By Chris DePew
TideFans.com staff
March 9, 2017
Fifth-seeded Alabama opened SEC tournament play with its most complete game away from home in weeks to roar past No. 12 Mississippi State 75-55 in a second round matchup Thursday afternoon at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
What did we learn today?: Bama really is capable of putting together two good halves together. After a string of poor first halves, the Crimson Tide started strong but collapsed after intermission in its last game. So when Bama scored a respectable 34 points to lead MSU by a dozen at the break, it was natural for fans to hold their breath. Instead the Tide broke the game wide open, leading by as many as 30 points before going deep into the bench to close out the Bulldogs. Alabama had just nine turnovers and 10 team fouls, categories that had factored heavily into losing six of its last 10 regular season games.
What was the best part of the game?: Seeing Bama work around Braxton Key’s shooting woes. Even though its leading scorer managed just three points, the Tide got four players into double figures, three of whom came off the bench. Corban Collins went 4-for-6 from 3-point range to finish with 14 points and Donta Hall and Avery Johnson Jr. scored 10 each. And Key had a solid day despite shooting 1-for-6 from the field. He had five of Bama’s 16 assists, only one behind Johnson’s team lead, also added five rebounds and played lockdown defense to help keep MSU’s shooting percentage under 40 percent.
Who was the star?: Dazon Ingram had a perfect postseason debut, going 7-for-7 from the field, 2-for-2 at the line to finish with 17 points and no turnovers. Key and Johnson handled the point well enough to make Ingram comfortable with attacking the basket more, something the Tide desperately needs to continue if it is to extend its stay in Nashville. Like all of his teammates, Ingram played less than 30 minutes against MSU to preserve his legs as much as possible.
What’s next?: Alabama returns in the 2:30 p.m. Central time slot Friday to take on No. 4 seed South Carolina.
Follow Chris DePew on Twitter @TideFansChris