How to watch: Alabama basketball vs. LSU

Alabama basketball has its top-10 win, now it needs to build off it. Following, its 79-75 victory over No. 8 Auburn earlier this week, the Crimson Tide will look to avoid a letdown as it hosts an LSU team that has lost three of its last four games.

“If we’re going to try to compete for the league championship, we’ve got to win home games,” Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats said Friday. “Our guys can’t be up and down. We can't play really hard against Auburn because it's a rival game and then not play as hard because we got that win. We’ve got to fight complacency in that regard because we haven’t proved that we can do it consistently, two halves over a long stretch, which is what it's going to take to win the league.”

Alabama (13-6, 5-1 in the SEC) currently tops the SEC standings due to its tie-breaking win over Auburn (16-3, 5-1). The Tide is also barely ahead of No. 5 Tennessee (14-4, 4-1), which has a game in hand. Meanwhile, LSU (11-8, 3-3) is looking to reverse its recent woes and avoid dropping to the bottom of the SEC pack.

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday night’s game.

Who: Alabama (13-6, 5-1) vs. LSU (11-8, 3-3)

When: 7 p.m. CT, Saturday, Jan. 27

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Watch: ESPN

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network | SIRIUS/XM 134/201 (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Analyst: Bryan Passink, Engineer: Tom Stipe)

Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, junior

Stats: 19.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.8 apg, 52.4% FG, 45.9% 3-pt

Aaron Estrada: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, graduate

Stats: 12.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.8 apg, 44.2% FG, 36.3% 3-pt

Latrell Wrightsell Jr: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, senior

Stats: 7.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 41.7% FG, 45.1% 3-pt

Grant Nelson: 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, senior

Stats: 12.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 44.0% FG, 26.0% 3-pt

Nick Pringle: 6-foot-10, 230 pounds, senior

Stats: 5.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.4 apg, 70.9% FG

Jordan Wright: 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, senior

Stats: 15.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 40.9% FG, 37.1% 3-pt

Jalen Cook: 6-foot, 194 pounds, junior

Stats: 15.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 41.5% FG, 30.9% 3-pt

Mike Williams III: 6-foot-3, 181 pounds, freshman

Stats: 7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 40.5% FG, 36.1% 3-pt

Jalen Reed: 6-foot-10, 226 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 8.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.2 apg, 53.0% FG, 33.3% 3-pt

Will Baker: 7-foot, 245 pounds, senior

Stats: 11.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.9 apg, 50.7% FG, 28.6% 3-pt

After experiencing some turbulence in his first season with Alabama in 2019-20, Oats has turned Coleman Coliseum into a fortress for the Crimson Tide. Over the past three-plus seasons, Oats’ Alabama teams have posted a 49-5 record at home. That includes a perfect 15-0 mark last year and a 9-1 record so far this season.

When asked about his home success Friday, Oats began by stating it helps to have really good players. Alabama has produced six NBA draft picks during his tenure, including four first-rounders.

With that said, there’s no denying the advantage a rocking Coleman Coliseum can provide. Oats noted that as well, pointing to a crucial missed free throw by Auburn’s Jayin Williams in the final minute of Alabama’s win over the Tigers earlier this week.

“It can be one of the better crowds in the SEC,” Oats said. “We need it every game, not just Auburn, not just when Baylor comes to town two years ago. We put together a pretty good schedule, but we need that environment every game. Saturday night, hopefully, this place is sold out and is a raucous as it was on Wednesday because that’s what we need to have this program rolling and be one of the top programs in the country.

Alabama’s top freshman is beginning to find his footing at the college level. Jarin Stevenson hasn’t exactly stuffed the box score lately, but the 18-year-old forward is coming off back-to-back impressive performances for Alabama.

Stevenson recorded 6 points and three rebounds while posting a +12 point differential during his 23 minutes on the court against Auburn earlier this week. That came after he chipped in 7 points in 15 minutes while holding his own defensively during the Tide’s 91-71 loss at Tennessee last weekend.

“He’s got more confidence,” Oats said. “He’s playing more aggressive. He’s more consistent with his physicality. We saw that he could be physical right away on campus, it just showed up once or twice a day. Now it’s a lot more frequent, it’s more of his DNA that he can do it on every play. He’s learning the system. Defensively he’s playing with a little more of an edge. He’s got a lot better sense of urgency to him.”

Stevenson, a Chapel Hill North Carolina native, reclassified to the 2023 class to play with Alabama this season. The 6-foot-11, 210-pound forward has appeared in all 19 games and is averaging 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds over 15.9 minutes per game.

“You’ve got to get used to playing at this level when every possession matters and every guy you’re going against is another high-level athlete,” Oats said. “For a kid that’s supposed to be in high school still, he’s come a long way for us. He’s playing realy well for us right now.”

Stevenson’s 23 minutes against Auburn marked his second-longest outing of the season, trailing only the 25 minutes he logged during Alabama’s loss to Ohio State on Nov. 24. If the four-star forward continues to play up to his potential, he should see even more court time moving forward.

Oats’ decision to tinker with his starting lineup paid off earlier this week, as he inserted Latrell Wrightsell Jr. in place of Rylan Griffen against Auburn. The move ended up paying off for both guards. Making his second start of the season, Wrightsell recorded 14 points and 9 rebounds while shooting 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Griffen provided a boost off the bench, chipping in 17 points and 7 rebounds over 17 minutes.

Still, Oats isn’t sure what his starting five will look like Saturday. While the move to start Wrightsell paid off in the long run against Auburn, the Crimson Tide still let the Tigers get out to a 14-6 lead over the game’s first five minutes. Following Friday’s practice, Oats stressed the importance of a fast start against LSU, stating he still hasn’t decided on the group best suited for delivering that Saturday night.

“We may make a change,” Oats said. “I don't know. We'll see. We have to have better start. I mean, it's a group that's been started in pretty much every game just hasn't been able to provide us the starts we need so we'll discuss it as a staff and figure something out.”