TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 17/18 Alabama men’s basketball team led from start-to-finish Wednesday night at Coleman Coliseum, defeating Mississippi State, 100-75, to capture its seventh straight win during Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson Tide matched its season-high for threes made in a game with 22 buckets from beyond the arc. 

Alabama (21-7, 11-4 SEC) was led in scoring by Amari Allen’s 23 points in 26 minutes, including a career-high six made three-point baskets. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (18), Aden Holloway (16), Aiden Sherrell (11) and Taylor Bol Bowen (10) also contributed with double-figure scoring efforts. 

Mississippi State (13-15, 5-10 SEC) was led by forward Achor Achor’s season-high 18 points and seven rebounds, along with Josh Hubbard’s 11 points on 4-13 shooting from the field.  

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments 

“I thought the first half was the best half of basketball we’ve played all year and the ball moved well with (Labaron) Philon out. Amari (Allen) was hitting threes, and as a team, we shot it well. In the second half, I was a little disappointed with the leadership. I thought we played the scoreboard too much. I was super encouraged with our mentality going into the game and our defense on Josh Hubbard who ended up with 11. 

I thought Holloway, outside of the turnovers, had a great game. Sixteen (points), 10 (assists) and seven (rebounds) being three rebounds away from a triple-double. For Philon to be out, Holloway stepped up big. Latrell (Wrightsell Jr.) scored really well again with 18 and Amari had his best shooting night of the season. We had five guys in double figures and London Jemison had eight so there was some pretty good balance overall tonight. It was nice to get Jalil Bethea 20 minutes and get Taylor Bol Bowen back in the mix. Taylor ended up with 10 points and six rebounds when he hasn’t been healthy so I was really happy with him tonight too.”

Team Stats 

• Alabama’s 100 points is the eighth time the Tide has reached that mark this season and the second most it has scored against the Bulldogs 
• UA’s victory tonight extended its win streak to seven games and 10 against Mississippi State
• The Tide’s 16 threes in the first half are the most made in a half under Nate Oats, and 22 threes for the game are tied for the most in a game this season (Yale on Dec. 29)
• Alabama’s 23 assists are the most dimes UA has dished in conference play this season
• UA outrebounded the Bulldogs 48-36, including 15-12 on the offensive glass. Its 48 rebounds are the most in a game since grabbing 49 boards against Vanderbilt on Jan. 7
• Aden Holloway recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and matching his career-high in assists (10) while setting a career-high in boards (7)

First Half  

• The Tide started the game hot, making each of its first seven threes to take a 22-6 lead over the Bulldogs  
• UA extended its lead to 19 at the under-eight-minute timeout, 39-20, with the help of a 10-of-17 shooting performance from deep
• Alabama went into the half making a season-high for a half, 16 three-point buckets and up 30 points, 63-33
• Amari Allen leads the Tide with 18 points on 5-5 shooting from beyond the arc
• The Tide’s 63 points are its most points scored in the first half all season and its second-most points scored in a half this season (64 vs UNLV on Nov. 25)
• Alabama’s 30-point halftime lead is the largest halftime deficit of Chris Jans’ era at Mississippi State (four years)

Second Half  

• Alabama dropped in four more treys to start the second half and bring the team total to 20 on the night, extending its lead to 75-40 with 15:26 left in the game 
• A Mississippi State 13-3 run over four minutes cut the UA lead under to 82-53 with 9:50 left until the final buzzer
• An extended 25-5 run over nine minutes of gameplay by the Bulldogs brought the Tide’s lead to just 19, 84-65 with 5:08 remaining
• The Tide would respond with a 14-3 run that lasted 2:06 (4:45-2:39) got the lead back to 30, 98-68, with 2:39 left on the game clock

Up Next

• The Tide kicks off its final road trip of the season, starting in to Knoxville on Saturday night to face the Tennessee Volunteers 
• Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. CT at the Food City Center and can be seen on ESPN