LSU's Strong Offense Next Challenger Standing In Alabama Basketball's Way
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Six games into the Southeastern Conference slate, no team has had an answer for or been able to overcome the University of Alabama yet.
The No. 18-ranked Crimson Tide (11-3, 6-0) has won seven in a row, sits atop the league standings, and enters Tuesday night's matchup with LSU in Baton Rouge (8 p.m (CT), ESPN2) with its recent wins over Kentucky and Arkansas coming by a combined margin of 51 points.
But the next challenger will be Alabama's toughest of the season to date in the Bayou Bengals (10-2, 4-1), who are led by freshman guard Cameron Thomas (22.1 ppg), sophomore forward Trendon Watford (18.7 ppg), junior guard Javonte Smart (15.2 ppg), and junior forward Darius Days (13.7 ppg).
“We’re playing arguably the best offensive team in the SEC in LSU,” Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats told the media on Monday afternoon. “Our guys have to get locked in defensively... We gotta stay humble. Gotta get the ego out of the room and keep them playing hard. Shoot, LSU is loaded offensively.
"Thomas, I think, is the highest-scoring freshman in the country and probably their best freshman scorer since Chris Jackson. You know Trendon Watford, who everyone is familiar with. Javonte Smart is playing really well and Days is a mismatch nightmare."
While the Crimson Tide is riding high, Oats made sure to remind this year's squad of what happened in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center a season ago, which resulted in a 90-76 defeat. Alabama would lose four of its next seven soon afterwards.
"I reminded our guys we were on a four-game winning streak when we went to LSU and then after that they put us in a tailspin we never got out of," Oats said. "So we’re going to see if we can go in there and show some maturity, play a lot harder, play a lot better and see if we can’t keep this thing going. The chemistry is great, the momentum is going, the guys are playing together. Winning helps that. Everything looks better when you’re winning games. But we’ve got our hands full.”
While LSU leads the SEC in scoring offense (86.1), field goal percentage (49.1), and free throw percentage (76.9), Alabama is first in the conference in defensive efficiency, field goal percentage defense (36.6), and three-point field goal percentage defense (25.9).
The Crimson Tide also ranks second in steals (9.3) and third in scoring defense (68.7).
But one of the main keys to maintaining first place in the SEC on Tuesday night will be slowing down Watford, the Mountain Brook, Ala. native, who is also averaging seven rebounds, nearly four assists, one steal, and is shooting 52 percent from the field and 43 percent from three-point range.
"They really are using him more as a playmaker this year more," Oats said. "He is passing the ball a little bit better. He has been efficient when he shoots the three so he's expanded his game. He's very talented and a big part of our scouting report and we have to be locked into what he is doing every time down the court."
Without Jordan Bruner in the lineup due to a torn meniscus, Oats says wing Herb Jones and forwards Alex Reese, Juwan Gary, and James Rojas will all get their turns defending Watford.
"We'll also need to bring help on him because he can pass the ball so well," Oats said. "He's a really good player, but he isn't their leading scorer. When you look at stopping them, it's really a matter of being locked into their big four of Thomas, Trendon, Smart, and Days."
During this winning stretch for Alabama, it has gone into places like Thompson-Boling Arena, Auburn Arena, and Rupp Arena, and came away victorious. In all those instances, it broke losing streaks inside those buildings.
LSU has won 49 of the 79 meetings all-time in Baton Rouge and the last two in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. A win against the Tigers would be just another sign that the culture is turning in Tuscaloosa.
"I think the home court advantage is less than it used to be, but I would still rather be playing in our gym, even with the limited fans," Oats said. "There’s still a home court advantage to me, but LSU didn’t really have a raucous crowd when we were there last year. I don’t know the last time we won there, but I guess it has been a while, but we hadn’t won at Kentucky for a while, either, or at Auburn and some other places.
"So we’re trying to change mindsets around here. So if it’s a home court advantage or not, we’ve got to bring it, control what we can do, focus on guarding, and I think if we do that we can win in any gym we’re playing in.”
