TUSCALOOSA — Alabama has buried itself in a few games this season with poor starts. Coming out flat against No. 1 Auburn and then-No. 15 Missouri cost Alabama in both games.

But elite teams tend to reverse negative trends. And Alabama did exactly that in its 111-73 beatdown of No. 24 Mississippi State on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide went blow for blow with the Bulldogs in the first four minutes, before its defense turned up the pressure and clipped Mississippi State out of the game for good and paved the way for the Tide’s offense to run rampant.

The result was a demolition, which came at a crucial time for Alabama ahead of three straight top-five matchups.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s win over Mississippi State.

Alabama got off to a much stronger start courtesy of some elite play on the defensive end. Players were taking pride in their work defensively. During a possession just before the under-12 media timeout of the first half, Alabama coach Nate Oats got fired up on the sidelines after Labaron Philon fought through a few screens to stay with his man. The possession ended in a Bulldogs miss.

Mississippi State struggled to get going from the field and stayed that way as Alabama closed gaps, defended aggressively against the Bulldogs guards and switched effectively. The defense continued to communicate at a high level as it did against Kentucky on Saturday. The Tide had eight steals as a team with Aden Holloway leading the way with two to go along with 13 points.

The Bulldogs finished the first half with just 0.75 points per possession as Alabama put the game out of reach in the opening 20 minutes. Oats spoke pregame about the Tide adjusting to Mississippi State’s adjustments, and whatever Bulldogs coach Chris Jans attempted to do in the opening failed miserably as the Tide imposed its will on both ends.

Mississippi State did make a few adjustments in the second half. But the Tide’s emphatic first 20 minutes put the game out of reach well before the Bulldogs scoring could make up the difference. Still, Oats wasn’t happy with the effort and called a timeout to grill his side with around 9:30 remaining.

Mississippi State averaged 1.31 points per possession in the second half. Leading scorer guard Josh Hubbard finished with 21 points, including 15 in the second period. However, those points were essentially empty ones thanks to Alabama's start. The Tide Hubbard just six first-half points while drawing two early fouls on him. It was a much-improved defensive performance that Oats called for after Hubbard went for a career-high 38 the first time the two sides met.

Though Oats is still left seeking that full 40-minute performance, Alabama answered the bell defensively early to set up its lethal transition offense by forcing the Bulldogs’ misses and giveaways. Mississippi State shot just 20% from 3 and turned the ball over 14 times, leading to 20 Alabama points.

Oats often talks about Alabama’s offense helping and feeding its defense by not putting it in bad transition situations and racking up turnovers. The Tide has struggled in that department over its past three games, finishing each with at least 10 turnovers.

Whichever side of the ball he was feeding the other Tuesday, it didn’t matter for the outcome. Alabama churned at a blistering pace on the offensive end, scoring 53 points and averaging 1.39 points per possession in the first 20 minutes.

The Tide's ouput was even better in the second half at 1.53 points per possession. Alabama drilled a season-high 22 3s with lethal efficiency, making 48.9% of its triples in a dominating performance. It should it can match good offense while limiting turnovers, finishing with 11 for the game. The defense stepped up when Alabama did cough the ball up, it's transition defense responded, holding Mississippi State to just three points off turnovers.

Alabama’s ball movement was much improved after some struggles against Missouri and Kentucky. The Tide had 25 assists compared to just 11 turnovers after having a minus-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in its last game. The ball rarely got stuck and any open shot was only passed up for a better look.

Several players were the beneficiaries of Alabama’s smooth offense, but none more than Chris Youngblood. He was constantly wide open for catch-and-shoot 3s, curling off screens just in time to receive a clean pass. He set a new season high in scoring with 27 points on seven made 3s. The tally passed his previous mark of 22 which also came against Mississippi State on the road.

Mississippi State was always a step behind on the defensive end and it led to some comically open looks for Tide players from beyond the arc. Mark Sears didn’t reach the 30-point threshold but found himself wide open on a few shot attempts to finish with 21 points on 6 of 16 shooting, including five made 3s. He was the strongest playmaker for Alabama too, adding 10 assists to just three turnovers.

Alabama starting forward Grant Nelson was listed as probable on Tuesday night’s injury report. Though he was removed completely from the game day update, the North Dakota State transfer struggled to get going on offense yet again Tuesday night.

Nelson still finished plus-20 in 25 minutes in an Alabama blowout. He grabbed seven rebounds, just under his season average. But much of Alabama’s success in the paint came from his supporting cast in the frontcourt.

Alabama continued to lean into its defensive lineups in the lane, deploying units that featured freshman center Aiden Sherrell and sophomore forwards Mouhamed Dioubate and Jarin Stevenson, two of the more versatile defenders on the team. In the second half Oats briefly went back to a group he’s seemingly becoming more fond of deploying Stevenson, Sherrell and Clifford Omoruyi.

Each player had their moments Tuesday. After winning the Hard Hat against Kentucky, Omoruyi racked up eight rebounds and chipped in a steal. Diobuate had seven points and five rebounds in his first five minutes on the floor, helping the Tide balloon its lead early. He finished with seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Sherrell was back in double figures and looked strong in the time he got. He had seven points and three boards and held his own against Mississippi State's strong frontcourt. Oats' trust in Sherrell in a much-needed game for Alabama bodes well for his involvement the rest of the season and Sherrell's growth into the feature center for the Tide.

Alabama still needs much more from Nelson going forward. As the Tide looks to get him fully healthy, however, a concerted effort from the rest of the frontcourt will help the Tide massively as Nelson continues to work his way back into form.

Alabama hits the road for a massive clash against No. 5 Tennessee. The Volunteers (23-5, 10-5 SEC) defeated then-No. 7 Texas A&M over the weekend before recording a road win over LSU on Tuesday. Tipoff between Alabama and Tennessee is set for 3 p.m. CT inside the Food City Center. The game will be televised on ESPN.