12:03 pm
March 12

SEC Tournament: Mississippi State v. #6 Alabama

Who will WIN this matchup?

Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-13)

#6 Alabama Crimson Tide (21-6)

 

Current odds:

Mississippi State Bulldogs: (TBD)

Alabama Crimson Tide: (TBD)

 

• The line for this game is Alabama by 8.5 points.

• The reward for Mississippi State’s 74-73 win over Kentucky in Thursday’s second-round game of the SEC basketball tournament? That would be none other than top-seeded and sixth-ranked Alabama on Friday morning at Nashville.

• Alabama (21-6) went 16-2 in SEC play, tying a program record for most conference wins, and the Crimson Tide won their first regular-season conference title since 2002. Alabama hasn’t won the SEC tournament since 1991.

• Alabama won both regular season meetings between the two teams. The Crimson Tide are led by the all-around game of Herb Jones, the conference’s player of the year, who played hurt for almost a month earlier this season. Alabama got healthy as the regular season neared its end.

• The 3-point shot is a big part of Alabama’s success. John Petty Jr. made an SEC-leading 64 three-pointers in the regular season, on 166 attempts. He is one of five Alabama players who average better than 38 percent shooting from long range: Jones (45.5 percent), Jahvon Quinerly (44.1 percent), Joshua Primo (38.6 percent), Petty Jr. (38.6 percent) and Keon Ellis (38.1 percent). A hallmark of Alabama’s success is its balanced scoring, with four players averaging double figures.

• Mississippi State (15-13) is the ninth seed in the tournament and is coming off its first win over Kentucky since 2009. The Bulldogs got 21 points from Iverson Molinar, who scored 12 of the team’s last 14 points of the game, to win by a point. The Bulldogs lost a 15-point early second half lead and trailed by five with less than five minutes remaining before Molinar took over. Tolu Smith had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who shot 58 percent in the first half on their way to a 44-30 halftime lead.

• Alabama leads the all-time series against Mississippi State 128-77, including wins in 12 of their last 15 contests. The Crimson Tide have a 7-3 edge in SEC tournament games against Mississippi State. Dating back to the 2011-12 season, the Crimson Tide have won 18 of the last 24 games played between the longtime rivals.

7/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
#6 Alabama Crimson Tide
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