Da Boot Sports
2/27/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil


   ATHENS, GA - LSU looked to rebound from their loss to Mississippi State and that's just what they did, holding on for dear life to defeat Georgia, 67-66 on Tuesday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

   The Tigers finished the night shooting 22-47 from the floor for 47%. Great night from three point land, hitting 9-18 for 50%. They sank 14-18 free throws for 78%. LSU survived 16 turnovers while forcing the Bulldogs into 12. Georgia managed to out-rebound the Tigers, 34-31.
   Jordan Wright led the Tigers with 17 points. Will Baker added 12 points, Tyrell Ward and Jalen Reed both scored 8 points each. Trae Hannibal and Mike Williams III each scored 6 points. Hunter Dean added 4, while Wilkinson and Fountain had 3 points each.

   "Just so proud of our players. The game wasn't a thing of beauty, but at the end of the day the goal is to win by any means necessary." said Matt McMahon. "First half, I loved our offensive execution.  Sharing of the basketball, elite shooting, minus the turnovers.  And the turnovers really prevented us from building a larger lead there in the first half.  Credit to Georgia, you know a really nice play there at the buzzer to generate a little momentum on the tip-in, and then came out and I thought really were the aggressor in the second half.  But with all that said, we were not very good offensively in the second half.  But when they took the lead, they clearly had all the momentum, and I think it says a lot about our players.  The toughness, the grit, to find a way to make enough plays there in the last minute to get the win."

   
   After their terrible performance on Saturday against Mississippi State, the Tigers came out on fire during the first eight minutes of the first half, holding a 23-17 lead at the first official's timeout at the 11:58 mark. 

   Georgia switched their defense from man to a zone, which slowed LSU down offensively, but the Tigers continued to play great, aggressive defense, holding Georgia scoreless over the last 5:15. With 6:38 left in the first half, LSU led 28-19.

   LSU outscored the Bulldogs, 12-8 over the final 6:38 of the first half to take a 40-27 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.

   LSU shot a nice 14-24 from the floor for 58% in the first half. They were hot from behind the three point arc hitting 7-10 for 70%. Perfect from the free throw line, sinking 5-5 for 100%. The only tough stat of the first 20 minutes for the Tigers was 11 turnovers, even though Georgia only converted them into 6 points. LSU did out-rebound Georgia, 18-13.
   Will Baker led the Tigers at the break with 10 points. Jordan Wright scored 9 points, Mike Williams III and Trae Hannibal both added 6 points each. Mwani Wilkinson, Tyrell Ward and Derek Fountain all contributed 3 points each.


   The Bulldogs began the second half on a 9-4 run to cut the LSU lead to 44-36 at the 15:45 mark. 

   The Bulldogs stepped up their game offensively, keeping the game close, outscoring LSU, 15-13 over the next nine minutes, cutting the Tigers' advantage to 57-51. 

   Georgia would then go on a 9-2 run to take their first lead since very early in the contest, 60-59.

   With 2:05 left on the clock, Trae Hannibal banked in a layup to help the Tigers regain the lead, 65-64.

   The Bulldogs grabbed the lead back, 66-65 with only 29 seconds left.

   Will Baker would be fouled with 15 seconds remaining, sending him to the free throw line. Baker sank both free throws to put LSU up, 67-66.

   Georgia missed a layup attempt for the win and the Tigers escaped with the victory.

   With the win, LSU improves to 15-13 overall, 7-8 in the SEC.

   Next, LSU will play Vanderbilt in Nashville on Saturday, March 2nd. Tipoff is set for 2:30pm CST. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.


   Don't forget to tune in every Monday night on our YouTube Channel at 7pm for Talking Tigers with Da Boot Sports as we talk LSU Basketball.   GEAUX TIGERS!!

​

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
2/24/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil


   BAtON ROUGE, LA - The Tigers played host to the Bulldogs from Mississippi State on Saturday night in the  Pete Maravich Assembly Center and put on an embarrassing performance, losing 87-67 in front of 9,463 fans.

   Sloppy offensive play and a non-aggressive defense that State took advantage off most of the night, the Tigers dropped a game that they very much needed to win at home.

