TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 25 Alabama Crimson Tide had a chance to pick up their 20th win of
the season against the LSU Tigers on Mar. 5, a win that would’ve given them some much-
needed momentum ahead of the SEC Tournament and locked them into the No. 5 seed.

Alabama failed to capitalize on the golden opportunity, losing 77-80 in overtime. The Tide
finished the 2021-22 season 19-12 (9-9 SEC) after their second consecutive conference loss.
Keon Ellis led the way in the scoring column with 19 (4-10 FG, 3-8 3PT), and led the team in
rebounds with 9. J.D. Davison led the team in assists with 4.

Very little went ‘right’ for the Crimson Tide. They failed to find the bottom of the net on a
majority of their 3-point attempts in the 1st half (36.4% 3PT, 4-11) and compounded the issue
with some questionable shots in the 2nd . The Crimson Tide made just 11 of their 40 attempted
3’s, good for 27.5%; LSU made 7 but only attempted 20.

Overall, the Tide scored on just 37.7% (23-61 FG) of their shots. Alabama did manage, however,
to find consistency at the free throw line and shot an impressive 90.9% (20-22).
In what’s becoming an increasingly concerning trend, Charles Bediako continues to be
underutilized. With 6:52 left in the 2nd half, Bediako subbed out after stuffing the stat sheet with
5 (2-3 FG) points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal; he didn’t see the floor for the final 10
minutes.

In those crucial 10 minutes, LSU scored 23 points. 10 of them were scored in the paint, 6 of
which came within three minutes of Bediako’s final substitution. Teams have gotten figured out
how to gash Alabama in the painted area: simply wait until Alabama head coach Nate Oats sits
Bediako.

The No. 25 Alabama Crimson Tide has officially run out of time; with the regular season in the
books, the Tide must turn their attention to the SEC Tournament, and fast. With such important
games on the horizon, the Tide need to find a way to jump-start their offense if they don’t want
to be watching the NCAA Tournament from the couch.

The Crimson Tide will face the winner of No. 11 Vanderbilt vs. No. 14 Georgia on March 10 th . Tip
off will be 25 minutes after the 6:00 p.m. start of No. 7 South Carolina against No. 10
Mississippi State.

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