Chris Youngblood had a season-high 23 points, including two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining, to lead No. 4 Alabama to an 88-84 win over No. 14 Mississippi State on Wednesday night. Youngblood made a career-best seven 3 pointers while Alabama made 15 of 31 from beyond the arc.

Alabama (18-3, 7-1 SEC) made 15 of 31 shots from behind the arc for a season-best 48.4 shooting percentage on 3-point shots. Its previous high was 44.4% against UNC Asheville (8-for-18) while the 15 made shots is second best behind the 19 (on 55 attempts) against South Dakota State.

In his second start of the campaign, Chris Youngblood was indispensable for Alabama against Mississippi State.

Alabama star Mark Sears returned to the starting lineup and helped lead the No. 4 Crimson Tide to an 88-84 win at No. 14 Mississippi State on Wednesday night after he was benched for the entire second half in Saturday's win over LSU.

Alabama basketball's Mark Sears wasn't the only one to have a bounce-back game as the Tide had a shootout with Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard.

However, there are less difficult things to do than play a ranked Chris Jans team on the road in a midweek contest. Alabama head coach Nate Oats is aware of this, and he expects the No. 4 Crimson Tide (17-3,