By Chris DePew
TideFans.com Staff
Feb. 13, 2018
Where to watch: Alabama (16-9, 7-5 SEC) vs. LSU (14-10, 5-7) – Today 8 p.m. Central, Coleman Coliseum, SEC Network
Who to watch: John Petty. If you find yourself pressed for time, just watch Petty’s first shot attempt, which will almost certainly be from behind the arc. If it goes in, chances are good that he’ll make at least a couple of more from long range and have a solid scoring contribution while helping to loosen things up for the offense in the paint. If it doesn’t go in, it’s more likely that he’ll spend the whole night scuffling to come up with more than a couple of points and will disappear altogether for long stretches of the game. That’s been the story of late for the mercurial shooting guard from Huntsville, who hit the wall harder than any of Bama’s vaunted freshmen. After scoring 14 points against Tennessee, another dose of home cooking may help to further rebuild his confidence before the Tide’s brutal finish to the regular season.
What to watch for: Which point guard seizes control. LSU freshman Tremont Waters outplayed Collin Sexton in the first meeting in Baton Rouge, although neither player was an efficient scorer. Waters was 5-for-13 from the floor with five assists, but got into foul trouble and didn’t have the size to keep Sexton and Dazon Ingram from hogging long rebounds. Sexton was a ghastly 4-for-16 shooting, turned it over nine times, fouled out with the Tigers threatening to rally late and came the closest he has all year to playing emotionally out of control. Whichever guard has the more mature game tonight (and can sink a few jumpers) figures to have the edge to lead his team to a crucial victory.
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