TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Chris Youngblood scored a season-best 27 points and No. 6 Alabama made nearly half of its 45 attempts from 3-point range in a 111-73 win over No. 24 Mississippi State on Tuesday night.
Mark Sears had 21 points and 10 assists for the Crimson Tide (23-5, 12-3 Southeastern Conference), who set a season high for 3s by going 22 of 45 from long range (49%).
Youngblood was 7 for 11 beyond the arc, and Sears finished 5 for 12. Jarin Stevenson went 3 for 3 off the bench.
Reserve guard Aden Holloway also drained a trio of 3s and provided 13 points and five assists. Mouhamed Dioubate contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds. Labaron Philon had 10 points and five assists.
Mississippi State (19-9, 7-8) was led by Josh Hubbard, who had 21 points on 8-of-22 shooting. KeShawn Murphy added 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Takeaways
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs ended February with two atypically poor attempts at defending the 3-point line, allowing Oklahoma to make 11 of 26 before Alabama unloaded on Tuesday. Before the past two games, Mississippi State had not permitted an opponent to shoot better than 40% from 3-point range since Feb. 1.
Alabama: Played much better defense than in consecutive losses this month to No. 1 Auburn and then-No. 15 Missouri, which shot a combined 53% from the field.
Key moment
Mississippi State coach Chris Jans called a timeout with just more than seven minutes remaining in the first half to stop a 10-4 Alabama run punctuated by Grant Nelson’s dunk. In the minute following that timeout, Youngblood hit two 3-pointers, extending Alabama’s lead to 20. The Crimson Tide led by 26 at halftime.
Key stat
Alabama shot far better from 3-point range than Mississippi State did from the field (28 for 73, 38%).
Up next
Alabama visits No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday, while Mississippi State returns home to face LSU.
