The quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament kick off Friday in Nashville and the opening matchup will feature the ninth-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs taking on the first-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. Mississippi State was able to squeak out a one-point win in overtime vs. Florida to get to the quarterfinals. Alabama, with the best record in the SEC, earned a bye in the first two rounds. The opening tap is scheduled for 1:00 PM EST.
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Mississippi State entered the SEC Tournament in need of some wins to improve the chance to earn an invitation to the Big Dance. On Thursday, the Bulldogs survived a tightly fought battle with eighth-seeded Florida and pulled out a 69-68 overtime win for their 21st victory of the season. Tolu Smith led the way with 28 points, including a layup with five seconds left in overtime to preserve the win. Mississippi State now matches up with an Alabama team that defeated them twice this season. On December 28th at home, the Bulldogs fell 78-67 while shooting just 38% from the floor in the loss. One month later, Mississippi State fell by the score of 66-63 at Alabama after leading by seven points at halftime. After shooting over 56% in the first half, the Bulldogs were held to just 36% in the second half and coughed up the lead. Smith DJ Jeffries led the Bulldogs with 10 points per game in the two losses.
Can confirm. That was awesome. https://t.co/B9Jx0QakSY pic.twitter.com/8GwYjSJvWI
— Mississippi State Men's Basketball (@HailStateMBK) March 9, 2023
The Mississippi State Bulldogs know what is at stake on Friday afternoon when they meet the Crimson Tide. A win and Mississippi State is nearly guaranteed an invite to the NCAA Tournament. With a loss, however, the Bulldogs will certainly have to sweat out Selection Sunday and hope for the best. The Bulldogs will need to shoot the ball better than they have in both meetings with Alabama this season. For the year, Mississippi State was ninth in the SEC in shooting percentage overall and just 14th in 3pt field goal percentage. Defensively, they have been quite sound. The Bulldogs finished second in defensive scoring and second in opposing team's shooting percentage. Mississippi State was eighth in the SEC in turnover margin and fourth in the conference in total rebounding.
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