Somewhere along the stretch run, LSU had to win a game or two it wasn't expected to win to have a fighting chance at keeping its slender NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
At least one of those might've surfaced Saturday when the Tigers won their fourth SEC home game of the season, toppling Alabama 67-58.
Circumstances played out to make Saturday's game almost a must-win instead of a hoped-for upset. Crimson Tide coach Anthony Grant suspended three starters late Saturday morning and sent them home, including leading scorer and rebounder JaMychal Green and point guard Trevor Releford. On top of a suspension of Tony Mitchell earlier in the week, that forced Alabama to start four freshmen and a little-used junior against LSU.
Facing a depleted foe, the Tigers roared to a big lead late in the first half and then had to withstand a furious Tide comeback in the second.
The two main men for LSU in the second half were Justin Hamilton and Johnny O'Bryant, who each scored 12 points in the final 20 minutes.
"This is the best game those two have played together," Tigers coach Trent Johnson said.
LSU needed those two, plus a timely 3-pointer from Anthony Hickey late in the game, to stave off the Tide.
But getting a win was a big deal to the Tigers no matter how it was achieved.
"That's a good win for us. Any win that we can get this time of year or throughout the year is a good win. It's hard to win in college basketball. I thought we played pretty good the first half. I didn't like our body language to start the second half. ... We found a way to play through a little adversity, kept our composure."
NOTES, QUOTES
--Johnny O'Bryant made his presence felt in several ways against Alabama with 17 points -- his most in an SEC game -- which was anchored by a 7-for-9 effort from the free-throw line. He had attempted only eight foul shots in his four previous league games. The 6-foot-9, 262-pound freshman also contributed a season-best three assists, and seemed to be more active without the ball.
"Johnny is starting to understand the nuances of the game in terms of cutting hard and setting screens," coach Trent Johnson said. "Hopefully that's something we can build off of."
--Tigers G Andre Stringer showed signs of snapping out of a four-game funk with 15 points, his most in a home game since he notched 20 against South Alabama on Nov. 23. Stringer had missed 17 consecutive 3-pointers over four games until connecting on his second try vs. Alabama and he wound up hitting 5-of-11 floor shots.
"It was very big for me," Stringer said. "I got a chance to see some shots go in. I haven't seen that in the past couple of games, but I stayed aggressive and Coach has been telling me and to stay aggressive and keep shooting."
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I just wanted to stay out of foul trouble and stay as aggressive as possible. It worked out good for me." -- Johnny O'Bryant after logging a season-high 29 minutes against Alabama and responding with 17 points and nine rebounds.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES
--vs. Mississippi State, 8 p.m. Tuesday
The main focus for LSU has to be not allowing Arnett Moultrie as many clear looks as he got when the teams met before. He pestered the Tigers for 28 points and 12 rebounds in a 76-71 Bulldogs' victory. LSU went to a zone against Alabama and had success with it at times, and that could be the kind of wrinkle that proves effective vs. Moultrie. Should the Tigers match up, look for coach Trent Johnson to rotate Justin Hamilton, Johnny O'Bryant and Storm Warren against Moultrie to wear him down as much as possible.
--at South Carolina, 12:45 p.m. Saturday
For one of the few times in SEC play, this sets up as a game when LSU has a decided talent edge at most positions. That said, the two places where the Tigers need to defend the best are against swingman Malik Cooke and G Bruce Ellington. That puts the LSU guards on notice, with Ralston Turner likely to match up against Cooke and a combination of Andre Stringer and Anthony Hickey focused on slowing down Ellington. If those three Tigers can effectively keep the Gamecocks' two main scoring threats from going off, this looms as a winnable road game for LSU -- and there haven't been a lot of those this season.
FUTURES MARKET
LSU's 2013 recruiting class has two spots left to fill and it appears one of those will not be taken by Ricardo Gathers, ranked No. 42 in the country by FoxSportsNext.com. Gathers plays at nearby Riverside Academy in Reserve, La., but he said last week he will sign with Baylor in April.
Gathers is a player Johnson has recruited since he arrived at LSU in 2008, but Gathers told local media that he chose Baylor essentially because coach Trent Johnson had not shown enough attention.
Johnson refuted that notion, as did Riverside Academy coach Tim Byrd. Both said Johnson had been to see Gathers in action in his first three prep seasons more than any coach.
With Gathers off the board, Johnson and his coaches have targeted a handful of junior-college players, most notably Shavon Coleman of Howard College. Coleman is from Thibodeaux, La., a 6-6 forward who is averaging 14.7 points and 6.5 rebounds a game.
PLAYER NOTES
--Andre Stringer's free-throw streak ended at 15 in a row on his first attempt Saturday, but he bounced back to swish his final four attempts and was 17-of-18 in the last five games at that point. For the season, Stringer was hitting at an 87.5 percent clip (38 for 48).
--PG Anthony Hickey went from a season-high 16 shot attempts against Vanderbilt last Wednesday to a season-low two vs. Alabama. The flip side was a return to playmaking as Hickey recorded five assists against the Crimson Tide, his fourth game in the last seven with at least that many. Hickey did not record an assist against Vanderbilt.
--Justin Hamilton produced 21 points against Alabama, his fifth game with 20 points or more this season, at that point. All five came since Jan. 2, four in SEC games where he was averaging 15.7 points a game. Like Stringer, Hamilton has also been a weapon at the foul stripe. He was 26-for-34 in league play (76.5 percent) and 70 for 92 overall (76.1 per cent).