   Trea Hannibal led LSU with 22 points, Jordan Wright added 14 points, Will Baker scored 9 points, Tyrell Ward finished with 7 points before leaving the contest with an injury. Michael Williams III and Jalen Reed both contributed 6 points each.
   The Tigers committed 15 costly turnovers and were out-rebounded by the Bulldogs, 37-34. 

   “Credit to Mississippi State, they were terrific tonight. Really a complete performance. Shot the ball exceptionally well from three and at the free-throw line as well." Matt McMahon said. "I thought in the first half, you know a back-and-forth game. We gave up some transition points that really hurt us there and then the second-chance points in the first half, and in the second half, again, we just didn’t have it. They just took off and left us there. Thought they really executed on the offensive end, and their physicality and pressure really bothered us defensively, as evidenced by our four assists to 15 turnovers. So, a quick turnaround to get ready for Georgia, and that’s how we’ll approach these next 48 hours.”

   
   State controlled the opening tip and quickly turned the ball over. LSU took advantage, scoring on a Jordan Wright layup. 2-0 Tigers, 30 seconds into the contest. 

   Both teams opened the game shooting well. At the 15:39 mark, the contest was all even at 8-8. 

   Over the next four minutes, LSU was able to outscore the Bulldogs, 9-7 to hold an 18-16 lead with 11:45 left in the first half.

   The game continued to be an evenly played contest with a tie score of 25-25 at the 7:20 mark.

   LSU became sloppy over the final four minutes of the first half and the Bulldogs took advantage, outscoring the Tigers, 10-4 to take a 40-33 lead into the halftime break.

   The Tigers shot 12-28 from the floor in the first half for 43%. Only 1-9 for 11% from behind the three point line. 8-8 for 100% from the charity stripe. LSU hurt themselves in the first 20 minutes by committing nine turnovers while forcing State into five. The Bulldogs out-rebounded LSU, 22-19 in the first half.
   Trea Hannibal led the Tigers at the break with 12 points. Jordan Wright scored 8 points, Tyrell Ward added 7 points, Will Baker finished with 4 and Jalen Reed contributed 2 points.


   Mississippi State out-played the Tigers during the first five minutes of the second half, building an 11 point lead, 51-39 with 15:24 left on the clock. 

   The Tigers defense had no answer for the State offense while sputtering on offense, being out-scored 11-6 over the next five minutes.

   LSU simply couldn't buy a basket when needed as the Bulldogs would go on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 58-42 at the 12:42 mark.

   Mississippi State simply wanted it more as the really started to pour it on, going on a 13-2 run to take a 78-56 lead with only 4:06 left in the contest. 

   The Bulldogs had their way over the final four minutes, pulling away from an out of sync, struggling LSU basketball team. 

   With the loss the Tigers fall to 14-13 overall and 6-8 in the SEC.

   Next up LSU will host Georgia on Tuesday, Feb. 27th in the P-MAC. Tipoff is set for 6:00pm CST. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

   Former LSU Head Coach Dale Brown was on our Talking Tigers with Da Boot Sports podcast a couple of weeks ago and had this to say.  "They need to give this new coach some time. There's no pale prayer prescription or magic wand you wave. All this probation they've been put on and loss of players and the problems from the last staff,  He's the kind of guy that I would want my son or grandson to play for. He's a good coach, He's a good person. Be patient fans. He'll win and win big."



   Don't forget to tune in every Monday night on our YouTube Channel at 7pm for Talking Tigers with Da Boot Sports as we talk LSU Basketball.   GEAUX TIGERS!!

​

Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
2/21/2024
By: Jason Watson Jr.


   Baton Rouge, LA- Your LSU Fighting Tigers roared to back-to-back ranked victories with a gritty performance over SEC foe Kentucky. In a back and forth matchup, Matt McMahon’s squad got the last dagger at the literal last second. A heroic, all-around team effort led the Tigers to a 75-74 upset.

