How to watch: No. 4 Alabama basketball vs. LSU

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For a second time this season, Alabama basketball sits at No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25, its highest ranking since the 2006-07 season. Following this week’s win at No. 15 Arkansas, the Crimson Tide could climb even higher in the polls if it takes care of business against LSU on Saturday inside Coleman Coliseum.

Here's everything you need to know heading into the game.

Who: No. 4 Alabama (14-2, 4-0) vs. LSU (12-4, 1-3)

When: 3 p.m. CT, Wednesday, Jan. 14

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Watch: ESPN (play-by-play: Tom Hart; analyst: Jimmy Dykes)

Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network (play-by-play: Chris Stewart; analyst: Bryan Passink; engineer: Tom Stipe)

Jaden Bradley: 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, freshman

Stats: 8.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.7 apg, 42.3% FG, 28.6% 3-pt

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

Stats: 15.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 43.4% FG, 42.2% 3-pt

Brandon Miller: 6-foot-9, 200 pounds, freshman

Stats: 18.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.9 apg, 43.9% FG, 44.5% 3-pt

Noah Clowney: 6-foot-10, 210 pounds, freshman

Stats: 10.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 53.5% FG, 34.8% 3-pt

Charles Bediako: 7-foot, 225 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 5.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.6 apg, 60.3% FG

Justice Hill: 6-foot, 175 pounds, senior

Stats: 7.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.7 apg, 30.9% FG, 27.9% 3-pt

Adam Miller: 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, redshirt sophomore

Stats: 13.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 36.2% FG, 32.3% 3-pt

Trae Hannibal: 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, senior

Stats: 6.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 42.5% FG, 33.3% 3-pt

Derek Fountain: 6-foot-10, 225 pounds, junior

Stats: 7.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.9 apg, 66.2% FG, 50.0% 3-pt

K.J. Williams: 6-foot-10, 250 pounds, senior

Stats: 18.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 53.5% FG, 44.1% 3-pt

The Crimson Tide is on a red-hot run. Alabama has won nine of its last 10 games and is currently on a five-game winning streak that includes a perfect 4-0 start to SEC play. Its recent opponents haven’t been as fortunate.

Alabama smashed a struggling Kentucky team 78-52 last weekend, handing the Wildcats their fifth loss of the season. Earlier this week, the Tide gave No. 15 Arkansas its third loss in four games as it took down the Razorbacks 84-69 on the road. Alabama will once again face off against an LSU team riding a three-game losing streak.

“It’s a lot more must-win for them than for us,” head coach Nate Oats said. “To me that’s a maturity test. I told our guys, basketball’s an emotional game, you get up for some games. Obviously Arkansas and the way that they’ve been recruiting and they were ranked, you’re going to get up for that game. Kentucky’s Kentucky, you’re going to get up for that game. You’ve got the big rivalry game with Auburn, you’re going to get up for that game.

“LSU’s been a rivalry since I’ve got here, but they’ve lost three in a row. Can you still prepare for LSU losing three in a row like you just prepared for Arkansas? To me, that’s a sign of maturity.”

So far the answer to that question has been yes. Oats said his team’s energy at practice Friday was good despite coming off a tough game at Arkansas. Alabama players also appear locked in heading into Saturday’s matchup against LSU.

“I don’t look at records, I’m looking at the team,” Alabama guard Rylan Griffin said. “There’s a lot of teams in this conference that can beat any team on any given night. … [LSU’s] been playing teams tough. They were 12-1 entering conference play. They obviously have a good team and are capable of beating anybody in this conference. I feel like we need to lock in and take care of business on our own floor.

Added forward Noah Clowney: “Every team I feel like is going to play us harder just because of who we are right now. So we just got to give it everything.”

Alabama is battle-tested against some of the nation’s top bigs. So far, those matchups have resulted in varying amounts of success.

Connecticut’s Adama Sanogo recorded 25 points and four rebounds during a 82-67 victory over the Crimson Tide while Drew Timme dropped 29 points and 10 boards while leading Gonzaga to a 100-090 victory over Alabama. The Tide also allowed North Carolina’s Armando Bacot to net a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds during a four-overtime win over the then No.1- ranked Tar Heels.

However, it hasn’t been all bad. Alabama held Michigan State’s Joey Hauser to 9 points and five rebounds during an 81-70 victory over the Spartans. Last week, the Crimson Tide’s quieted Oscar Tshiebwe, limiting the reigning national player of the year to 4 points and six rebounds during its rout of Kentucky.

This weekend, Alabama's frontcourt will be up against a different type of challenge as it faces off against LSU’s K.J. Williams. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Murray State transfer ranks second in the SEC averaging 18.5 points per game. More importantly for Saturday’s matchup, he also ranks fourth in the conference, hitting on 44.1% of his shots from beyond the arc.

“It’s definitely a lot different than what we’ve seen,” Oats said. “Charles [Bediako] has done well with like a Tshiebwe type. This is not Tshiebwe. Tshiebwe’s great, he interior rebounds it well. Williams can step out and knock down 3s.”

Williams has demonstrated his long-range game several times this season, rattling off seven 3s in a win over Wake Forest before draining four in a loss to Kentucky. That presence on the perimeter might cause Alabama to change up its approach.

“We may have different options on him, different coverages,” Oats said. “We’re going to see what we can figure out. There may be some changes throughout the course of the game depending on how it goes.”

Speaking of big men who can shoot, Alabama has one beginning to find his stroke from deep. After starting the season 2 of 16 from beyond the arc, Clowney has seen his 3-point percentage rise to a respectable 34.8%.

The 6-foot-10, 210-pound freshman made three of his four shots from beyond the arc during Wednesday night’s win over Arkansas and is 7 of 12 from deep over his last five games.

“I feel like I’ve always been a decent shooter, and I’ve always been confident,” Clowney said. “At the beginning of the season, they wasn’t falling, but I didn’t stop shooting them. As they’re falling, I’m becoming more confident cause that just comes with it. But it’s really just going to go up regardless."

Clowney’s breakout from beyond the arc started against South Dakota State when he hit 5 of 12 shots from deep to lead Alabama to a 78-65 win. During that game, the Jackrabbits practically dared him to shoot from deep, leaving him open on the perimeter. Now that the shots are falling, teams have been forced to give Clowney more attention when he steps out from the paint. However, he’s adamant that won’t slow down his recent moment.

“How they guard me, I really don't care,” Clowney said. “If it's open, it's going up. I just play. I don't even think that hard about it, I ain’t going to lie."

— Alabama has five Quad 1 wins this season, which is tied for second-most in the country behind Purdue’s six.

— The Crimson Tide has now posted five wins over top-25 opponents in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.

— Alabama is looking to improve to 5-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2020-21 and the second time since the 1986-87 season.

— Alabama’s Brandon Miller is averaging 18.8 points per game, the most by any freshman in the country and No. 41 overall. The five-star forward is one of 10 players in Division I to score 300 points and record 130 rebounds this season. He’s also the only freshman to accomplish the feat.

— First-year LSU head coach Matt McMahon has now won 43 of 50 games dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season. McMahon was 31-3 last year at Murray State and 12-4 this year so far at LSU. In his eight years as a head coach, McMahon is 94-34 in conference games.