By Hunt Palmer
Few things in sports remain as constant as LSU’s struggles in Coleman Coliseum.
The Tigers have dropped 17 of 20 games in Tuscaloosa, and Saturday’s matchup is anything but favorable. The point spread is hovering around 17.5, and that’s for good reason.
Alabama enters the game 16-3 overall and 5-1 in league play. Nate Oats has his team playing some of the best offense in college basketball while LSU is searching for answers outside of Cam Carter.
The Tigers are averaging just 67.8 points per game in league play. Alabama leads the nation in scoring at 90.9 points per game.
Oats’s Tide has topped the 100 point mark six times this year, the second most in 75 years of college hoops. They’ve scored 90 or more in 10 of 19 games and been held under 80 only three times.
Candidly, Alabama is as bad a matchup for LSU as you can find in the country. The Tide scores in bunches. LSU struggles to score. Alabama launches threes as frequently as just about anyone in the country. That creates a lot of offensive rebounds. LSU struggles on the defensive boards.
This represents the toughest week of the schedule for LSU will the trip to Tuscaloosa followed by No. 1 Auburn coming to Baton Rouge.
It all starts Saturday night at 7:30 on SEC Network.
ALABAMA ANALYTICS
Oats has a system, and Alabama never deviates from it. The Tide will only shoot from three places on the floor—the three point line, the free throw line and the rim. The do not shoot from the midrange at any point.
Only four teams in America shoot more threes than Alabama, and 307 teams score more of their points, percentage-wise, from two.
And they play fast, faster than anyone else in college basketball.
This can lead to dramatic runs, especially at home. It’s not uncommon for Alabama to splash three triples in the span of 50 seconds to a minute.
Matt McMahon knows this, and he’ll need to deploy his timeouts judiciously. A sudden 12-0 or 15-0 run could spell doom for his team, but there also has to be an understanding that Alabama is going to score. LSU’s composure in those moments will be crucial to keeping the game competitive.
ON THE MARK
Mark Sears is probably the frontrunner for SEC Player of the Year. He leads the league in assists during conference play with seven per game, and he’s second in scoring.
Sears is the active Division 1 points leader and has 62 20-point games to his name which is also the active lead.
Sears is a crafty lefty who can get sizzling hot from three-point range. He made four against Kentucky, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
Moreso, he just runs the show. He makes sure Alabama is playing at a lightening pace while not turning the ball over too frequently. Turnovers can be a bit of an issue for the Tide, but that expected when you play at that tempo.
SPEAKING OF SEARS
LSU has one, too. Jordan Sears is going to have to shoot that ball better. Last season he was a 43 percent three-point shooter at Tennessee-Martin. He’s 10 points worse than that this season at LSU.
LSU doesn’t have the defensive ability to stall Alabama like Ole Miss did, holding the Tide to just 64 points. To stay in the game, LSU is going to have to score, and it can’t all come from Carter.
Back in November, he made six threes against UCF and Northwestern State in back-to-back games. That’s the kind of effort LSU is going to need from him even if it comes off the bench.
