2/27/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports


   FAYETTEVILLE, AR: Will Wade and the Tigers would go into Fayetteville to take on the #20 ranked Razorbacks. Arkansas is one of the hottest teams in the nation right now winners of five in a row. LSU is eyeing a must win to help their seeding in the SEC Tournament. Once again LSU would fall apart late in a ball game, falling to the Hogs, 83-75...


   Arkansas would control the opening tip, but wouldn't score until each team would miss a basket on their end of the court. Devonte Davis would hit a turn around jumper for the Hogs at the 18:57 mark to go up 2-0. 
   The Tigers would respond going on a 8-0 run over the next two minutes to grab a 8-2 lead. Both teams would have their moments making nice plays on both end of the floor. With 11:40 left on the clock, Cam Thomas would hit a jumper to put LSU up 16-10.
   Arkansas would respond with a three pointer by JD Notae, then a layup by Justin Smith to cut the LSU lead to one point, 16-15 with 10:49 left.
   LSU would step up their defensive pressure and go on a 12-4 run over the next three minutes, taking a nine point lead, 28-19 with 7:39 left in the first half.
   With 6:26 left on the game clock, Cam Thomas would hit a jumper to put the Tigers up by ten, 30-20. But Arkansas would respond with a 5-0 run, trimming the lead to five, 30-25 at the 4:27 mark forcing Will Wade to call a timeout.
   LSU would struggle to score over the next minute and a half allowing the Hogs to get to within three points.  Mwani Wilkinson would get the Tigers back on track hitting a deep corner three pointer, to make the score 33-27 Tigers. 
   Justin Smith would answer for the Razorback with a wide open three pointer of his own. 33-30 with 3:37 to go.
   The Tigers would end up out scoring Arkansas 4-2 over the last three minutes of the half, as LSU would own a 37-32 lead at halftime.
   Cam Thomas would lead the Tigers at the half with 13 points, while Javonte Smart would have 8 points. 


​   Both teams would come out and trade baskets to start the second half, before Arkansas would go on a 6-2 run to cut the LSU lead to one, 43-42 at the 17:08 mark. 
   The Razorbacks would go on a 14-10 run over the next five minutes to take a 56-53 lead at the 11:53 mark. From this point Arkansas would control the tempo of the game as the Tigers would find themselves missing easy shots. The Hogs would go on a 10-1 run over the next two minutes to take a 66-54 lead with 9:45 to go. 
  LSU would continue to miss easy looks at the basket as they found themselves ice cold and frustrated, while the Hogs would take advantage and build a 70-54 lead with 7:48 left on the clock. 
   Arkansas smelling blood in the water, would turn it up a notch and start to build on their lead, going on a 12-3 run to go up by 18 points, 78-60 with 4:35 left in the game. 
   With only 2:36 left to go, LSU would finally start to get shots to fall, but as they say, too little too late... Fighting against the clock, the Tigers would outscore the Razorbacks 15-5 in the final two minutes of the game, but it wasn't enough. Arkansas would hold on for a 83-75 victory. 
   The Tigers missed out on a golden opportunity to move into second place in the SEC standing. Now their final two regular season games loom large as must wins if they are to secure a first two round bye in the SEC Tournament. 
   
   Cam Thomas would lead the team with 25 points, ... Trendon Watford would finish with 16 points, ... Javonte Smart would contribute 15 points on the day. Darius Days would completely go missing as he finished going 0-8 from the floor with zero points. 

   With the loss the Tigers are now 14-8 overall and 9-6 in SEC play. Up next LSU will host Vanderbilt on Tuesday, March 2nd at 7:30pm.
     

2/23/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports


   ATHENS, GA:: The roller coaster ride continues for the purple and gold. After three impressive wins in a row, it looked like the Tigers were beginning to peak at the right time as the regular season is near it's end, but Tuesday night's 91-78 embarrassing loss to Georgia has us all once again scratching our heads in disappointment. 