   “Really don’t have the words to describe it. Just so proud of our players." Matt McMahon said. "Over the last week seeing the toughness that we need to play with. I think it has to be the foundation of your program. For some reason when we go down by 15 points again in the second half and then really came together as a team and found ways to get it done. The last minute was obviously not a work of art, but that’s on me and the guys found a way to win anyways. So, I’m really proud of them. The atmosphere in the PMAC was fantastic. Loved the energy. It’s a great win for our team and for our program. Kentucky is terrific. The challenging part of this league is two great wins at South Carolina and Kentucky here tonight and it will be a quick turnaround here with Mississippi State rolls into town on Saturday. So, we’ll enjoy it here for an hour or so and then we got to start getting ready for a really good Mississippi State team.” 



   The LSU faithful were impactful from the opening possession, forcing the Wildcats into a shot clock violation. Big man Will Baker put up the first point of the night for the Tigers by splitting a pair of free throws.

   Tyrell Ward knocked down a catch-and-shoot triple off an inbound pass. Derek Fountain, starting because of injuries within the Tigers’ starting five, nailed his three-pointer to help LSU keep pace with Kentucky. 

   The Tigers knotted things up at 16 apiece going into the first official timeout of the game at the 13:13 mark before Jordan Wright stepped into a big shot, giving LSU the lead. 

   LSU played well enough to hang with the Wildcats through the opening ten minutes of play, but a few poor turnovers from the Tigers kept the game close, and we remained tied at 22-22 with 7:37 remaining in the first half. 

   Jordan Wright scored a big basket for the Tigers, getting a teardrop to fall off the front iron, but sloppy play from both sides made for a low-scoring affair. LSU held the Wildcats to a 4+ minute scoring drought but could only muster a two-point lead.

   Trae Hannibal converted 1/2 free throws, putting the Tigers back in front by one, but Kentucky made the first big run of the game by outscoring LSU 12-1 out of the prior timeout. That proved all for scoring in the first half as LSU trailed 36-27 in a flash. LSU was outrebounded 18-16 in the first 20 minutes and also gave up 11 turnovers. 

   Kentucky began the second half by knocking down two three-pointers, extending their lead to 15. Matt McMahon called a timeout less than a minute into the frame. Derek Fountain and Hannibal halted the bleeding for LSU, earning tough buckets inside the paint.

   The dynamic duo kept at it on the offensive end as Fountain flushed home an emphatic jam off a no-look dime from Trae. The Wildcats double-digit lead got erased quickly, and Coach Cal was hot. LSU made an 11-0 run over 1:45 and drew to within two. 

   Jalen Reed converted a reverse layup to tie the game at 46 all. The PMAC crowd grew to a mighty roar. Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard drew a hushed silence and an and-one to put the Cats back in front.

   LSU battled in the second half and found themselves up five with under 10 to play. With eight minutes to go, LSU led 59-58. McMahon and the LSU basketball team are proving they have something special brewing on the bayou. The fans rewarded their tough play by getting louder than they had at any home game all season.

   Will Baker got a gutsy layup to fall in, extending the Tiger lead to three. Kentucky trailed 63-60 with 5:42 left in the game. When you thought LSU would get a stop, UK’s Adou Thiero slammed a two-handed putback dunk through the rim.

   Rob Dillingham made a massive triple for Kentucky to tie things up at 67 before Jalen Reed gave the Tigers a two-point lead. Will Baker followed it up with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. Kentucky tried to respond, but Tyrell Ward came up with a clutch rejection that sent the basketball into the stands.

   Kentucky was not phased by the block and finished another and-one opportunity to bring themselves within one point of LSU. Dillingham delivered a clutch basket to put the Wildcats up by one with under 20 seconds to play. 

   Then… Chaos Ensued!

   LSU took possession with one timeout remaining, but McMahon put his faith in the guys on the court. Jordan Wright dribbled the ball up the floor and drove hard to the right where he was met with heavy contact. Wright attempted a shot, but was deflected back into him before he threw up a lobbed prayer, a jump ball, if you will. Tyrell Ward answered those prayers by corralling the rock in mid air and tossed up a floater that hit nothing but the bottom of the net. 

   The crowd erupted as fans stormed the court. LSU claimed the victory! Game Over!

