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When Nate Oats landed in Tuscaloosa almost six years ago, he found a roster that was middling on talent, but had some high-ceiling coachable players who wanted to win. You need those John Pettys, of course. And no one really could foresee what Herb Jones would blossom into. But you also need star power in basketball. Even the best group of team-first average players typically falls short of cutting down the nets (quick: name a single player on Beard\u2019s 2018-2019 Texas Tech starting roster. Bet you can\u2019t without Google \u2014 and, nope, Nimari Burnett isn\u2019t one of them). <\/p>\n
Coach Oats was behind the eight-ball, but there was one intriguing undeclared player just up the road in Mountain Brook: All-everything, No. 1 recruit Trendon Watford. Now that <\/em>is the type of transformative star power that the Tide needed. Unfortunately, Nate was also introduced in his first month to how things are done at some places in the SEC…particularly LSU. Will Wade, the Tigers\u2019 criminally-corrupt, sweat hog with a pocketbook, had already bought and paid for Watford. And along the way, some bad blood was born. As a result, it was neither Tennessee nor Auburn that became Public Enemy No. 1 to the new \u2018Bammer coach \u2014 it was the LSU Tigers. <\/p>\n Since that early spring day six years ago, there have been few (if any) teams Oats has loved punishing quite like LSU. He gets up for these games, and consequently, it should come as little surprise that it is the Coonass Kitties that he has enjoyed his most success against: 10-2 and counting, including a head-to-head title matchup.<\/p>\n Will Wade is gone. And in his place the far more likable, respectable Matt McMahon (nee <\/em>Murray State) has arrived. But Nate only sees purple and gold. And when he sees purple and gold, he also sees red. <\/p>\n Guess who\u2019s coming to dinner tonight, folks?<\/p>\n Indeed. GTFO.<\/p>\n Spread: Alabama -17 (167.0)<\/strong><\/p>\n Opponent KenPom:<\/strong> 68 (102 offense, 53 defense, 130 tempo) UA Ken Pom<\/strong>: 8th (2 Off, 45 Defense, 1 Tempo) We\u2019ve seen quite a few types of systems so far this season, with most opponents preferring to let action unfold on the floor in today\u2019s almost-positionless, backcourt-driven four- and five-out systems. We\u2019ve seen hybrid eclectic motion from teams like Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. But, aside from the truly anal retentive Matt Painter and Buzz Williams types, Alabama rarely sees opponents so wedded to an offensive philosophy like the one Matt McMahon brings into Tuscaloosa tonight. <\/p>\n McMahon (another former guard-cum-<\/em>coach), earned his national credibility as the skipper of those Murray State teams (and, yes, he was the coach when Alabama fans were treated to that outstanding Young Bull vs. Ja shootout in Coleman). At MSU, his Racers cultivated a well-earned reputation for exceptional offensive efficiency, albeit at a pace that is a bit more deliberative than you\u2019d expect. In five of his six seasons, the Racers were in the Top Third nationally in floor shooting, effective field goal percent, and scoring. And while the league has changed, and the tempo is up a bit, expect no surprises tonight: LSU plays every bit the same scheme that MSU did. <\/p>\n LSU runs a pure motion offense, although it is not one that eschews the dribble (like Vandy or Ole Miss), rather it lets the point guard put the ball on the floor. Indeed, in this system, the trigger man has the green light to iso his defender and dart to the basket off the dribble. We\u2019ll be using a few football similes today, because it makes the most sense. Think of the point guard dribble-drive as the keeper option on the RPO: if it\u2019s there, and the LSU PG sees something he likes, he\u2019s expected to take off to the basket for a higher percentage play. <\/p>\n But, more often than not, defenders won\u2019t be so lax as to give up early possession lanes to the basket, and that is where the second part of this system comes into play: Like UNC, the Tigers will absolutely ball-screen you to death. Unlike other screen-dependent teams, however, LSU doesn\u2019t run many pick-and-rolls, or high-screen looks. They don\u2019t even run rolling three-man sets that follow ball movement (a la <\/em>Vandy). Instead, it is pure motion, so at least three players are moving at almost all times, and the preferred way to do that is with cross-court screens (two guys moving across the baseline at the same time, while another man gets loose in traffic), or rub-and-replace screens (same concept, but from to the rim to the top of the key.) <\/p>\n Another tool in the screening arsenal is adding a fourth player to the mix for a butt-bump, which is exactly what it sounds like. Think of it like a hockey hip-check. Rather than getting set, and losing motion and momentum, the butt-bumper sticks that gyatt out and hip-checks his man: not enough for a moving pick, but certainly not a static face-up screen with the shoulder either. It\u2019s borderline on every play so officials rarely call it. <\/p>\n Shot selection is the name of the game. And all of the three-and-four man screening motion frees up a variety of looks at the basket: from backside layups, to iso penetration, to open jumpers. And, as we saw with Vanderbilt, this deliberative style of constant screening means that the Tigers are not a tempo team, but they do move their offense at a decent pace \u2014 and certainly faster than what McMahon has traditionally relied on. <\/p>\n The final part of the offensive system, and one that he emphasizes constantly, is five-man offensive rebounding: hammer that glass to chase misses and score easy put-backs. Of course, the downside is that it opens up LSU to fast breaks the other way. But, he\u2019s playing a percentage game: layups are going to be made more often than LSU will give up a breakout. There\u2019s a reason that LSU is one of the better teams in the conference in offensive rebounding and among the nation\u2019s best in two-point floor shooting (17th), despite not being a great overall field-goal shooting team. This is also why the three LSU starting guards average almost 40 points a night, and they all flirt with five boards-per. That\u2019s a huge contribution near the rim for a backcourt-led system. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s what it all looks like when it\u2019s put together:<\/p>\n
\nTale of the Tape: No. 68 LSU (12-6, 1-4) vs No. 4 Alabama (15-3, 5-1)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Opponent Evan Miya: <\/strong> 73 (96 offense, 61 defense, 90 tempo)
Opponent Bart Torvik: <\/strong> 79 (128 offense, 57 defense, 123 tempo)
Opponent NET: <\/strong>69 (0-5 Q1); Q2 opponent for the Tide
Opponent RPI: <\/strong>107
Opponent Best Win:<\/strong> vs Arkansas (54)
Opponent Worst Loss:<\/strong> SMU (51)<\/p>\n
UA Evan Miya<\/strong>: 5th (3 Off, 27 Defense, 1 Tempo)
UA Bart Torvik:<\/strong> 5th (2 Off, 37 Defense, 1 Tempo)
UA NET Ranking:<\/strong> 7 (11-3 Q1\/2)
UA RPI<\/strong>: 2
UA Best Win: <\/strong>No. 3 (N) Houston
UA Worst Loss: <\/strong>No. 23 (N) Oregon<\/p>\n
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