NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jaden Shackelford had 13 points, Jahvon Quinerly added 14 off the bench and top-seeded Alabama blew out No.
9 seed Mississippi State 85-48 on Friday in a Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal. The No. 6 Crimson Tide (22-6) will face the Florida-Tennessee winner in Saturday’s semifinals.
MSU (15-14) awaits to see its postseason destination. Playing as the tournament’s team to beat for the first time since 2002, the Crimson Tide followed a couple of small early runs before going on a 17-0 surge over five minutes for a 43-13 cushion just before halftime.
Alabama also swarmed the Bulldogs defensively, scoring 24 of 30 points off 14 first-half turnovers and holding them to 30% shooting overall.