All eyes now turn to Selection Sunday.
Mississippi State dropped a 72-49 decision to No. 4 Alabama on Friday at Bridgestone Arena to conclude the Bulldogs' time in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. With the defeat, MSU now awaits its NCAA Tournament fate.
MSU has put together an impressive resume that has the Dawgs solidly in the mix to go to the big dance. Despite Friday's loss, State boasts a 21-12 record that includes nine wins over the last 13 games – including a trio of NCAA NET Quad 1 wins over the hot stretch.
Since January 28, State has topped No. 11 TCU, won at Arkansas and defeated No. 25 Texas A&M. Additionally, the Bulldogs earned three Quad 2 triumphs with wins over Missouri, Ole Miss and, most recently, Florida on Thursday at the SEC Tournament.
And while State boosted its resume by claiming the victory over the Gators, the Dawgs were unable to add to it against the Crimson Tide.
On the strength of 13 3-pointers, Alabama never trailed in Friday's game. Tolu Smith scored a team-high 17 points for MSU. He also brought down 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double this season and 25th of his career. Dashawn Davis added 13 points for State, but it wasn't enough for the Bulldogs.
While the SEC Tournament didn't conclude the way Mississippi State wanted, the the Dawgs will certainly still be watching on hopefully come Sunday, looking for MSU's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. The full NCAA Tourney field will be revealed at 5 p.m. on CBS.