Postgame Notes: MSU vs. No. 4 Alabama

TEAM NOTES

Mississippi State was defeated by top-seed and fourth-ranked Alabama, 72-49, during Friday's quarterfinal round at the SEC Tournament.
State's record sits at 21-12, and the Bulldogs await an at-large bid to next week's NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Field of 68 will be announced Sunday at 5 p.m. CT televised by CBS.
The Maroon and White have dropped seven of the last eight versus Alabama in the series over the last three seasons. The Crimson Tide have been ranked during all eight meetings which include six times inside the top 10.
State falls to 3-9 all-time against Alabama in SEC Tournament games. Prior to today, the last meeting came in the 2021 quarterfinals.
The Crimson Tide led wire-to-wire and hit their first three shots to grab an early 7-0 advantage inside the contest's first 2:07.
Alabama extended the lead to 41-21 at halftime on the strength of eight triples.
Trailing 57-35 at the 8:58 mark, the Bulldogs pieced together eight consecutive points to get as close as 57-43 on a D.J. Jeffries driving layup with 5:40 to go.
Alabama scored 15 of the game's last 21 points to close out the 23-point decision which matches the program's third-largest margin of defeat in a SEC Tournament game.
As a team, the Bulldogs hit on 18-of-58 from the floor (31.0 percent), 1-of-13 from beyond the three-point line (7.7 percent) and a 12-of-16 clip from the foul line (75.0 percent).
Conversely, Alabama was 27-of-67 on its field goal attempts (40.3 percent), was 13-of-37 on its triples (35.1 percent) and 5-of-9 at the charity stripe (55.6 percent).

PLAYER NOTES

Tolu Smith

Paced the squad with 17 points and 11 rebounds to claim his 12th double-double of the season and his 25th career double-double.
Went 4-of-7 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the free throw line.
Extended his streak to a career-long 17 straight games in double figures.
Amassed 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game over the 17-game run.
Racked up 10 double-doubles over the 17-game stretch.
Provided 10+ points a team-leading 28 times this season and in 64 of 84 career games in Maroon and White.
First player in school history to register four career double-doubles at the SEC Tournament.
Started 83 of his 84 career games at State.
The 11 rebounds allowed Smith to move past Charles Hull (1958-59-60) for 19th place on the program's career rebounds list.

Dashawn Davis

Returned to double figures with 11 of his 13 points during the first half.
Recorded 10+ points in 10 games this season and 25 times for his career.
Picked up 2+ steals in 18 of 31 games this season.
Started 28 of 30 games in 2022-23.

D.J. Jeffries

Chipped in seven points and seven rebounds.
Notched his 24th outing this season and 52nd career game with 5+ rebounds.
Started 64 of 67 career games at State.

Cameron Matthews

Limited to two points and two rebounds.

Shakeel Moore

Secured two points, four rebounds, and two steals.
Garnered multiple steals in 15 of his 31 appearances this season and 45 of 90 career games.
Made 43 of his 45 career starts in Maroon and White.

Bench

KeShawn Murphy was State's top performer off the bench with four points, matched his career-high five rebounds and added two blocks.
His second career outing with multiple blocks.
Will McNair Jr. added two points, five rebounds and a block.
Compiled 11 outings of 5+ rebounds.
Shawn Jones Jr. came away with two points and two rebounds.

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. No. 4 Alabama

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

Tolu Smith III

Mississippi State University Athletics

Postgame Notes: MSU vs. No. 4 Alabama

Players Mentioned

Dashawn Davis

D.J. Jeffries

Shawn Jones Jr.

Cameron Matthews

Will McNair Jr.

Shakeel Moore

KeShawn Murphy

Tolu Smith III

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