It’s been five weeks since Alabama played Mississippi State in its second Southeastern Conference game of the season.

Not a lot has gone right for the Crimson Tide since State beat Alabama, 83-74, in Starkville on Jan. 14. Interim coach Philip Pearson was promoted after Mark Gottfried’s resignation. Alabama is 13-12 overall, 3-8 in the league and 1-5 under Pearson, including a four-game losing streak.

The teams play today in Tuscaloosa at 2 p.m. and Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said Alabama is a very dangerous opponent.

“They are very good at home,” Stansbury said. “They lost a tough one to South Carolina last week on a tip-in. They led almost the entire game. They’re still the only team in the league to beat LSU. Sometimes a losing streak makes them hungrier and makes them more relaxed. That’s what they’ll be against us.”

Alabama’s Mikhail Torrance, who scored 20 points off the bench in Starkville, and freshman JaMychal Green, who had 11 points and 10 rebounds, will be key factors for the Tide again today. Their size will be needed to affect the inside presence of Jarvis Varnado and a supporting cast that averages an SEC-best 8.2 3-pointers per game.

Varnado leads the Bulldogs, averaging 13.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Last year’s SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Varnado leads the nation, averaging 4.9 blocked shots per game.

He’s got help. Ravern Johnson, who is shooting 44.8 percent from 3-point range, is second on the team with 12.4 points per game. Dee Bost, Barry Stewart and Phil Turner can all shoot. State is 17-9 overall and 7-4 in the SEC.

“I think they’re probably more committed to the smaller lineup,” Pearson said when asked about State’s development since the first meeting. “They’ve got four really good shooters in the lineup that go along with Varnado. He’s getting better. What happens is you get out there and guard those four guys and there’s nobody left to help much down there around the basket with Varnado. So you end up with a lot of one-on-one situations. He’s certainly long and athletic down there and he’s getting the ball in the basket at a very high percentage.”

Stansbury said the biggest change he’s seen in Alabama is the number of players Pearson uses, particularly point guard Anthony Brock and forward Demetrius Jemison.

“Those two guys weren’t playing much,” the MSU coach said. “They’ve got a lot of guys and got a lot of weapons and they’re big on the inside.”

He also noted Green’s progress.

“He’s definitely gotten better. He’s understanding the energy of this game more and the toughness of this game more,” Stansbury said. “Most high school kids coming in, it doesn’t matter what they were ranked, McDonald’s All-American or what, none of them understand the energy and the toughness this game’s played with. I think he’s made that adjustment now. No question, he’s one of the best freshmen in the conference for sure.”

Pearson said part of Green’s development is learning how games are called.

“Early on, he struggled, like a lot of big freshmen, on the inside in the post with some foul difficulty — learning exactly how to play inside and what was going to be allowed from an offensive and defensive standpoint with the post play,” Pearson said. “I think he’s gotten much better at that. He’s such a competitor … I really like that about him.”