Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeBasketballThe road to redemption begins in Starkville

The road to redemption begins in Starkville

By Chris DePew
TideFans.com staff
Feb. 2, 2016

Where to watch: Alabama (11-9, 2-6 SEC) at Mississippi State (9-11, 2-6) – 8 p.m. Central today, Humphrey Coliseum, SEC Network

Who to watch: Donta Hall. The freshman center from Luverne is showing plenty of promise when he’s on the floor, matching his season high with six rebounds in back-to-back games and hitting nearly two-thirds of his shots from the field for the season. The key phrase is “on the floor.” Hall fouled out of both games last week and only averaged 13 minutes per game despite being Bama’s best post player in both contests. He’s fouled out in four of the Crimson Tide’s eight conference games. He has a chance to shine against MSU’s depleted frontcourt, but he has to grab the opportunity (and not a Bulldog).

What to watch for: Can Alabama do a better job of exploiting a size mismatch? Mississippi State starts four guards out of necessity and could be missing do-everything forward Gavin Ware (15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds per game) for a second consecutive outing. That should give Alabama ample chances to post up and dribble drive into the paint, but the Tide had a similar opportunity last week against undersized Tennessee and did not take advantage until it was almost too late. The Bulldogs are last in the SEC in team rebounding and tied for 301st nationally (out of 351 teams) in defensive rebounds, so Bama will have no excuse for another poor showing on the glass. MSU has won two of its last three games and played closer than expected in the SEC, but if Alabama wants to salvage at least a return trip to the NIT, it has to begin with a victory in Starkville.

Follow Chris DePew on Twitter @TideFansChris

RELATED ARTICLES
- Advertisment -

Most Popular