Alabama vs Mississippi State: 2021 SEC Tournament game preview, TV schedule

When: 12:00 pm ET, Friday, March 12 on ESPN

Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN

After Mississippi State narrowly defeated Kentucky 74-73 in the 8/9 matchup in the Second Round of the SEC Tournament, the Bulldogs will now face the 2020-2021 SEC Regular Season Champions Alabama in the Quarterfinals.

Alabama comes into Nashville as the 2020-2021 SEC Regular Season Champions as the top seed in the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2002. The Crimson Tide have steamrolled through the SEC this season in route to a 16-2 conference record while sitting at 21-6 overall and #6 in the latest AP Poll.

The Crimson Tide have had success recently in the SEC Tournament, but haven’t reached the Tournament Finals since 2002. This year’s version of the Tide certainly feels different however led by SEC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Herbert Jones and SEC Coach of the Year Nate Oats.

Alabama is one of the few truly elite teams on both offense and defense in college basketball this season averaging 79.6 PPG and a defense that ranks 3rd in the country. The Crimson Tide can play with anyone, and can be extremely tough to stop if players like John Petty, Joshua Primo, and others are consistently knocking down their shots.

Mississippi State picked up a 74-73 win over Kentucky on Thursday afternoon due to some big shots late from guard Iverson Molinar. Molinar finished with 21 points in the game and was 8/10 from the field.

The Bulldogs aren’t necessarily the most dominant team, as they finished the regular season at 8-10 in the SEC, and now come into this game at 15-13 overall. Mississippi State does have some pieces however that can present some problems for teams such as guards Iverson Molinar and DJ Stewart Jr, as well as bigs Abdul Ado and Tolu Smith. The Bulldogs played Alabama close in both games this season, could they pull off the upset?

Alabama should be considered the clear favorite going into this game and rightfully so, as the Tide won both meetings between the two during the regular season. The two games were both close, however, as the Tide only won the two by a combined 13 points.

This game could be close once again, but I’ll say Alabama will come out and try to make a statement here. The Crimson Tide were the top team in the SEC all season long, and I believe we will see an Alabama team that will come out and try to end this game early. Can Mississippi State keep the momentum going, or is Alabama too much to handle for the Bulldogs?

Prediction: Alabama 82, Mississippi State 70