TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 6 Alabama swept No. 24 Mississippi State in dominating fashion Tuesday, taking down the Bulldogs 111-73.

The Alabama offense was scorching hot from the opening tip. The Crimson Tide took a 26-point advantage into halftime and finished the job in the second half. Alabama shot 53% from the floor in the first half and hit 11 3-pointers in the first half alone on 55% shooting from behind the arc.

“That was a little bit better start. It was the first time we led at the first timeout since Arkansas, so we’ve been stressing that sense of urgency to start the game,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said.

Alabama guard Chris Youngblood led the first half scoring with 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting as he shot 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. Youngblood finished the game two points shy of his career-high as he scored 27 points with all seven of his made field goals being 3-pointers. In his two games against Mississippi State this season, Youngblood shot a combined 14-for-20 from long range.

“It’s the same thing every game. We got to have fun and shoot open shots. We got Mark Sears getting in the paint whenever he wants, so he makes my job ten times easier,” Youngblood said.

Alabama point guard Mark Sears was not far behind him. Sears scored 12 points in the first half on 4-for-8 shooting and hitting on four of his six attempts from deep as he finished with 21 points. Alabama hit a season-high 22 3-pointers in the game and made 15 shots from inside the arc. Five Crimson Tide players drained at least two 3-pointers in the game. It was the third time in the Nate Oats era in which Alabama made at least 22 3-pointers with the record being 23 3-pointers against LSU in January 2021.

“It’s easy when I have shooters like CY [Youngblood,” Sears said. “If they want help, that’s easy. I know they’re going to knock it down every time.” 

Defensively, Alabama had its best performance in a half, allowing just 27 points in the half, its best since Dec. 22 against Kent State. The Crimson Tide also did its job forcing turnover. Alabama forced nine Mississippi State turnovers in the first half alone and 14 for the game. Alabama took advantage of the turnovers as it often turned them into points. Alabama out scored Mississippi State 20-3 in points off turnovers.

One player in particular that Alabama defended well was Mississippi State point guard Josh Hubbard. When the two teams met in Starkville earlier in the season, Hubbard scored a career-high 38 points. Tuesday night, Hubbard scored 21 points on 8-for-22 shooting and made only three of his 12 attempts from downtown.

“I thought Sears had some moments on him [Hubbard],” Oats said. “He scored 21, but a lot of that was late after we were up 30.”

Perhaps the one low spot of the night for Alabama was the rebounding effort. While the Crimson Tide out rebounded the Bulldogs 42-41, it was the offensive glass where Alabama was hurt. Mississippi State grabbed 18 offensive rebounds. Bulldogs forwards Keshawn Murphy led the team with six offensive boards as he put up 18 points and 11 rebounds.

“We’ve got to get a little bit better sense of urgency playing with the lead, we can’t relax when you go up 20 or 25,” Oats said.

Tuesday night marked Alabama’s eight consecutive victory over the Bulldogs. With the win, the Crimson Tide moved up to being alone in second place in the SEC. Earlier in the evening, No. 3 Florida was upset on the road by Georgia, giving Alabama a full game lead on Florida for the No. 2 seed in the conference. 

Up next, Alabama’s schedule gauntlet continues. The Crimson Tide will head to Knoxville, Tennessee and take on the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers. Alabama lost both of its matchups to Tennessee last season. The Crimson Tide and the Volunteers will tip off Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.