Alabama Basketball Hosts Mississippi State Saturday

Alabama basketball will be looking to go 6-2 in SEC play Saturday when the Tide meets Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama basketball will be looking to build on its big win Wednesday night against the Georgia Bulldogs. The Tide meets Mississippi State and a win would take Alabama’s SEC record to 6-2.

The Tide has already beaten the Bulldogs in Starkville, earlier in the season, winning 68-58.

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Mississippi State has a perimeter shooting, guard dependent offensive scheme. Their top three scorers are guards. Two of them, Quinndarry Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters are both hitting 3’s at a 44% success rate.

Alabama typically does well defending the long-ball (except in Auburn), and they will have to do it again to beat the Bulldogs. One worry about the Tide’s three-point defensive challenges is foul trouble. Two or three times a game it seems, one of the Bama bigs will have to switch and rush out to challenge a three shooter. They have a tendency to lunge toward the shooter and if the shooter still has a dribble, he will easily go around them. When that happens, the Tide bigs cannot afford a silly reach-in foul as the shooter dribbles toward the basket.

Alabama will have a big advantage in rebounding, particularly if Avery goes with the twin big lineup he used at times against Georgia.

Mississippi State is playing better than they were a month ago. Alabama will need to be fundamentally sound. Don’t turn the ball over. Don’t make too many fouls. Don’t miss too many free throws. Don’t fall in love with 3’s early in the clock unless they are catch-and-shoot.

Use Avery’s preferred offensive style of playing inside-out. The Tide should prevail but Ben Howland’s team will be no pushover.

A win would take Alabama to 13-7 and 6-2 in SEC play.  From that record, some fans will rekindle their hopes in making the Big Dance. You can always hope – right?