TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — If No. 2 Alabama wants to take home its second SEC Tournament title in three years, it must beat Mississippi State for a third time this season. The top-seeded Crimson Tide will open conference tournament play against the No. 9 seed Bulldogs on Friday at noon CT inside Nashville’s Bridgestone arena. Mississippi State advanced to the matchup by recording a 69-68 overtime win over No. 8 seed Florida on Thursday.
Alabama (26-5) won both of its previous meetings against Mississippi State (21-11) this season, opening conference play with a 78-67 win in Starkville on Dec. 28 before beating the Bulldogs 66-63 in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 25. A win Friday would mark the fifth time Alabama defeated Mississippi State three consecutive times in a season since the teams began playing in 1914.
"They played us really tough the last time,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said of Mississippi State on Thursday. “They're one of the hardest-playing teams in America, so we're gonna have to come ready to go, obviously. Tolu Smith is one of the best players in the league."
“They say it’s hard to beat a team three times. There’s some truth because they’ve made adjustments, and they’ll make another adjustment.”
Here's everything you need to know about the game.
How to watch
Who: No. 2 Alabama (26-5) vs. Mississippi State (21-11)
When: Noon CT, Friday, March 10
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Watch: ESPN (play-by-play: Karl Ravech; analyst: Jimmy Dykes; sideline: Marty Smith)
Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network (play-by-play: Chris Stewart; analyst: Bryan Passink; engineer Tom Stipe)
Alabama's projected starters
Jaden Bradley: 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, freshman
Stats: 7.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 40.9% FG, 31.8% 3-pt
Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, junior
Stats: 13.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg, 42.7% FG, 37.7% 3-pt
Brandon Miller: 6-foot-9, 200 pounds, freshman
Stats: 19.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, 45.3% FG, 40.4% 3-pt
Noah Clowney: 6-foot-10, 210 pounds, freshman
Stats: 10.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 0.9 apg, 48.8% FG, 26.5% 3-pt
Charles Bediako: 7-foot, 225 pounds, sophomore
Stats: 5.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 0.6 apg, 63.2% FG
Mississippi State projected starting lineup
Dashawn Davis: 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, senior
Stats: 8.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 37.6% FG, 35.0% 3-pt
Shakeel Moore: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, junior
Stats: 9.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, 42.4% FG, 26.9% 3-pt
D.J. Jeffries: 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, senior
Stats: 9.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 35.2% FG, 26.9% 3-pt
Cameron Matthews: 6-foot-7, 225 pounds, junior
Stats: 7.4 ppg, 5.6, rpg, 2.4 apg, 48.2% FG, 15.2% 3-pt
Tolu Smith: 6-foot-11, 245 pounds, senior
Stats: 15.4 ppg, 8.3, rpg, 1.8 apg, 58.3% FG
Third time’s a charm?
Alabama beat seven SEC opponents by 20 or more points this season. Mississippi State wasn’t one of them. The Crimson Tide overcame a slow start in its trip to Starkville in December before erasing a double-digit deficit to hang on for a narrow home win against the Bulldogs in January. Riding the momentum of a dramatic overtime win over Florida, Mississippi State hopes it will have better luck against Alabama in a neutral setting Friday.
“I just look at it as a wonderful opportunity,” Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans told reporters following Thursday’s win over Florida. “They’ve got great players, great coaches. We haven't been able to beat them. We had two cracks at it. What an opportunity and obviously a big challenge for us. I know we're going to have to play really, really well.”
Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith was a bit more boisterous in his confidence when asked Thursday about having another chance at knocking off the Tide
“I just think the third time’s the charm,” he said. “I think we have a really good chance to get a win.”
Smith has recorded career-high point totals in back-to-back games, putting up 28 points and 12 rebounds against Florida after dropping 27 points and 11 boards during a loss to Vanderbilt last week. The 6-foot-11, 245-pound senior tallied 15 points and seven rebounds against Alabama in Starkville but was limited to just 5 points and six boards during the game in Tuscaloosa.
Mississippi State’s biggest key will be stopping SEC Player of the Year, Brandon Miller, who leads the SEC in scoring (19.6 points per game) and made 3s (92) while also averaging averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. Miller had 13 points and six rebounds against the Bulldogs in Starkville before recording 19 points and 11 points during the game in Coleman Coliseum.
“It’s hard [to defend Miller], but I think we got some guys who are ready to sit down and lock in,” Smith said. “... I don’t think we’re scared of nobody. I think we’re ready to attack them.”
Alabama’s Mr. March
Popeye has his spinach, Mario has his magical mushrooms and Jahvon Quinerly has the month of March. The final month of the season seems to provide an annual power-up for the Alabama guard, and this year hasn’t been any different as he’s combined for 36 points on 12 of 23 shooting over the Tide’s two games this month.
Excluding last season’s loss NCAA Tournament loss to Notre Dame when he tore his ACL roughly three minutes after tipoff, Quinerly has scored in double digits in all 13 of his other March games with the Crimson Tide. That includes a heroic run in 2021 when he eanred SEC Tournament MVP honors, averaging 15.6 points 3.0 assists and 2.6 rebounds while leading Alabama to its first conference tournament title in 30 years.
Earlier this week, Jahvon Quinerly was named SEC Co-Sixth Man of the Year, sharing the honor with Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves. Since returning from his injury last November, he has appeared in 29 games off the bench for the Crimson Tide this season, averaging 7.8 points and a team-high 3.7 assists per game while shooting 39.2% from the floor and 34.3% from beyond the arc.
