Things have continued to go right for the Alabama men’s basketball program. The Crimson Tide have won seven of the last eight games. Nate Oats’ squad is trending in the right direction at the right time.
Despite some early struggles, Alabama has seemingly found its identity — shoot at a high rate and do just enough on defense to come away with a win. That seems to be the formula for success, at least it has been as of late.
Alabama is coming off of a grind-it-out win against Georgia on the road. Mississippi State is coming off of a gut-wrenching loss at the hands of Ole Miss.
In the first meeting between the two programs this season, Alabama came away with a hard-earned 82-74 win over the Bulldogs inside Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville. It might have been a key turning point for the Crimson Tide.
The Bulldogs have lost three of their last five games. All three losses came on the road. Given the fact that Coleman Coliseum is not the easiest place to play, I will give Alabama the advantage.
It will not be easy given Mississippi State’s defensive prowess. However, Alabama has certainly come along on the offensive end of the floor since the two teams’ last meeting.
Mississippi State is led by the scoring tandem of Josh Hubbard and Tolu Smith. The two of them combine to average 31.4 points per game.
Alabama’s guard play will be too much for the Bulldogs to handle for two halves. Mississippi State also struggles to keep their big men out of foul trouble. For these reasons, I will have Alabama winning Saturday night’s matchup by a final score of 80-68.