Alabama basketball fought hard against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, going back and forth the entire evening. Although the entire team gave a tremendous effort, it was Mark Sears and Brandon Miller who stood out in this game.

The final score was 78-67 in favor of Alabama with Sears pulling out 20 points and Miller with 19. After the game, a well-deserving Brandon Miller earned the hard hat award for his grit and resilience against Mississippi State.

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Miller's driving ability and Sears' shooting game showed out the most during the second half with the players scoring 11 points each.

Sears is going on three perfect free-throw games in a row. He went 6 of 6 against the Bulldogs which upped his fellow shooting stats of 4 of 8 in three-pointers and 5 of 11 for field goals.

Miller went 5 of 10 in three-pointers and 7 of 15 for field goals and not being fouled on.

The Bulldogs controlled the tempo of the game this evening so TIde defense was a crucial aspect. Alabama pulled out 41 rebounds with Miller being 11 of them. He commented on what defense means to his team.

"I mean we've preached defense from jump since the summer so that's been our biggest thing," Miller said during his postgame interview.

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As the team faces Ole Miss on Jan. 3, fewer fouls and a cleaner game are critical. Miller, Nick Pringle, and Noah Clowney all managed to gain 4 personal fouls on themselves and Charles Bediako fouled out of the game in the second half.

Something the Tide needs to work on for the remainder of the season is controlling the tempo of the game. Although Alabama ended with 11 points on Mississippi State, the 10-point plus lead did not occur until the second half.

As for Sears and Miller, the two continue to have a steady and reliable season helping lead their team to the top 10 so far this year.

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