Alabama Crimson Tide at LSU Tigers
When/Where: 5 p.m. Saturday in the PMAC | Baton Rouge
Television: ESPN2
Radio: WDGL-FM 98.1 (Baton Rouge)
Last Meeting: LSU ended Alabama’s season with a 68-56 victory in the first round of last year’s Southeastern Conference Tournament. It was the only game in the previous four meetings decided by more than three points.
LSU’s last game: LSU suffered its first losing streak of the season with a stunning 81-77 loss to Auburn Thursday in the PMAC. It was LSU’s second consecutive defeat against an opponent with a losing record.
Alabama’s last game: The Tide ended a two-game losing streak with a 62-49 victory against Missouri on Wednesday. It was just the second win in seven games for Alabama.
Alabama (14-8, 4-5 SEC)
Possible Starters and Top Reserves
Senior [G] Levi Randolph (6’5’’): 14.8 ppg, 34.4 mpg, 4.9 rpg, 50.2% FG (110-219).
Junior [G] Ricky Tarrant (6’2’’): 13.1 ppg, 25.8 mpg, 2.0 apg, 80.2% FT (81-101).
Senior [G] Rodney Cooper (6’6’’): 10.4 ppg, 29.8 mpg, 3.9 rpg, 50% FG (76-152).
Sophomore [F] Shannon Hale (6’8’’): 7.9 ppg, 19.0 mpg, 3.1 rpg, 40% FG (56-140).
Sophomore [F] Michael Kessens (6’9’’): 6.7 ppg, 22.7 mpg, 5.8 rpg, 50% FG (53-106).
Sophomore [F] Jimmie Taylor (6’10’’): 4.4 ppg, 22.6 mpg, 4.5 rpg, 59.4% FG (38-64).
Freshman [G] Justin Coleman (5’10’’): 4.9 ppg, 18.7 mpg, 77.4% FT (24-31).
LSU (16-6, 5-4 SEC)
Possible Starters and Top Reserves:
Junior guard Josh Gray (6’1’’): 9.0 ppg, 29.4 mpg, 4.6 apg, 41% FG (68-166).
Junior guard Keith Hornsby (6’4’’): 12.6 ppg, 35.0 mpg, 4.5 rpg, 37.2% 3-point FG (42-113).
Sophomore forward Jarell Martin (6’10’’): 16.0 ppg, 35.2 mpg, 9.2 rpg, 47.6% FG (128-269).
Sophomore forward Jordan Mickey (6’8’’): 16.7 ppg, 35.0 mpg, 11.0 rpg, 3.7 bpg, 52.4% FG (143-273).
Sophomore forward Darcy Malone (7’0’’): 1.4 ppg, 9.7 mpg, 1.2 rpg, 46.7% FG (7-15).
Sophomore guard Tim Quarterman (6’6’’): 12.1 ppg, 32.8 mpg, 5.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 77.3% FT (58-75).
Freshman guard Jalyn Patterson (6’0’’): 5.4 ppg, 19.9 mpg, 1.0 spg, 37.3% 3-point FG (22-59).
Three Things to Watch for
Find the open man
When the Tigers are clicking on offense, it’s usually because they’re spreading the ball around.
LSU is 4-1 in SEC play when it assists on more than half its field goals and 1-3 when it doesn’t. During the Tigers’ two-game losing skid, they’ve assisted on 40 percent of their field goals (22-of-50) and have turned the ball over 30 times.
LSU still leads the SEC in assists per game (14.3) during league play but haven’t tallied more than 13 assists in their previous four games. The Tigers are 2-2 during that stretch, with both defeats against teams with losing records.
Going against Alabama may not be the cure LSU’s struggling offense needed. In SEC play, the Tide rank second behind No. 1 Kentucky in points allowed per game (59.9) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (40.3).
Alabama hasn’t allowed more than 15 assists in SEC play and have held opponents to 11 assists or fewer in five of its nine conference games.
Tide down a guard, still have another
Alabama is expected to be without one of its starting guards against LSU — 6-foot-2 junior Ricky Tarrant — for the third straight game with a lower leg injury.
Tarrant, who is the Tide’s leading scorer in SEC play, missed Alabama’s previous two games against Kentucky and Missouri, respectively. In conference action, Tarrant has averaged 13.1 points a night in and has reached double figures in five of seven games.
With Tarrant’s potential absence, the Tide will likely lean heavily on senior guard Levi Randolph. The 6-foot-5 Randolph has averaged 16 points per game in his last two outings, including a 20-point night in Alabama’s win against Missouri Wednesday.
Randolph scored a combined 24 points in the two games the Tide faced LSU last season. In those meetings, Randolph struggled from the floor, going 7-of-17 from the field and missing six of his eight 3-point attempts.
Not hitting from deep lately
It’s no secret LSU isn’t a prolific 3-point shooting team, but the past two games have hammered this point home.
The Tigers made only four of their 17 3-point attempts against Auburn on Thursday, which followed their 4-for-23 clip from deep against Mississippi State Jan. 31. LSU has made just 24 percent (13-of-54) of its 3-pointers in the last three games, going 1-2 during that span.
Even the Tigers’ most efficient marksman from deep are struggling to find their range.
LSU junior guard Keith Hornsby, a 37.2 percent 3-point shooter this season, has missed 11 of his last 15 tries from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Tim Quarterman has also gone cold, hitting just seven of his last 30 attempts from 3-point territory.