Alabama Had No Issues Filling Philon Vacancy Against Mississippi State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama fans who made the trek to Tuscaloosa to watch the Crimson Tide's Wednesday night battle with Mississippi State likely felt disappointed with the pregame report that Crimson Tide star sophomore Labaron Philon would miss the matchup with the Bulldogs, but it was a necessary move to help him get healthy for Alabama's date with Tennessee on Saturday, and the upcoming SEC tournament in two weeks.

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Instead of a superstar showing from Labaron Philon, which he had last time Alabama played Mississippi State with a then-career-high 32 points, Alabama fans were treated to something different on Wednesday, as Alabama tied its own record for the second-most three-pointers made in a single game with 22. Leading that charge was freshman forward Amari Allen, who made a career-high six three-pointers in the 100-75 victory.

"Obviously, Labaron's [Philon] our leading scorer, so some guys were gonna have to score some more tonight," Allen said after the game. "We had five or six guys in double figures, so I feel like we all knew we had to come out and fill the role that Baron had. I feel like we did a good job of it."

Allen paired his six made threes (five came in the first half) with two more made buckets from the floor and one made free throw on a four-point play after draining a three and getting fouled. It was the second-most points Allen had scored in his Alabama career, coming just two points shy of his career-high 25 against Vanderbilt in January.

As Allen mentioned, four other Alabama players joined him in double figures despite the absence of the Tide's leading scorer. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. scored 18 points (his 14th game of the season with double figures), Aden Holloway scored 16 (his eighth straight game with double figures), Aiden Sherrell scored 11 (his fifth straight game with double figures), and Taylor Bol Bowen scored 10 (his eighth game of the season with double figures).

While Alabama hasn't had to play often without Philon, the Tide is 2-0 in matchups without him. Alabama defeated Yale 102-78 without Philon in late December, another game where the Crimson Tide made 22 three-pointers.

"I didn't realize that. I guess we need to sit Philon more," Alabama head coach Nate Oats joked after the game. "The offense clicks, we get 22 threes every time we sit him? Maybe I'll see if he wants to sit Saturday (against Tennessee)."

While it would be comical if Philon didn't play against Tennessee, and Alabama scored 22 three-pointers again, the Tide will likely need the sophomore superstar to take down the Volunteers in Knoxville, Tennessee, this Saturday, February 28. With a win on Saturday, Alabama can lock down a top-four finish in the SEC regular season, resulting in a double-bye for the SEC tournament, scheduled for the second week of March.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.