   LSU stays at home for their next contest. The Mississippi State Bulldogs will make the trip to Baton Rouge for a Saturday night tip-off on February 24th. You can catch that game’s broadcast on the SEC Network at 7:30 p.m. CST, and as always, Geaux Tigers!



​    
    Don't forget to tune in every Monday night at 7pm for Talking Tigers with Da Boot Sports as we talk LSU Basketball.   GEAUX TIGERS!!

​

Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

Photos Below By: Jonathan Mailhes

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
2/17/2024
LSU Sports Communications
By: LSU Staff


​   COLUMBIA, South Carolina – Coach Matt McMahon has been saying that the LSU Tigers needed to learn to win the 50-50 games down the stretch.

   Just three days after a heart-breaking loss by two points at Florida, graduate student Jordan Wright scored LSU’s final seven points, including two free throws with 5.0 seconds remaining to give LSU an upset, 64-63, win over No. 11 South Carolina Saturday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena.

   For LSU it was its first true road victory over an AP Top 25 team since Feb. 12, 2019 at No. 5 Kentucky. It snapped a 10-game losing streak in true road games versus AP Top 25-teams.

   LSU trailed by as many as 16 points Saturday and it was the first time LSU had a 15+ point comeback and won on the road since March 6, 2014 at Vanderbilt.

   It was the eighth true road win for the Tigers over a team ranked in the AP top 11 all-time.

   LSU trailed Carolina by 16 points with 16:58 to go in the game but had cut the lead to six at the 4:08 mark.

   Tyrell Ward posted a dunk and after a Gamecock miss, Ward hit a three to cut the margin to 55-54 with 3:16 to play.

   After the final media timeout and a Carolina bucket, Ward on a third chance offensive possession, would hit a step-back three-pointer to tie the game at 57-57 with 1:24 to play.

   But that lead was short-lived as B. J. Mack hit a three-pointer of his own to give Carolina a 60-57 lead with 55 seconds to play.

   On the LSU possession, Wright scored on a driving layup to make it 60-59 with 46 seconds to play. He was fouled and made the free throw to tie the game at 60-60.

   Again, South Carolina got another three-pointer wide-open at the top of the key from Ta’lon Cooper to make it 63-60 with 29 seconds to play.

   But teams played the final minute with multiple fouls to give and the South Carolina bench was asking their players to foul but Wright was about to get a driving layup to make it 63-62 with 17 seconds left.

   On the inbounds, Hunter Dean and Jalen Reed forced a jump ball and the possession belonged to LSU. As the clock ran down, Wright drove again to the lane and was fouled with five seconds to play. He calmly over the deafening roar of the crowd of over 16,000 made both free throws to get the lead for LSU, 64-63.

   LSU used one of their fouls to give on Carolina’s last possession and a three-pointer by Jacobi Wright did not go sending the LSU crowd into a frenzy as the buzzer sounded.

   Tyrell Ward led LSU with 16 points, including three treys while Jordan Wright had 14 and Jalen Reed 13. Trae Hannibal, who played 32 minutes with Jalen Cook out again with a minor injury, had six points and 12 rebounds.
B. J. Mack led Carolina with 18 points and nine boards while Collin Murray-Boyles added 13 points.

   LSU, which trailed by seven at the half (32-25), is now 13-12 on the season and 5-7 in the league. Carolina loses for the second time this week and is 21-5 and 9-4.

   The Tigers shot 25-of-58 for the game (43.1%), making 5-of-13 three-pointers and 9-of-14 at the line. Carolina finished 26-of-62 (41.9%) with six treys and 5-of-6 at the line. LSU outrebounded the Gamecocks, 38-33, with both teams having 38 points in the paint.

   LSU now hosts Kentucky in the Maravich Center on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (ESPN, LSU Sports Radio Network). Tickets are available at LSUTix.net.

    LSU Postgame Quotes
LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon Postgame Quotes
Opening Statement…
“Yeah, just so proud of our players. Down 16 there in the second half, we really displayed the toughness and the grit and the togetherness we’ve been looking for as a team. To just keep playing one possession at a time and find a way to get the job done there at the end. I thought our guys really fought. And the offensive execution was a lot better in the second half and we got stops, some timely stops when we needed them there to find a way to win at the final buzzer. But all that said, so much respect for the job coach (Lamont) Paris has done. They’ve got a terrific team and what he’s been able to do here, so we’re really proud of the win. Losing sucks and we’ve been struggling to get over the hump and our guys, credit to them, just stay the course, keep coming to practice, keep working and earned themselves a hard-fought win today.”

