How Alabama basketball won an instant classic vs. Mississippi State

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The No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 13 Mississippi State Bulldogs played one of the best college basketball games of the 2024-25 season Wednesday night at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville.

Alabama survived this top 15 matchup in an 88-84 thriller for arguably its most impressive win this season. That alone says something in a season where Nate Oats’ team has already won thrilling games over Kentucky at Rupp Arena, Texas A&M in College Station, and the Houston Cougars in Las Vegas.

On this night, officially the 213th all-time meeting in the head-to-head series between Alabama and Mississippi State, it was 40 minutes of back-and-forth drama. It was a game that went down to the wire and had a bit of everything: big swings in momentum with neither team able to pull away from the other, and players on both squads that at times seemed virtually unstoppable. Everyone from the players to the coaches to the athletic trainers gave it their all.

A 6-0 run in the final 63 seconds of the first half gave Alabama a 44-39 lead after 20 minutes. Right from the start, it seemed to be Chris Youngblood’s night for the Crimson Tide. His 3-pointer with 1:03 before intermission gave Alabama its first basket in over three minutes and snapped a string of six straight missed field goals.

An emerging stud for the Tide especially as conference play tightens up, Youngblood led the team with 12 points at halftime. He sank four of five attempts from behind the arc.

Aden Holloway’s 3-pointer gave Alabama a 57-48 lead just over four minutes into the second half. It would be the largest lead of the night for either team — and the last time Alabama would be up by nearly that many. Mississippi State came back to tie the game and take the lead on a three-point play from Josh Hubbard, the Bulldogs’ own seemingly unflappable assassin, with 10:15 to play.

All the while, Youngblood was having his best game in an Alabama uniform since transferring from South Florida. His seventh and final trey of the night came with…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/alabama-basketball-won-instant-classic-101521223.html

Author : Roll Tide Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-30 10:15:00

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