NASHVILLE — On the court, the University of Alabama men’s basketball team mostly just keeps winning.
As long as the Crimson Tide are playing, though, the questions about off-the-court matters aren’t likely to go away anytime soon.
Brandon Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds, and fourth-ranked, top-seeded Alabama never trailed while posting a 72-49 victory over ninth-seeded Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference quarterfinals Friday at Bridgestone Arena. SEC regular-season champion Alabama, as one of the top four seeds in the 14-team bracket, had a double bye in the tournament and opened its time there by bouncing back from last Saturday’s 67-61 loss at Texas A&M to close the regular season.
The Tide (27-5), who swept their regular-season series with Mississippi State (21-12), set the pace against the Bulldogs by shooting 8-for-20 from 3-point range in the first half. Charles Bediako and Noah Gurley scored 11 points apiece and Jahvon Quinerly added 10 for Alabama, which will play 25th-ranked, fourth-seeded Missouri (24-8) — a 79-71 winner over 17th-ranked, fifth-seeded Tennessee — in Saturday’s first semifinal at 1 p.m. Eastern.
“I thought our guys did a good job opening the game,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “I thought we did a good job closing the half. I think over the final 12 minutes of the first half, they were 3-for-19. We went into the half great.”