On the comeback win…
“It was awesome. So proud of our guys. They just stayed the course. That was the toughness and the physicality, and the competitiveness combined with some togetherness that we’ve been trying to get. We’ve been right there on the verge, you know, as we all know, losing sucks man, you’re right there. We needed a break too. We needed to get over the hump and I thought our guys fought like crazy to make that happen today and just found a way to get it done.”
LSU Guard Jordan Wright

On his experience helping him stay poised…
“My experience has taught me how to stay poised. I think early in my career I struggled with just getting too involved in the crowd or the emotions of the game. But now I’ve played in a lot of big games and played against a lot of really good teams, so I can be a little more even-keeled. We just stayed poised, I think the team did a good job of that tonight. We’ve been in close games and have been on the other side in those games, so tonight we were able to capitalize. It was just about staying poised, being a leader and then it helps when you have a coaching staff who has been in and won big games, so they can bring that culture and that feel to us as well.”



    Don't forget to tune in every Monday night at 7pm for Talking Tigers with Da Boot Sports as we talk LSU Basketball on our YouTube Channel....  GEAUX TIGERS!!
​

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
2/13/2024
LSU Sports Communications
By: LSU Staff


​   GAINESVILLE, FL. – The Florida Gators got a free throw and a putback to take the lead with 20 seconds left in the game and ended up with an 82-80 decision over LSU, thwarting a dramatic comeback attempt by the Tigers.

   LSU rallied from 20 down with 15:31 to play in the game, tying the contest, 78-78, on a three-pointer by Tyrell Ward with 1:33 to play.

   Florida turned the ball over on its next possession and Ward’s attempt to score at the goal was no good as the clock ticked under a minute. After a Florida miss, Tyrese Samuel got the offensive rebound and was fouled. He made the first free throw to give Florida a 79-78 lead with 38 seconds left but missed the second one.

   Thomas Haugh grabbed the rebound and Walter Clayton Jr., eventually got the bucket that put the Gators up three, 81-78, with 20.9 seconds left.

   LSU went for the quick two-pointer and Jordan Wright scored with 11 seconds left. The Tigers took their final time out and on the inbounds, LSU fouled to send Alex Condon to the line. Condon made the first half of a 1-and-1 with nine seconds left but missed the second and Derek Fountain got the rebound.

   LSU, with no timeouts, brought the ball up the court quickly but Wright’s mid-lane jumper was short and he grabbed the offensive board but there wasn’t time to get another shot up as the buzzer sounded giving the Gators the win.

   Wright, who had 12 of his points in the second half, and Will Baker each scored 16 points for the Tigers with Ward and Jalen Cook scoring 12 each. Florida was led by Clayton with 21 points, while Samuel had 15 and Pullin 14.

   Baker provided the offense for LSU in the first 20 minutes as he has the last few games for the Tigers scoring 13 points with two three-pointers.

   But LSU could not find a way to stop Florida which shot 67 percent, making 20-of-30 field goals, including 18-of-24 from 2-point range. Clayton did much of the damage for the Gators with six two-pointers and two free throws.

   Seven players contributed to the Gators’ first-half total as Florida outscored LSU, 23-13, over the final 7:56 of the half.

   Florida out-rebounded the Tigers, 20-13, in the first half

   The Tigers opened with the first five points of the contest on a Baker bucket and a Mike Williams III three-pointer but Florida quickly tied the game and took the lead for good at 11-9 prior to the first media timeout.

   In the second half, the Gators were able to push the lead quickly up to 20 points, setting the stage for the Tiger comeback. LSU was down 60-40 with 15:31 to play but outscored the Gators 38-18 to tie the game at 78-78.

   The Tigers played zone most of that rally and held Florida to 34.2 percent in overall field goal percentage (13-of-38) and just 2-of-11 from the arc, a complete reversal of the first half. Meanwhile, LSU was shooting 15-of-24 from the field (62.5%) and 6-of-9 from the arc.

