Mississippi State @ Alabama preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 12, 2019 ) Alabama 62, Mississippi State 81

Alabama will have had three days to recover from a painful double-overtime loss to open SEC play before it welcomes Mississippi State for another conference affair Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide led by 21 points at Florida on Saturday before coughing up the lead in the second half and fading in the final minute of the second extra session for a 104-98 defeat.

"Stuff that coaches lose sleep over definitely went the wrong way for us," Alabama coach Nate Oats told reporters. The Bulldogs also opened conference action with a loss as they fell 80-68 to unbeaten Auburn on Saturday, although there were some positives along the way. "I thought the defense we played to start this game was the best we've had this year, for sure," Mississippi State coach Ben Howland told the media. "We couldn't get it going, offensively, and we had so many opportunities in transition." Sophomore forward Reggie Perry notched his third straight double-double and seventh of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds, but his teammates shot a collective 30.6 percent from the floor in the loss.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE (9-4, 0-1 SEC): Perry entered Tuesday 10th in the SEC in scoring (15.8) and leading the league in rebounding (10.0) while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Senior guard Tyson Carter provides 14.5 points per game, but he shot 1-of-11 in the loss to Auburn - the second time in four outings he has posted that exact shooting line. Junior forward Abdul Ado stood out against the Tigers with 11 rebounds and a career-high nine blocked shots, the most for a Bulldog in nearly 10 years.

ABOUT ALABAMA (7-6, 0-1): Junior guard John Petty Jr. scored 19 points at Florida to boost his team-leading average to 16.6, and he also tops the squad with 7.4 boards per game while hitting 50 percent of his 3-point attempts. Sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. also averages 16.6 per contest and pulled into Tuesday's action fourth in the SEC in steals (25) after notching four against the Gators. Junior forward Alex Reese chipped in 14 points off the bench Saturday and is averaging 13 over his last six games while making 17-of-39 from 3-point range.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bulldogs sophomore G Robert Woodard II has three double-doubles on the season after recording 12 points and 12 rebounds Saturday.

2. Crimson Tide junior F Herbert Jones is averaging 13.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over his last three games.

3. The home team won both meetings last season.

PREDICTION: Alabama 79, Mississippi State 74