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.

When the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs meet on Wednesday night, it’ll be yet another SEC matchup featuring highly-ranked opponents. Alabama comes in with a 6-1 conference record while Mississippi State looks to improve upon their 4-3 SEC record.

Alabama guard Chris Youngblood led the the Crimson Tide past the Bulldogs 88-84 in front of a hostile Starkville crowd.

Alabama coach Nate Oats sent a message with the benching of star Mark Sears. Here's what Oats said of his decision to bench Sears vs. LSU:

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.

Alabama was able to escape Starkville with a hair-raising victory over Mississippi State. Check out the photo gallery!

Survive and advance in the SEC, and that is what Alabama did on Wednesday in the Hump in a scrappy victory over Mississippi State.

Chris Youngblood scored a season-high 23 points on a career-best seven 3-pointers to help No. 4 Alabama squeeze out an 88-84 victory over No. 14 Mississippi State on Wednesday night

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.

Mark Sears leads Alabama with 18.1 points nearly five assists per game. Josh Hubbard leads Mississippi State with 16.3 points per game forwards KeShawn Murphy and Cameron Matthews both average seven rebounds per game.

Nate Oats still hasn't locked in Alabama basketball's starting five for Mississippi State. Will Mark Sears be in it after getting benched against LSU?

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats praised Mark Sears' response after he was benched against LSU, but did not say whether he would start at Mississippi State.