   The contest would begin with each team going on runs. Georgia would start the game scoring four straight over the first two minutes, before LSU would go on a 7-0 run to take the lead 7-4 at the 15:24 mark. 
   The Bulldogs would then answer with a 8-0 run over the next two minutes, taking a 14-7 lead with 12:57 to go. 
   Both teams would do a good job of attacking each other as the game was shaping up to be another close battle between two good SEC teams, as LSU would pull to within two points, 20-18 with 9:06 left in the first half.
   With 5:46 left on the clock, Mwani Wilkinson would power in a slam dunk to make the score, 24-23 Georgia. From here, something went wrong with the Tigers as the Bulldogs would begin to pull away quickly. 
Over the final five minutes of the first half Georgia would go on a dominating 21-6 run to take a 45-29 lead at the half. 


   The Bulldogs would pick up where they left off at the end of the first half, dominating LSU on both ends of the court. Georgia would not only maintain their double digit lead, but would slowly build on it. At the 10:46 mark the Tigers would find themselves down by 22 points, 69-47. 
   LSU would struggle to sustain any kind of consistency on offense, while Georgia seemed to have an answer for any defense the Tigers would throw at them. 
   But with seven minutes left in the game, the Tigers would continue to fight and slowly chip away at the Bulldogs lead. With 4:59 left in the game, LSU had pulled to within 12 points, 79-67. But just when it looked like the Tigers were making a run, Georgia would make the key plays and slam the door back into their face. The Bulldogs would build their lead back to 18 points with 1:36 left and would finish off LSU with a dominating 91-78 victory. 

   Cam Thomas would lead the Tigers with 21 points, ... Javonte Smart would score 19 points, ... Trendon
Watford would finish with a double-double scoring 13 points while grabbing 10 rounds, ... Jalen Cook would add 11 points.. 
   After three straight impressive wins, the Tigers seemed to slip back into a confused state, playing sloppy and allowing themselves to be outplayed. Like I've said all season, this team lacks a killer instinct and consistency. With two games left in the regular season, Will Wade needs to find a way to motivate his team to play at a high level and stay there. 

   "It was an embarrassing performance, we got whipped every way we could get whipped," Will Wade said. "All of our poor habits came out and they were more physical, they beat us to loose balls, they played with a better spirit than we did. Just an all systems breakdown and as disappointing a night as we've had."
  “Like I said, it was total embarrassment,” he added. “I feel bad for all of our fans; I feel bad for everybody who follows our program. It was laughable, our effort, and it starts with me.”
   
   With the loss the Tigers fall to 14-7 overall and 9-5 in the SEC...

   Up next LSU will travel to Fayetteville to play Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 27th at 1:00pm in a must win game for the Tigers... 
​      

Photos Below By: LSU/SEC

2/20/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


BATON ROUGE, LA: LSU would extend their winning streak to three as they would take down Auburn 104-80 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers played a mean, physical style of basketball for the full 40 minutes frustrating Auburn all game long as they had no answer on either end of the floor. With three straight impressive wins in a row, it looks like Will Wade's group may be peaking at the right time.


Auburn would control the opening tip and score quickly as Allen Flanigan would hit a three pointer thirty seconds in. Then LSU would turn the ball over on the in-bounds pass as Auburn would press. That would lead to another Auburn basket putting them up 5-0 less then a minute into the ball game.
With 17:44 to go, LSU would find themselves trailing 10-5, before Javonte Smart would heat up with back to back three point baskets that would start a 13-0 run over the next two minutes, 18-10, LSU would lead with 14:56 left on the clock.
Aundre Hyatt would bank in a layup at the 12:21 mark to give LSU their largest lead of the contest at 26-14. The Tigers would then go on to out score Auburn 5-2 over the next three minutes to increase their lead so far to 15 points, 31-16 with 9:07 to go.
LSU would continue to play a strong first half on both ends of the court as defensively they kept Auburn frustrated and out of sink. On offense the Tigers had great ball movement and took great shots making several of them, as they would continue adding to their lead. A Javonte Smart three pointer at the 4:24 mark would put the Tigers up by 22 points, 45-23...
Auburn wouldn't quit as they would battle back, out scoring LSU 9-5 over the final four minutes of the first half to cut LSU's lead to 16 points at the break. 50-34.....
LSU would shoot 49% from the floor in the first half, ... 6-12 from behind the three point arc for 50%. ... and 80% from the free throw line going 4-5. The big stat of the first 20 minutes was rebounding, as LSU would out-rebound Auburn 26-18. Cam Thomas would lead the team at the half with 16 points. Smart would add 11 points, while Trendon Watford would score ten.


