Alabama comfortably rolls to SEC Tournament semifinals

Well, that was easy. In a game that wasn’t ever close — and finished very not close — No. 1 seed Alabama cruised to a blowout 72-49 win over No. 9 Mississippi State to open the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

The Crimson Tide entered as eight-point favorites and nearly tripled that in the margin of victory, despite shooting just 40.3% overall, 35.1% from three and 55.6% at the line. The kicker? Alabama hit 13 3-pointers while holding Mississippi State to an abysmal 31.0% from the field (18-58) and 7.7% from deep (1-13) — simply a horrendous offensive showing for the Bulldogs.

Individually, it was star freshman Brandon Miller who led the Tide with 18 points on 6-14 shooting and 4-9 from three to go with nine rebounds five assists and a steal in 28 minutes. Noah Gurley and Charles Bediako each added 11 points, while Jahvon Quinerly rounded out double-digit scorers with 10.

Mississippi State star Tolu Smith led the losing team with 17 points on 4-7 shooting and 9-10 at the line to go with a team-high 11 rebounds. Dashawn Davis added 13, the only other Bulldog in double figures.

For a team that steamrolled the competition all season long, Alabama certainly looked the part as the conference title favorite in Nashville.

What’s next? An updated look at the SEC Tournament bracket, times listed in EST.

Friday, March 10

• Game 8: No. 4 Missouri vs. No. 5 Tennessee | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
• Game 9: No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Arkansas | 7 p.m. | SEC Network
• Game 10: No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt | 9:30 p.m. | SEC Network

Saturday, March 11

• No. 1 Alabama vs. Game 8 winner | 1 p.m. | ESPN
• Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN

Sunday, March 12

• Semifinal winners | 1 p.m. | ESPN

Can No. 3 Kentucky set up a rematch with the Crimson Tide in the finals? It starts with a win tonight vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt.