LSU basketball closed out its three-game homestand with a forgettable 105-75 loss against No. 18 Alabama. The Crimson Tide remain the only Southeastern Conference team to be undefeated in conference play (7-0).
The Tigers (10-3, 5-2 SEC) suffered their first home loss of the season and sit at second place in the SEC.
Alabama started out red hot, knocking down 10 of its first 11 shot attempts, including eight of its first nine three-pointers. LSU found itself down 27-6 very quickly, and the Crimson Tide coasted to a 60-32 halftime lead.
Alabama could not miss on its way to set the SEC record for three-pointers made in a game with 23. LSU Head Coach Will Wade said he takes full responsibility for the team’s perimeter defense and lack of preparation.
“We’ve got to get it fixed because we were beaten every way tonight,” Wade said. “I give Alabama a ton of credit. They were more ready than us, they were more excited than us and they played a lot better than we did.”
Freshman guard Cameron Thomas led the team in scoring despite a poor shooting performance (6-17) in the loss. His 21 points marked his tenth 20-point game of the season. Thomas leads the SEC in scoring with a 22 point per game average.
Despite his performance, Thomas said the team’s defensive breakdowns dug the Tigers into a huge hole.
“They shot great tonight,” Thomas said. “I mean, we tried everything. They were just making threes. We’ve got to go back and work on our defense. We definitely didn’t put our best foot forward. We’ve got to get back to work.”
Thomas, the 23rd-ranked recruit in the 2020 class according to ESPN and 247Sports, has not disappointed. He has put himself firmly in the conversation for this season’s National Player of the Year, and his NBA Draft stock has skyrocketed. Thomas certainly has the potential to be a lottery selection should he declare this offseason.
LSU will hit the road on Saturday and look to bounce back against a struggling Kentucky team. Wade said he will do a better job of getting the team ready and help them lock in for the rest of the season.
“Once again, it was an all-systems breakdown, starting and ending with me,” Wade said. “We’ve got to pick ourselves up off the mat and not let this game beat us twice and find a way to go to Lexington and certainly play better on Saturday night.”