   For the game, LSU finished at 50.9 percent (28-55) and 11-of-21 from distance. However, for the third straight road game, LSU failed to shoot over 65 percent at the free throw line, hitting just 13-of-21 free throws (61.9 percent). Florida finished 33-of-68 (48.5 percent) and 4-of-17 from the arc. Florida was just 12-of-20 from the charity stripe.

   LSU now has nine games this season hitting double-digit three-pointers, which is tied for the most in a season dating back to 2002-03, with the most recent being during the 2019-20 season.

   Florida outrebounded LSU, 43-29, the third straight game the opponents had 40-plus rebounds on LSU and 19-8 on the offensive boards which resulted in a 20-12 advantage in second chance points.

​   Florida had 46 points in the paint compared to 28 for the Tigers.

   LSU continues with road game play on Saturday at South Carolina with a 2:30 CT tipoff for the game on the SEC Network and the LSU Sports Radio Network.

    Postgame Quotes via the LSU Radio Network
LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon
On the tough loss…
“Yeah that’s a tough one, that’s just all there is to it. I thought our guys did a great job in the second half of flipping the script of the game. We were able to execute offensively. I think we shot over 60% from the floor and from three. That enabled us to draw up some defenses and change the look there on the other end. We couldn’t quite secure the defensive glass the way we needed to on some key possessions. I thought we left some points on the board there. In the first half of a game, when the opponent shoots 66% as they did, your margin for error on offense is nonexistent. We had a couple of bad turnovers and missed some free throws in the first half, but credit to our players, they found a way to get back into the game and give ourselves a chance there at the end.”

On not giving up when the Florida lead was extended to 20…
“I thought we went to more of a defensive lineup and those guys gave us a huge lift. Florida’s guards are so good, they put so much pressure on you and we were trying to do a good job hedging ball screens and just couldn’t do it. They just got into the paint at will, whether it was the guard driving in there or hitting the bigs on the short roll there into the painted area. We had to make some changes there in the second half. I thought our guys were active there in our zone. I thought we really flew around. Then, as it got tighter late when we went back to man, I thought our effort and intensity was a lot better. We were able to keep them off balance. We had some chances there late, unfortunately, just rushed a layup and then had a bad turnover, but all that said you have a shot you’d love to have any time to send the game to overtime.”
​ 

​Tune in to our Da Boot Sports YouTube page on Monday night for Talking Tigers with Da Boot Sports Podcast as we talk LSU Men's and Women's basketball with host David Penn, co-hosts Clarence Ceasar and Russell Grant.  It's always a fantastic show. See you Monday night at 7:00pm.....

Da Boot Sports
2/10/2024
By: Terrill J. Weil


   BATON ROUGE, LA - The Tigers returned home to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center looking to bounce back from their loss at Tennessee. But the season woes for LSU continued on as they fell to Alabama, 109-92.

   It was a very competitive and exciting game until about five minutes remaining. That's when LSU got sloppy and fell apart. Turnovers, inability to rebound and missing shots off of poor shot selection doomed the Tigers in front of a small crowd of 7,755 fans. 

   Alabama made 18 three pointers that helped them pull away at key moments of the ball game. 

   LSU finished the game a respectable 33-60 from the floor for 55%, while hitting 7-19 from behind the arc for 37%. They were 19-26 from the free throw line for 73%. LSU committed 12 total turnover in the game, several came late in the contest that hurt their chances for victory. The Tigers were also out-rebounded by the Tide, 43-31.

   Will Baker lead the Tigers with 24 points. But wasn't a factor in the second half after scoring 22 in the first period. Jalen Cook scored 20 points, Tyrell Ward added 15, while Jordan Wright finished with 9 points, Jalen Reed with 8, and Mike Williams III contributed 6 points on the day. 



   The game began with a fast and furious track meet pace, as both team's raced up and down the floor sinking in shot after shot. 

   Will Baker hit a three pointer at the 15:52 mark to give the Tigers a 16-13 lead. 

   LSU held an 18-17 lead at the first officials timeout with 14:00 left in the first half. At this point in the contest the Tigers were hot, making 8-10 of their shots from the floor for 80%, while the Tide shot a nice 7-12 for 58% in a fun, fast pace game.

   Over the next six minutes Alabama would outscore the Tigers, 17-12 to take a 34-30 advantage with 7:54 left in the first half of a very competitive game that had 15 lead chances up to this point. 

   The first half ended with Alabama holding a 49-46 lead. It was a well played first half, except for several unfortunate, questionable calls against the Tigers. 

   Alabama lived by the three point shot during the first 20 minutes, hitting nine treys. 

   The Tigers shot well in the first half, going 19-32 from the floor for 59%. LSU sank 4-8 from behind the three point line for 50%. A decent half at the charity stripe sinking 4-6 for 67%.  LSU committed five turnovers to Bama's three. The rebound battle was even at 18-18 at the break. 

   It was the Will Baker show for the Tigers in the first half as he finished the first 20 minutes with 22 points. Jalen Reed added 7 points, Tyrell Ward scored 6 points, while Mike Williams III finished with three. Four other Tigers contributed two points each.


   Each team opened the second half hitting a three pointer. Ryan Griffen sank one for Bama, their 10th of the game, followed by a three pointer by LSU's Mike Williams III. 52-49, Bama, one minute into the period. 

   LSU would go cold from the floor and the free throw line over the next four minutes as the Tide was able to extend their lead to 60-51 with 16:08 left on the clock. 

​   Over the next four minutes LSU would outscore Alabama, 14-11 to pull to within, 71-65 at the 11:53 mark. 

   The Tigers would go on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 71-71 with 10:14 left in the contest. 

   Alabama would then go on a 7-4 run over the next two minutes to grab a 78-75 lead at the 7:56 mark.

​   The Tide continued to remain blazing hot from three point range, hitting four more treys over the next two minutes to increase their lead to 93-82 with 5:03 remaining. 

   The LSU offense simply went missing in action over the final five minutes of the contest as the Crimson Tide was able to pull away to take the victory. 

   With the loss the Tigers are now, 12-11 overall and fall to 4-6 in SEC play. 

   Next up the Tigers will travel to Gainesville to play the Gators on Tuesday, Feb. 13th at 7:00pm. The game will be televised on the SEC Network. 

​   
   Tune in to our Da Boot Sports YouTube page on Monday night for Talking Tigers with Da Boot Sports Podcast as we talk LSU Men's and Women's basketball with host David Penn, co-hosts Clarence Ceasar and Russell Grant. It's always a fantastic show. See you Monday night at 7:00pm
​

Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
2/7/2024
LSU Sports Communications
By: LSU Staff


   KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – The LSU men’s basketball team found itself in a deep hole in the first half and then made a run to cut it to single digits before falling 88-68 to No. 6 Tennessee Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

   The Tigers fall to 12-10 and 4-5 in the league while Tennessee remained in the hunt for the league lead at 17-5 and 7-2 overall.

   Tennessee scored the first 13 points of the game and scored 50 first half points with the Vols shooting 18-of-31 for 58.1 percent and 9-of-14 from distance for 64.3 percent in building a 50-27 halftime advantage.

   LSU committed 8 first-half turnovers that Tennessee turned into a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

   The Tigers, playing without point guard Jalen Cook who was out because of a hamstring issue since the Arkansas game last Saturday. But LSU, like the game at Auburn last month, went on a 17-2 run as LSU was able to close the game to single digits, at 72-64, with 4:39 to play in the game.

   But LSU was unable to sustain the game down the stretch and the Volunteers were able to move the game back out to the 20-point final margin.

   LSU got another strong double figure effort by Will Baker who played 36 minutes and scored 16 points with eight rebounds. Derek Fountain had 11 points and seven boards. Trae Hannibal, who had to play the majority of the minutes at point guard (31 minutes) had eight points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

   Dalton Knecht led Tennessee with 27 points, while Jordan Gainey had 18, Zakai Zeigler 17 and Jonas Aidoo 10.
LSU outrebounded Tennessee, 40-26, and 18-5 on the offensive boards. LSU had a 20-10 advantage in second chance points.

