LSU prepares to host SEC-leader Alabama

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The LSU men’s basketball team is getting ready to host Alabama, the best team in the SEC.

The Tigers (10-2, 5-1 SEC) are right behind the Crimson Tide (11-3, 6-0 SEC) in the league rankings.

“This third game against Alabama is going to be a heavyweight bout,” said LSU head coach Will Wade. “It’s going to be a heavyweight bout, so we’re going to have to play a lot better if we’re going to give ourselves a chance against Alabama. They’re not only playing as well as anybody in our conference, they’re playing as good as anybody in the entire country.”

LSU is riding a three-game win streak with wins against Ole Miss, Arkansas, and South Carolina but the Tigers didn’t play well to start against the Gamecocks, who scored at will to take a double-digit lead on the home team and send Wade into a tirade during a timeout over lack of effort.

RELATED STORIES:

• LSU claws its way to 85-80 win over South Carolina
• LSU flexes its muscle in 92-76 win over Arkansas
• Watford, Smart lead LSU in dominant win over Ole Miss

“I don’t remember ... if y’all could hear it, maybe you could transcribe it for me. I mean, I just thought we needed to play with a little more pace, have a little more energy. We tried to simulate what they do in practice but the way they’re on top of you and the way you’ve got to cut and the way you’ve got to move and then, you’re moving and you’re running into people. It takes some time to get some rhythm against what they do. It’s so unique. It’s kind of like what Stephen F. Austin did to us a couple of years ago. It’s just a very unique way to play. It’s very effective but it just takes some time. We tried to simulate it the last two days in practice. I actually thought we were more prepared for it than we had been in a long time,” added Wade.

LSU leads the SEC in scoring with 86.1 points per game. The Tigers also have the best field goal percentage in the conference with 49.1%.

Freshman guard Cam Thomas leads the SEC with 22.1 points per game. Sophomore Trendon Watford is not far behind at No. 3 with 18.7 points per game.

LSU will host Alabama in the PMAC on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2021 WAFB. All rights reserved.