Alabama tries again to snap a Southeastern Conference road losing streak that has hit 16 games today when it plays Western Division leader LSU in Baton Rouge.

The game tips off at noon in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and will be televised by Raycom Sports (Channels 3 and 12 in Lee County).

The Crimson Tide (13-9 overall, 3-5 SEC) handed LSU its only loss in SEC play this season when it beat the Tigers, 65-59, at Coleman Coliseum in the league opener for both teams.

“We’re playing an Alabama team that, quite frankly, really handled us physically the first time out,” LSU head coach Trent Johnson said. “(Senario) Hillman was really effective and JaMychal Green, their freshman, is a very special player, and Alonzo Gee. We know we need to match their physicality on the glass and find a way to contain Hillman.”

With Alabama leading LSU by 2 points with less than three minutes to play on Jan. 11, Hillman made a crucial steal and took it in for a dunk. He also sealed the victory by making 7 of 8 foul shots in the final minute.

Alabama is one of three teams (Georgia and Arkansas) without a road victory in the SEC. LSU (18-4, 6-1 SEC) is one of three teams (Florida and South Carolina) still undefeated at home in the league.

“When you go on the road you have to do two or three things, and one is you have to control the tempo of the game,” Alabama interim coach Philip Pearson said this week. “You do that with your shot selection, being sure that you’re getting good shots for that particular player, and then on the other end, again very obviously, you have to be willing to get out and defend somebody, whether it’s in man or zone.

“Most of the times when you get on the road and you end up not getting the job done, then you’ve probably failed in one of those areas.”

LSU’s experienced lineup features leading scorer Marcus Thornton (19.9 ppg) and Tasmin Mitchell (15.6 ppg). But the Tigers have plenty of weapons, Johnson said.

“The reason we’re in the situation we are right now is because Chris Johnson is averaging a double-double in conference games and Bo Spencer’s shooting the ball really well,” the coach said. “Guys understand their roles.”

Spencer is averaging 11.9 points per game. Chris Johnson, who has blocked 54 shots this season, averages 7.9 rebounds per game for LSU. The Bayou Bengals average an SEC-best 41 rebounds per game against league opponents. They are outrebounding SEC foes by almost nine per game.

“They’re playing great,” Pearson said. “I think coach Johnson has done a great job getting in there with that team and getting them to buy into his philosophy and play the way he wants them to play. They’re playing very effectively. They’ve been very impressive.”

Alonzo Gee, Alabama’s only senior, leads the team with 14.3 points per game. He also is second in rebounding with 7.0 rpg, behind Green. The freshman has averaged 16.7 points and 9.0 rebounds in the last three games.

Point guard Anthony Brock, came off the bench to score 15 points in 20 minutes in Alabama’s 79-74 loss at Vanderbilt on Thursday.

The Crimson Tide is open during the coming week and next plays at home against South Carolina at 2 p.m. next Saturday.