The 3-pointer: Three takeaways from Alabama's win at LSU

Alabama basketball has already surpassed last season’s win total with eight games remaining in its SEC slate. The No. 4 Crimson Tide continued its perfect start to conference play Saturday, beating LSU 79-69 on the road.

Alabama (20-3, 10-0 in the SEC) is 10-0 in league play for just the third time in program history. Meanwhile, LSU (12-11, 1-9) saw its losing streak extended to 10 games. The Crimson Tide completed a regular-season sweep of the Tigers after beating them 106-66 last month in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

This is the second time Alabama has reached the 20-win mark under head coach Nate Oats. The Crimson Tide previously did so during the 2020-21 campaign when it finished 26-7, winning both the SEC regular-season and conference tournament titles before reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Alabama finished 19-14 (9-9) before falling to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s win over LSU.

Alabama is already rolling, but Nimari Burnett appears set to give the Crimson Tide the shot in the arm it needs to continue its dominance throughout the season. The sophomore guard scored in double digits for the second straight game, chipping in 13 points off the bench. Earlier this week, he recorded 16 points in Alabama’s 101-44 victory over Vanderbilt.

Burnett hit back-to-back 3s in the first half to get Alabama started from beyond the arc. The former McDonalds All-American recorded all 13 of his points over 11 minutes in the first half. He saw the court for 21 minutes on the afternoon, recording three rebounds and three assists to go with his scoring.

Burnett missed nine games after breaking his wrist in December. He failed to score in his first three games after returning from the injury before dropping two double-digit games this week. Burnett started all nine of his games before the injury. He’s now seen his minutes increase in each of his last three outings.

"I'm constantly learning," Burnett said. "I'm getting better in areas I need to improve on and doing everything it takes to help the team win. That's the main goal."

Burnett wasn’t Alabama’s only boost off the bench. Freshman Rylan Griffen also played a key role in the victory, hitting a few clutch shots to snuff out LSU’s momentum.

After LSU used a 5-0 run in the second half to trim Alabama’s lead to 47-44 with 17:58 remaining, Griffen’s corner 3 helped keep the Crimson Tide out in front.

Five minutes later, Alabama found itself clinging to a 56-54 lead before the freshman hit another 3 from the wing.

Griffen finished the game with 14 points, shooting 5 of 7 from the floor, including 4 of 5 from deep. He has now scored in double digits in each of his last three outings, recording 12 points against Vanderbilt earlier this week after dropping 15 points in last week’s loss to Oklahoma.

"Freshman year, I had to get used to it," Griffen said. "I feel like I'm used to it now and I can contribute a little bit more to the team. I had to settle in with shooting. I feel like I can contribute that to the team. So yeah, I'm getting a lot more comfortable."

Alabama has struggled against bigs who can score this season. Saturday, LSU’s Derek Fountain added his name to that list, recording a season-high 26 points while coming away with seven rebounds and four blocks.

The 6-foot-10 junior was 6 of 9 from the floor but did much of his damage from the line, converting on 12 of 15 free-throw attempts. Fountain came into the game averaging 7.3 points. His previous season-best came against North Carolina Central when he recorded 17 points and 14 rebounds in a 67-57 win for the Tigers.

LSU got to the line more than twice as much as Alabama, hitting 24 of 31 free-throw attempts. The Crimson Tide finished 14 of 15 from the stripe.