Darius Days would help start the second half with a bang as he would hit back to back three pointers to extend LSU's lead to 56-36 at the 18:28 mark.
Days would then hit his third three point shot of the half putting LSU up by 21 points, 64-43 with
16:26 left.
Over the next two minutes Auburn would be able to trim six points off of the LSU lead, but the Tigers were still playing at a high level and would maintain their double digit advantage. After a slight two minute slump, LSU would shift things back in gear and go on a 9-2 run, to build a 77-54 lead with 12:28 still to go in the ballgame.
LSU would continue to play aggressively on offense as Auburn could find no answer for the Tigers attack all day. Leading 96-70 with 4:10 left in the game, Will Wade would begin to take his starters off of the floor, letting the bench finish this one off. It was a joy to watch Jalen Cook, Josh LeBlanc, Eric Gaines, Mwani Wilkinson, and Josh Gray play as a unit. Even Parker Edwards and Brandon Egemo got a couple of minutes.
LSU would go on and impressively beat Auburn 104-80.


Several Tigers had a great game... Cam Thomas finished with 27 points, ... Trendon Watford finished the game with a double-double, 18 points with 11 rebounds, ... Javonte Smart added 16 points, ... Darius Days had a solid performance scoring 17 points, .... Josh LeBlanc would end up with a double-double, scoring 12 points, and grabbing 10 rebounds.....
LSU would shoot 39-73 from the floor for 53%, along with going 11-22 from three point land for 50%.. The Tigers dominated the boards as they out-rebounded Auburn, 47-39... This also marks the first time LSU has scored 100 points or more in a game since they defeated Northwestern State 109-59 on December 8th, 2019 and the first time in a SEC contest since March 2nd, 1994 in a home overtime loss to Arkansas, 108-105...
With the win LSU is now 14-6 overall and 9-4 in the SEC.


Will Wade Post Game Comments:

“Good win. I know we guarded well. I know they scored a lot of points, but the game was high possession. We held them under 40 field goal percentage, 37%. We did a nice job on the back boards. We had a lot of contributions. Obviously, our big four played great. Aundre Hyatt did a tremendous job. We were jamming (Sharife) Cooper. Spent a lot of energy jamming him. Spent a lot of energy defensively to jam him, slow their transition game down. Especially in the first half. (Josh) LeBlanc did a nice job. (Eric) Gaines came in and did a nice job. Mwani (Wilkinson) made that play at the rim on the block. He did some really good things. Overall, I thought it was a good team win. I thought it was good to get (Eric) Cook and (Josh) Gray in there as well and Brandon (Egemo) and Parker (Edwards) who work really hard in practice. Very pleased. I thought we prepared well, and I thought it was a good solid win.”


Up next the Tigers will travel to Athens to play the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, Feb. 23rd at 6:00pm.
The game will be carried on the SEC Network.

2/17/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: Kent Lowe


   
   BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The Southeastern Conference has announced the postponement of all three men’s basketball games scheduled for Thursday, including LSU’s return trip to Oxford to play Ole Miss.
 
Alabama at Texas A&M and Mississippi State at Auburn have also been postponed due to the icy weather that is moving throughout the region this week.
 
Make-up dates for these games have not been determined at this time.
 
Four women’s games were also postponed from Thursday by the league office.
 
