Bulldogs top Tide at home

If Mississippi State wanted to see a bubble in recent years, the Bulldogs had to find some gum to chew.

After Tuesday night, that may no longer can be considered the case.

MSU continued its recent string of successful basketball on Tuesday with a 67-63 victory over Alabama at Humphrey Coliseum. The victory gave State its first four-game winning streak in Southeastern Conference play in a decade, moved the Bulldogs to 18-6 overall and 6-5 in the SEC, and also put MSU right in the conversation for an at-large berth in this year's NCAA Tournament. It's quite a turnaround for the Bulldogs after the team lost five of its first seven league games this year.

“I think we're growing,” Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland said. “I think our overall toughness is better and the guys are preparing so hard.”

MSU's win over Alabama (15-9, 6-5) moved State's RPI up to 53rd in the country on WarrenNolan.com as of late Tuesday night. The Bulldogs sat in the high 70s just a couple of weeks ago.

Yet here the Bulldogs are either nearing, or perhaps on the NCAA bubble. To get there, Mississippi State had to snap a fourgame series losing streak to Alabama.

“It feels great,” Mississippi State's Tyson Carter said of the win over the Crimson Tide. “We were actually just talking about that when we went to Alabama (earlier this year). We said that we had to beat them soon.”

Nick Weatherspoon and the MSU defense pushed the Bulldogs to the win. Weatherspoon, the defending SEC Freshman

of the Week, scored a team-high 18 points for State. It continued a recent offensive renaissance for Weatherspoon as he has now scored in double figures in five consecutive games after only doing so twice in the year's first six SEC affairs.

“The main thing is my confidence,” Weatherspoon said of his improved offensive production of late. “I have a lot more confidence in my shot now. I also have been shooting my jumper a lot. I haven't been using my speed as much, but now I know that helps me on defense. I also feel like I'm strong enough to finish a lot of the plays. Finishing strong and my pullup jumper are the two main things I can tell a difference in.”

Quinndary Weatherspoon also had a solid scoring night for the Bulldogs with 13 points.

However it was MSU's defense that was perhaps the game's deciding factor. The Bulldogs limited the Crimson Tide to just 36.7 percent shooting from the field.

Alabama's star guard Collin Sexton, who many expect to be a high pick in this June's NBA Draft, scored a team-high 18 points for Alabama, but was 0-for-7 from long range despite being a 32.4 percent shooter from 3-point range this season coming into Tuesday.

In fact, Alabama was only 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from 3-point range as a team.

“We give Mississippi State credit,” Alabama head coach Avery Johnson

said of all of his team's missed 3-pointers. “When we're trying to get the ball inside, they front the post and we're not able to get inside.

“Sometimes the easiest thing to do is launch a 3. It'll be a teachable moment for us to learn from. It takes more energy to drive it and when we did, (MSU) did a good job of contesting us in the paint.”

Mississippi State's stinginess against Alabama's 3-point shots proved critical as the Bulldogs held on to the lead late in what was a true back-and-forth contest.

There were 11 total lead changes, the score was tied eight different times and each team led for large portions of the game.

The Crimson Tide actually held a 54-53 advantage with only 4:31 left when Nick Weatherspoon scored on a layup off an assist from Quinndary Weatherspoon to put MSU up by one. State never trailed again.

A few moments later, MSU's fight song was blaring inside Humphrey Coliseum, the Bulldogs were over the .500 mark in league play and suddenly, just off in the distance, the NCAA Tournament appears to at least be in view.

There is still much work to be done for Mississippi State to get to the big dance, but Tuesday's victory over Alabama was yet another strong step in that direction.

“That is our best win of the year, without question,” Howland said. “This is a great reward for our guys. It is coming together.

“I'm really proud of their ability to lock in and do what we're doing.”