Alabama coach Avery Johnson

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Rather than scouring through his old psychology books in the garage in search of an answer to Alabama’s consistency issues, Avery Johnson listened to his wife.

Since defeating Mississippi State on Saturday, Jan. 20, the Crimson Tide men’s basketball team (17-9, 8-5 SEC) has lost every midweek game and won every one of its contests against ranked opponents on the weekend. And Johnson, in his third year, wanted to see his team’s impressive Saturday performances carry over for a more consistent product on the court.

Instead of finding the answer in the pages of a book, Johnson’s wife Cassandra came up with a much simpler solution to try to end Alabama’s midweek woes. And it seemed to do the trick.

“My wife said the psychology was going to be the team meal that she prepared for the boys on Sunday,” Johnson said Tuesday evening. “She said, ‘Rather than going to a psychology book, when they come over to our house on Sunday, why don’t you spend time individually with all of them and let them just see Avery? They’re tired of seeing coach.’

“So, that’s the psychology part of it, just building relationships. She cooked them boys a wonderful meal, and I had a chance to spend time with each one of them and just tried to get inside their minds. And it was good that they had a chance to see Avery. So, rather than read a book, I just spent some intimate time with my players on Sunday at my house.”

After eating a New Orleans style meal that featured shrimp and grits, jambalaya and “a little bit of everything” at the Johnson residence on Sunday, Alabama broke its trend of losing weekday games by defeating LSU, 80-65, on Tuesday in Coleman Coliseum.

The Tide shot 55 percent (27-of-49) from the floor and 48 percent (10-of-21) from beyond the arc against the Tigers. Junior big man Donta Hall led the way with a big night (20 points, 8 rebounds), while Collin Sexton (15), Braxton Key (12) and John Petty (11) also reached double figures. Only the pair of walk-ons that entered the game late did not score.

There was an intensity on the court that hadn’t been there in recent midweek contests, and a lot of that can be attributed to the time Johnson spent with his UA players off of it on Sunday.

But after the 15-point win, the head coach said he also tweaked Alabama’s game day activities, which seemed to result in a more consistent outing off the heels of another top-25 victory.

“We haven’t been able to have that high level of concentration and competitive spirit on these short turnarounds,” he said. “We beat a really good Florida team and then the next game I don’t recognize our team. And we’ve had that happen so many times this season.

“But fortunately, we had a pretty animated, live shoot around today. Not like the normal shoot arounds we’ve had in the past. I think they didn’t know what him them today, they actually broke a sweat today and it was kind of a borderline practice. So, maybe that’s what we need to do a little bit more of after we win a big game, just keep them on edge, keep them on edge.”

In order to sustain that consistency, however, the Tide must continue to keep things loose while practicing with the same focus and tenacity as it did leading up to the game against LSU.

“I’m proud of them, but another big one coming up,” Johnson said in closing. “You know when the next big game is? Thursday at 3 o’clock. Practice. We’ve got to get that one first.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).