Takeaways From Alabama Basketball's Road Win Over LSU
Get the brooms out again.
No. 16 Alabama basketball went on the road and swept LSU, winning by a final score of 109-92. The game got the Crimson Tide back in the win column, bouncing back from a loss to Auburn, and maintaining its tie atop the SEC standings.
Here are some of my thoughts and observations from the game:
1. The offense is inevitable.
I'm running out of words to describe this Alabama offense.
Elite, dominant, historic, and plenty of synonyms of those words.
The Crimson Tide scored 109 points against LSU for the second time this season, after hitting that same mark two weeks ago the first time these two teams met. That marks the seventh time this season the team has scored at least 100 points in a game, extending the school record which was already set much earlier in the season.
Against LSU, even though the Tigers were hanging with the Crimson Tide for a good portion of the game, it just felt inevitable that the Alabama offense would eventually pull away.
Five different Crimson Tide players scored in double figured, including two that scored at least 20: Mark Sears, who extended his streak of scoring 20-plus to seven games, and Latrell Wrightsell, who scored a season-high 21.
Wrightsell continues to be an x-factor for Alabama, as the Crimson Tide is 7-0 in games where he scores at least 10 points.
Alabama made 18 of its 44 attempts from downtown, a 41 percent clip, and seemingly made a silencer every time the LSU crowd would start to get in the game.
Additionally, the Crimson Tide performed admirably on the glass, one game after getting dominated by Auburn. The Crimson Tide won the rebounding battle 43-31, with 19 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. Of those 19 offensive rebounds, 10 came from guards.
"We got challenged the last couple days in practice," Wrightsell said. "We have a smaller lineup, so we have to help our bigs out rebounding."
In total, Alabama got 21 more field goal attempts than LSU, though the Tigers made their field goals at a higher percentage. From the onslaught of threes, to the improved rebounding, to the guards' ability to pass, there's not much this Alabama offense can't do.
With 9:32 to go, LSU's Jalen Cook hit a jumper to give the Tigers a 73-72 lead. Alabama won the remainder of the game 37-19.
That ability to flip a switch is unmatched.
2. Nick Pringle provides a huge spark.
LSU got off to a quick start thanks to big man Will Baker, who was dominating Alabama's Grant Nelson early. Nelson had no answer for Baker, whether he was driving or shooting, so Oats turned to Nick Pringle to come off the bench and provide some production.
It's been a roller coaster of a season for Pringle, from starting games to serving multiple suspensions, but he came off the bench to play one of his best games of the season against the Tigers.
He totaled 17 points, a season-high, grabbed five rebounds (four offensive), and held Baker to just two second half points after he erupted for 22 in the first.
Oats said he and some members of the team knew Pringle would have a good day by the way he had prepared before the game.
"There's a way to get yourself mentally ready for the game, Nick was ready before the game," Oats said.
Pringle looked like he had in some of his best games in an Alabama uniform, flying high above the rim to finish explosive lobs and using his lanky wingspan to disrupt passing lanes down low.
Pringle has always had the ability to be a productive player. He's not the best fundamental big you've ever seen, but he has the athletic tools to be able to produce when you add in high effort. If Pringle has turned a corner and can continue to play at this level, it would bolster Alabama's frontcourt that sorely needs depth and production.
"I was so happy for Nick. He's been up and down, in and out of the lineup," Oats said. "His attitude has been great all week, his effort in practice has been great all week. I think he's gotten to a great place mentally, emotionally."
3. The defense just is what it is.
Alabama gave up a lot of points again. 92, to be exact.
Nate Oats has been vocal all season about how Alabama needs to get its defense fixed, and he's made sure to do so after wins as well, when he felt like the defense wasn't up to par.
I think specifically to last time Alabama played LSU. Oats was ranting throughout his postgame press conference, a game in which Alabama won by 20, talking about how the Crimson Tide needed to improve its defense or it wouldn't be able to compete for a league championship.
But this game, even though Alabama allowed more points than it did the last time it played LSU, Oats wasn't nearly as irate about the defensive effort. In fact, he took a different approach, actually being complimentary about the adjustments the team made in the second half, specifically with its defense on the Tigers' Will Baker.
Let's be clear, the defense was by no means great, or even good. LSU scored over 1.2 points per possession, a mark any team wants to avoid. But Alabama's offense was so good, it didn't matter.
Oats' response could be indicative of what I've been realizing over the past few weeks: the defense just is what it is at this point.
Sure, Oats, and the fans, would like the defense to be able to consistently hold its opponents under 75 points, or have a top-10, even top-20 ranking in defensive efficiency. But as we've hit mid-February, that's just not the reality.
There hasn't been enough improvement through the first three-quarters of the season to expect, or even hope for that kind of jump down the stretch. Nor does Alabama have the defensive personnel to see that kind of jump.
What Alabama's defense is, is inconsistent. Some games, like the home games against Auburn, Mississippi State and South Carolina, it looks good, even great. Other games, like both meetings with LSU, not so much.
But at this point in the season, it's time to accept it's inconsistencies. That doesn't mean that Alabama can't win a league championship, or make a deep run in March. Especially with how good this offense is.
