Alabama men’s basketball got back on track Saturday, beating LSU 109-92 in Baton Rouge. The road SEC win became the Crimson Tide’s third such victory this season.

It came at the right time, with UA reeling from a Wednesday loss to Auburn on the road. The LSU win brought the Crimson Tide to 17-7 on the season, 9-2 in SEC play, remaining at least in a tie for first place in the league.

“Coming off the game we just had, we definitely needed this win,” Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. said. “Winning conference, we need these games. We need road wins.”

Alabama doesn’t have a midweek game before it returns to action next Saturday, against Texas A&M in Tuscaloosa. Before that, here’s three takeaways from the LSU win.

Inconsistency continues

After the Auburn loss, Nate Oats emphasized that the Crimson Tide had to be more consistent on defense. Tiger big man Johni Broome torched UA for 24 points, and the Tide had generally looked helpless to stop him.

In Baton Rouge, the problems continued early. LSU’s Will Baker dominated the first half of the game, putting up 22 points in the first 20 minutes.

LSU was hot from the field all game, finishing 55% from the field. Even after the Tide crawled to a lead in the second half, the Tigers got back in the game, briefly taking the lead with nine minutes to go.

Then, Alabama got on track. The Crimson Tide made stops, the Tigers missed shots and the UA offense powered its way to the win, while Baker was held with zero points after halftime.

“I thought we made some decent adjustments,” Oats said. “Our guard started helping our bigs a little bit more on Baker, turning them over a little bit more.”

Pringle power

It’s been a rough year for Alabama forward Nick Pringle thus far. Coming into Saturday’s game, he had already been suspended twice, both times for attitude adjustment purposes.

He returned to action against Auburn but didn’t have much of an impact on the game. On Saturday, Pringle showed out, scoring 17 points and going 8-for-9 from the field.

“I’m so happy for Nick,” Oats said. “He’s been up and down and in and out of the lineup, playing no minutes, some minutes late. His attitude has been great all week. His effort in practice has been great all week. I think he’s at the place where he needs to be, mentally, emotionally. He’s here to do whatever it takes to help the team win.”

Pringle also had five rebounds and a blocked shot for the Tide. He was assessed a technical foul in the second half after slamming home a dunk and evidently saying something to an LSU player that the referee found out of bounds.

If Pringle can continue on the right track, it could be a huge help for the Crimson Tide, which has noticeably been unable to overcome its lack of a dominant big during some of its losses.

“Before the game, everybody was like ‘Man, Pringle’s ready to go,’” Oats said. “I told the guys after the game, there’s a way you get yourself ready to play, Nick was ready to play before the game.”

Trelly time

Oats has a sticking point when it comes to Wrightsell’s game. He feels the guard passes up to many good shots from three.

“He’s such a good shooter,” Oats said. “It’s like every time he shoots, pretty much count three points in my head. If he misses I’m shocked.”

Wrightsell had his best game of the season on Saturday, contributing a season-high in scoring. He put up 21 points, and made six of his nine attempts from three-point range.

He won the team’s hard hat award for the game. Afterward, he said the insistence by Oats that he take more shots has boosted his confidence.

“We create a lot of advantages and we’re not supposed to pass up any open threes,” Wrightsell said. “It definitely gives me confidence and (Oats) tells me that every day in practice and in the game, so that helps us out a lot. It helps us play free and fast.”

Wrightsell received a boost from his teammates late in the game, several of whom convinced Oats to leave the guard in so he could collect his 10th rebound and leave Baton Rouge with a double-double, which he did, grabbing the 10th board with 54 seconds left.

“They were all volunteering to sit out so that Trelly could get one more rebound,” Oats said. “…It worked out perfect and we got him out of the game.”