Alabama basketball moves to 6-1 in SEC play after dominating LSU

The Alabama men’s basketball team is now 14-6 on the season after beating LSU 109-88 on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. Not only that, but they’re 6-1 in SEC play, which puts them solely in first place for the moment after Auburn dropped a second-straight SEC game this weekend. Tennessee only has one loss too, but they’ve played one fewer game (so they’re 5-1).

How It Happened

Give LSU credit… they battled throughout the entire first half. Alabama had a few runs where they were able to get up by 6-8 points, but the Tigers kept closing the lead. LSU sandwiched the two halves with two-point baskets to close to gap to 50-46, but UA was able to keep going to work with 4-5 point runs to widen the gap. Next thing you know, the score is 91-69 with only 7:43 to play. So it didn’t take any double-digit runs, and instead felt more like a “death by 1,000 cuts” type of game. By the end, you saw the walk-on out there, and senior Max Scharnowski even got his first points of SEC play.

Players of the Game

Veteran guard Mark Sears continues to be a 20-point player for Alabama. He’s put up 20 or more in six of the Crimson Tide’s last seven games, which includes a 21-point performance against LSU on Saturday night. That gives him 22, 22 and 21 over his last three games. What’s interesting about that is how he’s done this despite shooting poorly from beyond the arc. After going 0-5 on Saturday, he’s now hit just two of his last 13 attempts (15.4%), but he continues to score by getting to the basket and drawing fouls (24 free throws on the last three games).

He went 11-for-11 on those against LSU.

Transfer Latrell Wrightsell Jr. continues to hit his stride, too. After scoring 14 points against Auburn while hitting 4-of-6 three-point attempts, he totaled 19 points against LSU while also shooting 50% (5-of-10) from beyond the arc. He averaged just 5.7 points through Alabama’s first 12 contests, and yet he’s averaged 12.3 over the last eight. Not only that, but he’s a perfect 22-of-22 from the free throw line. He did briefly leave the game, but was able to return.

Alabama’s entire starting five scored in the double digits on Saturday. We’ve already mentioned Sears and Wrightsell. Joining those guys was Aaron Estrada (18 points), Grant Nelson and Rylan Griffen, who had 12 apiece. Estrada added six rebounds, seven assists and two steals while finishing +28 in plus-minus. The starters combined to hit 23 of 24 free throw attempts, too (95.8%). It’s hard not to be impressed with what these guys were able to do on the offensive end.

Key Stats

Alabama continues to do a good job moving the basketball. The team had 23 assists against LSU while the Tigers only had 13. When you’ve got three guys putting up four or more in a single game, that’s impressive. Estrada obviously led the way with his seven, but Sears added five and Griffen had four. That movement is setting up a plethora of shooters. So even when someone is off their game (such as Sears), you’re still able to find guys to hit the long ball.

We’ve already mentioned the free throws, but I also thought those were big for a second-straight game. While Alabama hit 89.3% of its attempts, LSU only went 17-of-27 (63%). When you’ve got guys who are able to get to the basket and cause issues converting into points or fouls, it starts to open up more looks outside. Hopefully, they’re able to keep this going on the road with an upcoming matchup against an SEC East foe.

What’s Next

After back-to-back home games inside Coleman Coliseum, Alabama will be back out on the road on Wednesday taking on Georgia in Athens. The Bulldogs are currently 14-6 (4-2 SEC) after losing to Florida 102-98 in overtime on Saturday. Tipoff for the upcoming game is set for 5:30 p.m. (6:30 ET), and it will air on the SEC Network.

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