crimson Tide's shooting efforts by hitting 7-of-11 shots from deep and scoring a season-high 27 points. Mark Sears posted his second double-double of the season with 21 points and a team-high 10 assists.
Mississippi State (19-9, 7-8) was led by Josh Hubbard's 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting with four assists.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
"Tonight was a better start than what we'd had. It was the first time we've led at the first media timeout since Arkansas. We have been stressing a better sense of urgency to start the games. I thought late we gave up too many offensive boards. We still outscored them on second chance points 21-15. I thought our pace on offense, the way we moved the ball and took care of it was good. It obviously helps to make shots; we shot almost 50 percent from three and that helps everything. We've tried to go a little lighter in practice to get the guy's legs back. We tried to go light yesterday and I think it's paying off. Our guy's legs are more fresh and look great. Mississippi State is a good team and it wasn't their night tonight, but they're still a tough team. We barely outrebounded them on a night when we forced a lot of missed shots from them."
Team Stats
- Alabama's 38-point victory is the second-largest margin of victory over Mississippi State and most since Jan. 18, 2005 (Alabama defeated Mississippi State 98-49)
- Tuesday marked Alabama's eighth consecutive victory over Mississippi State
- The Crimson Tide has won 11 of 13 matchups with the Bulldogs since head coach Nate Oats arrived prior to the 2019-20 season
- UA's 111 points and 38-point margin of victory are both the highest marks the Crimson Tide has recorded this season
- The Tide totaled 22 made three's, marking the 24th time that UA has made 15-or-more three-pointers in a single game since the beginning of the 2020-21 season
- Alabama's 22 threes were the most for the Tide in a win over an AP-ranked team in program history
- Alabama scored over 50 points in the first half for the fifth game and the first time since the Crimson Tide scored 52 in the first half at Texas A&M
- The 53 first half points are the most scored at home in a first half during conference play this season
- UA surpassed 100 points for the seventh time this season and the 97th time in program history
- Oats is responsible for 29 of such games
- Alabama held the Bulldogs to 27 points in the first half, its second fewest allowed all season
- With 27 points, shooting 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, Chris Youngblood set a new season-high
- With Tuesday's performance, Youngblood totaled 50 points on 14-of-21 shooting from deep in two contests against Mississippi State this season
- Mark Sears and Youngblood combined for 12 three-pointers, marking the first time in conference play Alabama has had two players make five-plus threes in the same game
- Sears recorded his second double-double of the season, scoring 21 points while dishing out 10 assists
First Half
- Alabama traded three-point baskets with Mississippi State to open the game, as Chris Youngblood converted a four-point-play for the Crimson Tide's first basket
- After the Bulldogs scored on the ensuing possession to take a 5-4 lead, the Crimson Tide went on a 15-4 run that took over seven minutes off the clock
- During that run, the Crimson Tide shot 5-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-6 shooting from deep
- Both sides traded baskets for three minutes before the Crimson Tide went on a 21-4 run over four minutes to take a 45-19 lead with 3:28 remaining in the half
- The Crimson Tide closed the half shooting 3-of-5 from the field, taking a 53-27 lead into the locker room
- Chris Youngblood led all scorers with 16 first-half points thanks to his efficient, 4-of-5 shooting performance from three-point range
- The Crimson Tide made 11 three-pointers on 20 attempts in the game's opening half while holding Mississippi State to .730 points per possession
Second Half
- Alabama outscored the Bulldogs 10-8 to open the frame as Mark Sears and Chris Youngblood sank back-to-back threes leading to the first media timeout of the second half
- The Bulldogs traded three-point baskets with the Crimson Tide coming out of the media break, but UA responded with a 5-0 run to push its lead to 31 points at the under 12-minute timeout
- After trading baskets again, Alabama added another 7-0 run over Mississippi State to push its lead to 35 points
- MSU responded with a 6-4 run of its own, recording all six points from the free throw line
- Alabama finished the contest, shooting 5-of-5 from the field, including three made three-pointers
Up Next
- Alabama will close out this week's play on the road against No. 5/5 Tennessee on Saturday, March 1
- Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN
