It has been five long years since the Mississippi State Bulldogs have had success over the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team.
The Dawgs took a trip down Highway 82 with hopes of a new outcome, but they landed back in Starkville with yet another loss against the No. 14 Tide, with a score of 100-75.
Head Coach Chris Jans knew his team did not start well; meanwhile, Alabama seemed not to have missed a shot in the first half.
“They got hot early, and it was a barrage of threes in the first half,” Jans said. “I think they had 16 threes and four twos, and they’re a confident team right now.”
In just the first half, the Tide put up 63 points while holding MSU to 33. Achor Achor, a senior forward, was the first Bulldog to put points on the board and was also the team’s lead scorer with 18 points. Although it seemed that Achor had a good personal game, the rest of the Dawgs could not say the same.
Josh Hubbard was limited to 11 points during this game. Playing 17 minutes in the first half, Hubbard only had three points, followed by the other eight points in the second half. Coming off of a career-high scoring 46 points against Auburn, this was not typical for the guard.
“Typical Josh, he doesn’t let it bother him,” Jans said. “He’s unbelievable with his teammates and huddles at halftime and at the end of the game. I mean, he’s so about the right stuff and he doesn’t make it about him.”
The Bulldogs did not have it easy in Tuscaloosa. 13,474 Alabama fans showed up and chanted “air ball, air ball, air ball, you suck,” which can be hard to hear when the Dawgs were trailing by 30.
Jamarion Davis-Fleming, a freshman, had one sole point against Alabama, which came from a free throw.
“I thought we played good, could’ve been better,” Fleming said. “Could have made more free throws, but like you said, just being more aggressive with the offensive rebound.”
The Dawgs were stronger on both the offensive and defensive fronts in the second half, but it was not enough to pull off the win. They scored 42 points in the second and limited Alabama to 37. Although Mississippi State scored more than the Tide did in the second half, Alabama was the dominant team for the entirety of the game.
Alabama was in the lead for 39 minutes and 45 seconds of the game, while the other 15 seconds were tied with the Bulldogs. MSU never saw the lead over the Tide, resulting in a 25-point loss.
Alabama had more than just a field day with the Bulldogs; the 63 points that they scored in the first half were the most in a first half by an SEC team in conference play in over a decade. The Tide also scored 16 three-pointers, which is the most in a half under Alabama head coach Nate Oats.
“I thought the first half was the best basketball we’ve played all year,” Oats said.
The Bulldogs will host Missouri this upcoming Saturday with hopes of a better outcome and not letting this loss affect the remainder of their season.
“We still good,” Fleming said. “We’re gonna pick it up and figure it out, go back to practice, watch film, and put this behind us and get ready for Mizzou on Saturday.”
Saturday’s game will be at 12 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum and can be streamed on SEC Network and ESPN+.
