Alabama basketball falls to LSU Tigers 80-77 in overtime to end regular season
Alabama basketball better hope it can leave the end of the regular season behind and start fresh in the postseason.
The Crimson Tide closed the regular season with two turnover-filled performances and lost back-to-back games. The latest edition was an 80-77 loss to LSU in overtime on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
A win over the Tigers (21-10, 9-9 SEC) would have locked up the No. 5 seed in next week's SEC Tournament for Alabama. But the Crimson Tide (19-12, 9-9) instead had to wait for Saturday's late games before knowing what path it will take in Tampa.
Here are observations from the matchup between Alabama and LSU:
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JD Davison makes detrimental shot-clock mistake in overtime
Freshman guard JD Davis had great moments and bad moments Saturday.
But a detrimental moment shaped the final seconds of overtime.
Alabama had four seconds left on the shot clock and trailed 78-77. About eight seconds remained on the game clock. Davison tried to drive to the basket but lost track of time and didn't come close to getting a shot off as the shot clock expired.
LSU got the ball back, hit two free throws and Alabama couldn't hit a 3-pointer to tie it as time expired.
Two possessions early in the second half showcased Davison's polarizing play.
About three minutes in, Davison made a poor decision when he tried a pass that led to an easy steal for LSU. Then the Tigers raced down the court and hit a 3-pointer.
The next possession, Davison returned the favor and also hit a shot from deep.
He finished the day with 12 points and four turnovers, but his OT mistake was most problematic.
Alabama entered the game 11-1 when Davison reached double-digit points.
Turnovers travel with Alabama to Baton Rouge
Turnovers against LSU were to be expected, but Alabama hoped to mitigate them.
The Tigers entered Saturday second in the country in steals (11) and fifth in turnovers forced (17.83). Plus, Alabama was averaging 17.3 turnovers over the past three games.
After 19 turnovers against Texas A&M on Wednesday, Crimson Tide committed 20 in regulation against LSU, a number that made it difficult to sustain offensive success.
Regulation ended with the Tigers having scored 21 points off the turnovers. Not quite as bad as the Texas A&M game, but it's something Alabama is going to have to fix if it wants to make a run in the postseason.
Tari Eason steps up late in overtime
Eason showed late why he's the favorite for SEC sixth man of the year.
He scored four points in a 33-second span late in overtime to give LSU a 78-77 lead.
Eason hit two free throws, then blocked an Ellis 3-point attempt and drove down to give LSU a lead with 35 seconds left.
Eason finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Up next
Alabama will travel to Tampa, Florida, for the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide will get a first-round bye and play Thursday against an opponent to be determined from Wednesday's first round.
Contact Alabama reporter Nick Kelly: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball falls to LSU 80-77 in overtime to end regular season
