How Mississippi State basketball’s 3-point defensive issues magnified vs Alabama

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball fans had already started filing for the exits at Coleman Coliseum. Who could blame them?

The game against Mississippi State was already well decided. It was an 8 p.m. tipoff on a Tuesday. The No. 24 Bulldogs (19-9, 7-8 SEC) trailed by 26 points in the first half before losing 111-73, its largest margin of defeat in coach Chris Jans’ three seasons.

But the fans who remained started getting jittery again with just a few minutes to play. The Crimson Tide (23-5, 12-3) were one make away from their 20th 3-pointer of the game. The fans knew it and began urging Alabama to hoist up more 3-pointer’s when they touched the ball on the perimeter. Aden Holloway drilled the 20th 3-pointer, followed by two more by the Crimson Tide for 22 makes on 45 attempts in the game.

It was another concerning defensive performance by the Bulldogs, who’ve lost their last two games since upsetting Texas A&M and storming the court at Humphrey Coliseum. Alabama wasn’t just draining contested 3-pointer after contested 3-pointer. Some of its best shooters like Chris Youngblood and Mark Sears were left wide open for easy shots on multiple occasions.

Youngblood scored 27 points with seven 3-pointers, the second time this season he’s made seven against MSU. Sears complimented him with 21 points on five 3-pointers.

“I think it was just more our effort,” MSU forward RJ Melendez said. “I don’t think it was there the whole game, and that’s just the point where we broke down. Our effort wasn’t there on the jump. They made a run. We didn’t know how to respond, and we just let it fall out of our hands.”

Mississippi State allowed its most points in over 30 years

Mississippi State’s 111 points surrendered are the most by the program since 1993. It’s tied for the sixth most points allowed in a game. MSU hadn’t allowed more than 105 points in a game this century.

What’s troubling is that it carried over from last week’s loss at Oklahoma. The Bulldogs led at…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/mississippi-state-basketball-3-point-124014719.html

Author : The Clarion Ledger

Publish date : 2025-02-26 12:40:00

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