Callin’ Baton Rouge from Coleman Coliseum: Another 3-Point Shooting Clinic for No. 4 Alabama against LSU
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — 725 days ago, the Alabama Crimson Tide put together its best shooting performance in program history — on Jan. 19, 2021 against LSU in Baton Rouge, La.
The Crimson Tide made 23 3-pointers that night. On Saturday, No. 4 Alabama (15-2, 5-0 SEC) dropped in 20 shots from downtown in the Crimson Tide’s 106-66 victory over the Tigers.
“It’s different players, different staff — just a coincidence,” head coach Nate Oats said. “20 [threes] is a lot. We’ve got some shooters. We try to keep recruiting the best shooters we can in the country to come here. We shot 54. A lot of teams don’t shoot 54 in the span of three or four games. […] If you’re open, you shoot it.”
Even walk-on Adam Cottrell got in on the fun — hitting a shot from deep late in the second half.
“I was really happy for Adam,” Oats said. “[He’s an] unbelievable kid. […] He’s added a lot to our program. […] He’s a shooter. The kid scored a lot of points in high school.”
There must be something about going against the purple and gold of LSU.
“We challenged our guys before the game, making sure they were ready to go out of the gate,” Oats said. “We needed to play harder than them. […] Obviously, we hit a lot of threes.”
The Tigers (12-5, 1-4 SEC) had no answer defensively. Alabama scored at will for the full 40 minutes. Brandon Miller had perhaps his best game as a member of the Crimson Tide, scoring 31 points and knocking down seven of the team’s 3-point barrage.
For much of the game, Miller himself was tied in scoring with LSU.
“I feel like my teammates really pushed me to make shots out there early,” Miller said.
In the game two years ago, the Tigers still managed to score 75 points as Alabama took its foot off the pedal a little bit. That was not the case in the 2023 rendition. Even while leading by as many as 45 points, the Crimson Tide stood its ground on defense. LSU shot just 30% from the field. Alabama won the rebounding battle 52-38.
Game by game, the Crimson Tide looks more and more like a team ready for a late run in March. And while offense doesn’t always travel, defense does.
Alabama will look to see if it can take its hot shooting on the road, as the Crimson Tide will play both of its games next week away from Coleman Coliseum.
First, Alabama will travel up to Nashville, Tenn. to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff between the Crimson Tide and Commodores is set for Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
