After a week in which its biggest rival dominated every end of the floor and reclaimed bragging rights in the bitter in-state rivalry, Alabama men’s basketball needed a statement victory.
In its 109-92 win Saturday over the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, the Crimson Tide showed that it is still capable of being one of the best offenses in the country, scoring over 100 points for the seventh time this season, the most in the SEC in the last 30 years.
Also needing a statement performance after last week was forward Nick Pringle.
Pringle, who was suspended for over a week due to misconduct within the team, had his best game of the season, scoring a season-high 17 points with eight rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass.
“I thought Pringle’s energy in the minutes he gave us was huge,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said postgame. “Hopefully he can use this as a springboard to really start playing some great basketball for us.”
The Crimson Tide improved in many areas that it struggled with during the second Iron Bowl of Basketball.
Most notably, Alabama committed just eight turnovers after committing 15 against Auburn. The Crimson Tide also committed 15 fewer fouls, leading to only 18 points from the free-throw line for LSU, after Auburn scored 40 from the charity stripe, setting a program record.
Alabama forced 12 turnovers, leading to 23 points.
“We’ve been on these guys about rebounding, turnovers and defensive intensity,” Oats said.
Guard Mark Sears led Alabama in scoring, as he has many times this season. The Muscle Shoals native finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Sears is leading the SEC in points per game with an average of 20.5.
Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. finished with a season-high 21 points, going 6-9 from downtown, matching his career high in made 3-pointers in a game. Wrightsell also finished with his first career double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds.
Alabama’s guards combined for 26 of Alabama’s 43 total rebounds.
“Our bigs were stepping up and rebounding, so [the guards] had to help them out,” Wrightsell said. “It’s another way for us to be a winning team, so we have to step up and do that.”
With this win, the Crimson Tide is now in a tie with South Carolina for the top spot in the SEC. Both teams have a 9-2 conference record.
Next, Alabama will have a week to prepare for a home matchup with Texas A&M Aggies. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 11 a.m. CT.