The LSU men’s basketball team will next play on Saturday at 3 p.m. on ESPN against the Auburn Tigers in Baton Rouge at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

2/15/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: Kent Lowe



​   BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (February 15, 2021) – The Southeastern Conference has announced a revised schedule of men’s basketball games due to the icy weather that is moving throughout the region this week. 
 
That includes the LSU at Ole Miss game originally scheduled for Wednesday night in Oxford, will now be played at The Pavilion at Ole Miss on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT and will be telecast on the SEC Network and broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network.
 
LSU’s opponent on Saturday in Baton Rouge, Auburn, will also play on Thursday at the same time, hosting Mississippi State.
 
In addition, the South Carolina at Tennessee game originally scheduled for Tuesday has been changed to Wednesday as a result of a combination of a positive test, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Tennessee basketball program, consistent with Southeastern Conference COVID-19 management requirements.
 
The SEC’s COVID-19 management requirements, as developed by the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force, are available on SECsports.com.
 
The complete mid-week schedule:
Tuesday, February 16
*#20 Missouri at Georgia/SEC Network/6:00 pm CT (moves from 5:30 start time)
*Florida at #24 Arkansas/ESPN2 /6:00 pm CT (no changes)
 
Wednesday, February 17
*Kentucky at Vanderbilt/SEC Network/6:00 pm CT (no changes)
*South Carolina at #19 Tennessee/SEC Network/8:00 pm CT (moves from Tuesday)
 
Thursday, February 18
*#9 Alabama at Texas A&M/SEC Network/2:00 pm CT (moves from Wednesday)
*Mississippi State at Auburn/ESPNU/4:00 pm CT (moves from Tuesday)
*LSU at Ole Miss/SEC Network/4:00 pm CT (moves from Wednesday)

2/15/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: Kent Lowe



​   BATON ROUGE – After two impressive wins on the road at Mississippi State and against No. 16 Tennessee, Javonte Smart and Cameron Thomas earned weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference on Monday.
 
Smart was named the SEC Player of the Week, while for the third time this year Thomas was named the league’s Freshman of the Week.
 
Smart, a junior from Baton Rouge, averaged 21.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the field in the two wins. Smart recorded his second career double double at Mississippi State with 11 assists to go with 22 points.
 
Smart helped LSU defeat Tennessee for the third straight year, scoring 20 or more in all three wins. He had a seven-point run of his own early in the second half to push LSU’s lead to double digits against the Vols.
 
Thomas, from Chesapeake, Virginia, averaged 25.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the games against State and the Volunteers. He scored 25 points in each game, giving him now 14 games of 20 or more this season, the most by a Division I freshman this season. He has scored 20 or more points in five straight games.
 
Thomas used his ability to get to the line to help the Tigers in the win over Tennessee, making 11-of-11 free throws.
 
The Tigers are 13-6 overall and in a tie for second in the Southeastern Conference at 8-4.

2/14/2021
LSU Sports Information
By: Kent Lowe


​    SEC ANNOUNCES LSU MEN’S BASKETBALL TO PLAY AT OLE MISS ON WEDNESDAY


​   BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The Southeastern Conference has announced that LSU men’s basketball will play at Ole Miss at 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday, February 17, as a result of game postponements during the 2021 season due to the impact of COVID-19. The game will be available on ESPNU.

This scheduling of games allows for the continued opportunity for all 14 SEC teams to each play 18 conference games with a balance of home and away games during the 2021 season. 
 

2/13/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


   BATON ROUGE, LA:: With the team sitting on the NCAA Tourney bubble the Tigers find themselves in  desperate need of more wins on their regular season schedule. Today they would add a huge one as they would take down #16 Tennessee in a dominating 78-65 victory in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers have won two in a row as they hope to have turned things around, heading into the season's home stretch. This one was fun to watch.  


