Alabama Basketball Over LSU: What Led Tide Point Explosion?

Alabama Basketball Exploded to a 90-72 Win Over LSU. Review the key factors that drove the Crimson Tide to the big victory.

Alabama Basketball doesn’t score 90 points very often. The last time it happened in a regular season contest was against Ole Miss in 2009. Going into Saturday afternoon’s game in Tuscaloosa, the Tide was averaging 69.2 points per game, enough to be ranked No. 268 in the nation.

What happened in T-Town? Has the Tide offense turned a corner? Did the suspension of Shannon Hale somehow ignite the team?

Let’s take on the answers in reverse order. Without good inside information, it is impossible to know how the absence of Hale affected his teammates. If his frequent lack of effort in games reflected a poor attitude, the team is probably better without him. Best guess at an answer, his suspension had little or no effect on the LSU game.

One game is insufficient to predict future offensive output. But there were hints from the game that are encouraging. First was pace, as the Tide ramped up the tempo in transition and at times in half-court sets. On one, five- pass fast break, the ball never touched the floor before a gimme basket. It was the best attacking play of the season.

Two other bright spots were evident on Saturday. The emergence of Bola Olaniyan has been building for the past few games. Throughout most of the season, his rebounding contribution has been exceptional. What had been missing for Bola was point production. It is clear Avery has urged him to take more shots. Against LSU, he recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.

The other bright spot was Armond Davis who lately is playing like his reputation as last season’s 6th best junior college player in the nation. He is more patient to shoot and he is beginning to hit threes with proficiency. Plus, he also attacks the basket rather than just hanging outside the arc. Against LSU, his baseline dribble, reverse dunk was the offensive highlight of the game. He finished the game with 15 points.

For those seeking the main reason the Tide exploded against LSU, the answer is simple. Alabama was extraordinary in team assist-to-turnover ration. Against LSU the Tide committed 10 turnovers while making 20 assists. An assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0 will win almost any game.

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Let’s look at that stat closely. Going into Saturday, Alabama was No. 318 in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio for the season of .78 – less than 1.00 means a team turns the ball over more frequently than it makes an assist.

How good was the Tide’s 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio on Saturday? The No. 1 team in the nation in that stat category is UCLA. The Bruins number for the season is 1.83. They are 23-3 and the No. 6 team in the nation.

Among current top 25 teams, 14 of the teams have assist-to-turnover ratios of 1.27 or higher, all in the top 50 in the nation for that stat.

Against LSU, Alabama performed offensively at a very high level. Before we start beating our Crimson Tide chests too hard, we need to remember the opponent was LSU. The Tigers have now lost 13 consecutive games. They have a talented roster but they do not play good team defense. On too many possessions their defensive effort is poor.

To determine if the Tide has turned a corner with its offense will require some stiffer competition.

Next: Tide Roundball Loads Up Roster for Next Season

Alabama next basketball game is Thursday night against Georgia in Tuscaloosa.