MIKE RODAK al.com
The SEC heavyweight gave his opponent a TKO before the match was halfway through.
Alabama buried LSU in a 37-point halftime hole on Saturday by making 14 first-half 3-pointers, then rallied for the final 20 minutes at Coleman Coliseum for a 106-66 win.
By the end of the loss, Alabama had hit 54 3-pointers – tied for the second most in SEC history. He scored 20, the fourth most in school history.
Alabama’s 40-point margin of victory was the largest in an SEC victory since beating Auburn, 94-53, in 2005.
The final score left little doubt that the fourth-ranked Tide is the SEC’s team to beat as it sits atop the conference standings with an unblemished 5-0 record, with a chance to be the nation’s top team when the polls update Monday.
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Freshman Brandon Miller nearly outscored LSU in the first half by himself, scoring 22 points on 6-of-9 3-point shooting before Alabama went into halftime with a 59-22 lead. He attempted 33 3-pointers in the first half, with the last desperation half-court shot by Jaden Bradley deflected off the backboard and into the basket as time expired.
Alabama players celebrated with Bradley as they went to the locker room for a break, with his 14 3-pointers leaving the rebuilding Tigers with little chance of a second-half comeback.
Nate Oats turned to his bench for much of the second half and the three-point barrage died down. Alabama started 1-14 after halftime and Miller entered the end zone. He finished with 31 points on 7-of-11 3-point shooting in a season-low 24 minutes.
But Alabama got hot again in the closing minutes, making five straight 3-pointers with less than five minutes left – the final one coming on a jumper by Adam Cottrell. Walk-ons Delaney Heard and Jaden Quinerly launched two more but missed in the final 66 seconds.
Alabama’s 54 tackles were the most by a Division I team this season. They tied Arkansas’ 54 in a win over North Texas on Dec. 30, 1998 as the most three-point attempts in a regular game in the SEC record book, and Alabama’s 59 in a 2020 overtime loss at Auburn still stands as conference record.
On Saturday, Alabama made 20 three-pointers for the second time this season. He scored 21 in a 42-point victory over Jacksonville State in November, which was tied for the fourth most in SEC history. Alabama owns the conference record 23 road wins in 2021 at LSU.
The three-point shot was not the extent of Alabama’s dominance over LSU. It outrebounded the Tigers, 52-38, the Tide’s largest margin in an SEC game this season.
Alabama turned the ball over just eight times, holding single-digit turnovers for the third time in the past four games. He had double-digit turnovers in every other game this season.
Alabama made 80 percent of its free throws (16-20), its third-highest percentage of the season. He held LSU to 29.5 percent shooting from the field, the third-worst mark against Alabama this season, although the Tigers shot 38 percent (8-of-21) on 3-pointers.
Miller was joined in double figures by Mark Sears (12 points), Rylan Griffen (12), Jahvon Quinerly (12) and Nick Pringle (10). Quinerly shot 4-8 for 3-pointers, his most from beyond the arc this season.
Alabama plays twice on the road next week, at Vanderbilt on Tuesday night and at Missouri next Saturday.