   Tennessee would control the opening tip and misfire down low. The Tigers would get on the board quick on their first trip down the court as Cam Thomas would find Darius Days under the basket for an assist as Days would bank it in off the glass, 2-0 Tigers.
   Both teams love to push the ball, so it was no surprise that the game started at a speedy pace. Each team would trade three point shots, followed by jumper by Tennessee's Keon Johnson to tie the game at 5-5 at the 18:11 mark.
  With both teams shooting the ball well, LSU would go on a 11-7 run over the next seven minutes, highlighted by a three pointer from Aundre Hyatt from the deep corner... The Tigers would hold a 16-12 lead with 11:10 left on the clock.  
   Will Wade had his team playing under control with desire as they were playing a very good first half both offensively and on defense. LSU would go on a 12-4 run over the next six minutes to extend their lead to 28-16 with 4:48 to go. During the run, the Tigers defense held Tennessee without a basket for a little over four minutes. 
   The Vols would begin to surge to go on a 10-3 run over the next three minutes to cut the LSU lead to five, 31-26 with 1:41 left. 
   We would go scoreless the rest of the way as LSU would lead at the half, 31-26.
   Javonte Smart would lead LSU at the half with 11 points. Cam Thomas battled a slow start by finishing with 7 at the half, while Watford and Days would both add 5 points each. 



​   The Vols would come out in the second half with new found energy as they would quickly cut the
LSU lead to one, 33-32 at the 18:42 mark. 
   Even with Tennessee improving their game play, the Tigers would continue to make things happen as LSU on a 24-14 run over the next seven minutes as Javonte Smart would lead the Tigers attack on the Vols. 57-46, Tigers with 11:21 to go. 
   LSU would continue playing one of their finest games of the season as they would continue to shoot the ball very well and remain tough defensively, building a 15 point lead, 68-53 with 4:52 left in the game. 
   The Volunteers would come close to cutting LSU's lead into single digits as the score would sit at 70-60 at the 3:21 mark, but the Tigers were the better team today as they need as many wins as they can earn before the postseason. LSU would build a 16 point lead, 76-60 with 1:34 left and would go onto finish off the Vols, 78-65. With the win, LSU is now 13-6 overall and 8-4 in the SEC. 
   The Tigers played probably their most complete game of the season Saturday as they were very good on both ends of the floor. Cam Thomas would finish with a team high 25 points. ... Javonte Smart would once again have a great game against Tennessee as he would end up with 20 points. Darius Days finally picked up his game after being quiet over the past few contest as he would add 14 points. Watford would finish with only nine points as he continues to struggle with his shots in the paint, but still gave the Vols fits on both ends of the floor. Aundre Hyatt and Eric Gaines both had quality minutes making several nice plays. 

   
          WILL WADE after the WIN::   
   “Proud of our guys. I thought we played one of our better games, probably our best game to date. We can certainly play better and finish the game off better. I thought we got contributions from everyone. Javonte (Smart) was obviously tremendous. Cam (Thomas), phenomenal game. (Darius) Days did a great job. But, Aundre Hyatt, eight points, eight rebounds. Two big threes. He was huge. (Eric) Gaines and (Josh) LeBlanc did a phenomenal job defensively. I thought it was a total team effort. Probably our most complete game to date. It is something that we can continue to build off of. I thought that we got better from (Mississippi) State (LSU’s last opponent) to this game and now we have to build off this game and get better before we play midweek this week.”


   Next up on the LSU's schedule is a home contest against Auburn on Saturday, Feb. 20th at 3:00pm. Due to the Tigers losing a game against Florida due to COVID-19, Coach Wade has stated that they will schedule and play a mid-week game next. Opponent, Location, Day, and time to be announced... 

2/10/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


   STARKVILLE, MS:: LSU would defeat Mississippi State 94-80 in Starkville to end a two game losing streak, even though they would come into the contest short handed without Mwani Wilkinson (sick with the flu) and Shareef O'Neal (ankle issues). With the win, the Tigers are now 12-6 overall and 7-4 in SEC play. 
   Finding themselves on the bubble for a NCAA tournament bid with only six games left in the regular season, Wednesday night's road victory was a step in the right direction.
   Hopefully tonight's performance is a sign that the Tigers are starting to put the pieces back together at the right time.
   Below is our 'Da Boot Sports' Game Break Down.....
   


