Why Labaron Philon Jr. Was Quiet in Alabama's Road Win Over LSU

The Crimson Tide superstar failed to score at least 10 points for the first time this season, despite tallying a career-high 35 points earlier in the week.

Alabama guard Labaron Philon (0) in action against LSU at Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA on Saturday, Feb 21, 2026. | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

No. 25 Alabama beat LSU 90-83 on the road on Saturday evening, but Crimson Tide superstar guard Labaron Philon Jr. did not play a major role on the scoreboard.

Philon was listed as "probable" on Friday's initial availability report ahead of the LSU game, and he was removed from the list two hours before tipoff. Alabama head coach Nate Oats did not mention a potential injury to Philon during Friday's press conference, meaning that he was essentially good to go for Saturday night.

While the sophomore led UA in assists with five, he only scored eight points on 2 of 8 from the field, including 0 of 3 from deep. Philon's scoring total is significant, as he failed to score at least 10 points for the first time this season. But his appearance on the availability report is partly due to his quiet outing.

"Baron's obviously banged up," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "He played a lot of minutes on Wednesday night [against Arkansas]. We held him out of practice. It's a lot about basketball — bumps, bruises — he just couldn't get loose.

"He didn't practice. We didn't practice on Thursday, we just did video and short work. Through Friday, he didn't practice at all. We were hoping he'd feel better today, and he did, but he wasn't anything close to where he needs to be.

"So, it'll be good to have tomorrow off. We'll have to try to manage his workload during practice on Monday and Tuesday and see where we get him on Wednesday [against Mississippi State]."

Saturday's game comes three days after Philon scored a career-high 35 points in Alabama's 117-115double overtime home win over No. 20 Arkansas.

Around the midway point of the latter period, Philon surpassed Crimson Tide great Brandon Miller's single-season mark in games scoring 20-plus points. Miller had 20-plus points in 14 of his 37 games played during the 2022-23 season, while Philon has now reached that mark in 15 of his 25 contests this season.

On Friday, Philon was named to the 2026 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Late-Season Team.

Philon is one of 30 Division I players named to the prestigious list and is joined by six other players from the Southeastern Conference.

Philon came into Saturday averaging 21.8 points, 5.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game this season. He has scored double-figures in every game played this season, and is shooting 50.8 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three-point range.

This Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Late-Season Team isn't the only list that Philon is featured in, as he's previously been named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 10 Midseason List and to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 List.

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