   The Bulldogs would control the opening tip and score quickly on a jumper by Iverson Molinar, but the
Tigers would race down the court and tie the contest on a basket in the paint by Trendon Watford. 
   State would end up scoring on their first six possessions of the game with each starter contributing with a score. With 16:57 to go, the Bulldogs would lead, 11-7. 
  The Tigers would battle back to grab their first lead of the ball game as a Cam Thomas three pointer followed by a jumper by Javonte Smart would put them up, 18-17 at the 12:07 mark.
   With 9:43 left on the clock both teams would be deadlocked in a tie at 24-24. After a two minute scoring drought by both teams, LSU would go on a 9-4 run to lead by five, 33-28 with 5:50 left in the first half.
   State would make a run back to grab the lead 34-33 after hitting back to back three pointers. 
   With LSU going up 41-36 on a Javonte Smart three pointer with :35 seconds left, the Bulldogs would answer as Deivon Smith would hit a three pointer at the buzzer to send us to the half with the Tigers holding a 41-39 lead.
   Cam Thomas would lead the Tigers at the half with 13 points while Javonte Smart would score 11. Darius Days would add 9, and Trendon Watford would finish with 6.  The Tigers would shot the ball well in the first 20 minutes going 17-30 from the floor for 57%. ... while hitting 5-11 from three point land for 45%. .. Once again LSU would be out-rebounded in the first half, 14-12.



​   The Tigers would start the second half with a quick three pointer from Aundre Hyatt, 44-39 Tigers. Over the next three minutes LSU would out-score the Bulldogs, 8-4 to take a 52-43 lead at the officials timeout with 15:57 to go.
   LSU would find a nice rhythm offensively as they would do a great job with their ball movement and shot selection, increasing their lead to nine, 66-57 at the 11:30 mark. 
   State would refuse to quit as they would go on a 8-5 run over the next two minutes to cut the LSU lead to 71-65.
   Over the next four minutes LSU would take control of the ball game going on a 14-8 run to take a 85-73 lead. The Tigers would finish off the Bulldogs in dominating fashion over the final four minutes to claim a much needed 94-80 victory. 


   
   The Tigers had an outstanding shooting night as they would finish shooting 61% from the floor,
while going 10-22 from behind the three point line for 45%. Thomas and Smart would finally receive some offensive help from the rest of the lineup and off the bench. Cam Thomas would lead the team with 25 points. Javonte Smart would finish with 22. Darius Days played a great game in his return from an injured ankle suffered last week against Texas Tech, as he would finish with a double-double, 16 points and 11 rebounds. Trendon Watford would add 14. Josh LeBlanc and Aundre Hyatt both contributed nicely throughout the game. After being out-rebound at the half, LSU really stepped up in the second half to finish the game even in the battle on the boards, 28-28. The big stat of the night was turnovers as the Tigers were able to score 26 points off of 15 State turnovers. Overall it was a nice team effort and a much needed win.

​   Next up the Tigers will return home to host #13 Tennessee on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1:00pm.
   
   

2/10/2021
By: Travers Mackel
Article courtesy of: WDSU News, Channel 6



NEW ORLEANS --It's a device that the developers say any restaurant, bar, business or government can use to keep people safe -- and it's built in Slidell.
The specialized sanitizing machines cost about $5,000 each and one state has already bought some for prisons.


Now some are looking to make these the norm in New Orleans.
At Nola Beans in Lakeview, the owner takes all COVID-19 safety precautions, but is looking to do more.
"At this day and age, I think we need to consider all options right now," said Brad Murret, Nola Beans owner.
So Murret is now considering buying these sanitizing stations.
The eight-foot-high machine can be placed at any doorway and sprays a sanitizing mist on anyone and everyone who walks through.
"If it can get easier and more streamlined for us, this is something that everyone should consider doing," Murret said.
"You have to make people feel safe," Dr. Dennis Tracey said.
Tracey owns the company, Tiger PPE, distributing the machines.
He says the sanitizing mist is safe and takes less than 10 seconds to administer to each person.
"This is common sense, now we are focused on protecting people as they come through your business," Tracey said.
The name -- Tiger PPE -- comes from Tracey's college days as a former LSU basketball player.
A point guard, he's hoping to lend an assist to the community to fight COVID-19.
"The state of Mississippi just purchased some from us, they were delivered in December and they tell us their numbers are already down in the facilities they have incorporated our devices in," Tracey said.
"You have that one entrance that people are forced through so if everyone is treated at the entrance they are clean," Murret said.
Tracey tells us at least one local private school in New Orleans is looking into buying a machine.

2/5/2021
LSU Sports Information


  The Southeastern Conference office has announced the Florida at LSU men's basketball game set for Saturday (Feb. 6) at the Maravich Center has been postponed due to a combination of positive tests, contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of individuals within the Florida basketball program, consistent with Southeastern Conference COVID-19 management requirements. A make-up date has not been determined at this time.

2/3/2021
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


   Tuscaloosa, Al:: The Tigers would go into Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night hoping to gain some revenge against Alabama after being embarrassed by the Tide in Baton Rouge two weeks ago, 105-75. It was not to be as LSU would suffer their second blowout loss of the season to the Crimson Tide, 78-60.
   The Tigers actually played a competitive first half as both teams would play solid defense throughout the first 20 minutes. 
   At the ten minute mark Bama would cling to a 20-16 lead as they would struggle to hit from three point range, forcing the Tide take the ball inside. This would allow LSU to keep pace with the 10th ranked team in the country. But it wouldn't take long for Alabama to shift into another gear, extending their lead to double digits as they would go ahead 28-18 at the 7:17 mark. 
   LSU would battle back scoring the final four points of the first half on two Cam Thomas free throws and a
Javonte Smart jumper to cut the lead to six, 36-30 Bama at the half. 


   After both teams would score quickly to start the second half, Bama leading 38-32 with 19:14 on the clock would go on a 16-2 run over the next six minutes. 
   Trailing 54-34, LSU would begin to panic offensively as things would go from bad to worse. They would begin throw up bad desperation shots, hoping for prayers to fall to chip into the lead. Not only would those prayers go unanswered, but their lack of poise and focus showed as they would even struggle to score down low under the basket. 
   Meanwhile the Tide made it look very easy practically scoring at will against a lifeless effort on defense by the Tigers. Bama got the rolls, the bounces, and the tip in's as they dominated LSU on the boards all game long. No matter what Will Wade would try, they just couldn't stop the bleeding. It would take all the Tigers had to fight, scratch, and claw to stay within twenty points. 
   
   Cam Thomas would lead the Tigers in scoring with 22 points, while Javonte Smart would finish with 14 points. Once again both Thomas and Smart would have to carry the team offensively with little to no scoring production from anyone else. Will Wade needs to find another scorer to step up if things are to turn around.  LSU finished the game shooting only 20-65 from the floor for a dismal 31%. .. 4-17 from the three point arc for 24%. .... and a weak 16-22 from the free throw line for 73%.... Rebounding continues to be a huge issue with this team as Bama out-rebounded them 51-35. 
   Defensively the Tigers seemed to play with no energy as Bama would score 52 points in the paint. Countless times LSU players would stand flat-footed as a Crimson Tide player would blow by them to the basket for an easy score. 
   I still believe in Will Wade and this LSU team. After some deep soul-searching I hope they can turn things around and raise their level of play in this final month of the regular season. The opportunity for important quality wins are starring the Tigers right in the face with Florida, Tennessee, and Auburn up next. 
   With the loss LSU is now 11-6 overall and 6-4 in the SEC. 
   Up next the Tigers will host #22 Florida in the PMAC on Saturday, Feb. 6th at 1pm. 
​
    

Photos Below By: LSU/SEC