   LSU finished the game at 41.4 percent shooting (24-of-58) with six treys and 14-of-22 at the line (63.6%). LSU finished at 55.4 percent (31-of-56) with 11 three-pointers and 15-of-20 at the line.

   The Tigers are back at home on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. against the University of Alabama. Tickets are available at LSUTix.net.

    Postgame Quotes via the LSU Radio Network
LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon
On cutting the deficit to eight and showing effort in the second half…
“I was proud of that ten-minute stretch there in the second half where we really did a good job taking care of the basketball. We got good shots, guys stepped up and knocked them down. That enabled us to set our defense and make it more of a half-court game as we would have liked for it to have been. And we were able to get it back down to eight. But you know, the first half you’re on your heels because of poor offense, poor shot selection there early and turnovers. Now you’re in transition, one of the top five transition teams in America and credit to them, they (Tennessee) stepped up and knocked down open threes there in the first half, got off to a great start, and we were playing from behind the entire evening.”

​On the effort of Trae Hannibal and Mwani Wilkinson …
“Yeah, I really respect their effort. I thought they really battled through injuries and illness, obviously that is part of it. Hunter Dean had been out since Saturday’s win. He got ill and hadn’t practiced this week. He tried to give it a go but couldn’t do it. Jalen Cook had a sore hamstring and he couldn’t give it a go. So we have what we have. I thought the guys really fought and competed there in the second half to try to get back and make it a game. You know, I think the formula continues to be pretty consistent for us. You saw it Saturday against Arkansas from an offensive standpoint. Taking care of the ball, doing a good job executing and moving the basketball. That’s how we were able to get the lead back down to eight, kind of resorted back to some of the over-dribbling and forcing there in the last three minutes and we weren’t able to stretch it out there.”

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
2/3/2024
By: Jason Watson Jr. 


   Baton Rouge, LA- The LSU Men's basketball team earned a dominant win over the Arkansas Razorbacks, 95-74.

   Matt McMahon and the LSU Tigers basketball team duked it out with SEC Rival Arkansas on a rainy Saturday morning at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

   After dropping their last three, LSU sought to replicate their home success and climb back to the win column. 

   Arkansas won the tip and looked primed to score right away, but Jalen Reed defended the paint well for LSU with two mean blocks. He also managed the first bucket of the game for the Tigers.

   In a low-scoring first four minutes of play, LSU jumped out in front with a high-arcing three from Mike Williams III off a solid dish from Trae Hannibal. 

   Hannibal helped extend the Tiger scoring run to 10-0 with a flashy assist to Will Baker in the corner for the trey.

   Baker followed that up by scoring his team’s next four field goal attempts, including two more three-pointers before taking a breather. The big man quickly found himself within double digits, leading LSU to a 20-7 advantage as LSU stayed hot, shooting 88% from the field. 

   LSU and Arkansas continued to trade free throws, but the difference in the game was plain to see. The Tigers were HOT, and the Razorbacks…they were not.

  With 7:50 showing on the first-half game clock, Matt McMahon’s team was shooting a blazing 78% from the floor while holding the visitors to 33%. A 32-14 lead was the early result of LSU’s tenacity and aggressiveness on both sides of the floor. 

   Will Baker scored his 15th point of the game to halt a 3 minute plus scoring drought for the Tigers, but a 6-0 Razorback run over just a minute forced McMahon to call a timeout with the LSU lead down to 12.

   A trip to the free-throw line earned Jalen Cook his first points of the contest for the Tigers, and on the very next possession, Cook nailed a triple. 

   An impressive opening half of basketball from LSU came to a close as the teams headed to the break with a 45-30 lead.

   Will Baker led the way for the Tigers with 17 points; Mike Williams followed with 10. Arkansas was out-rebounded and out-shot and out played over the first 20 minutes, and it did not help that three of their starters were held scoreless. Foul calls were aplenty and came often, with both teams racking up nine each. 

   The second half could not have started any worse for the Razorbacks as they failed to score with the opening possession and allowed Will Baker to convert an basket and-one on the other end. Baker’s point total rose to 20.

   Arkansas missed a pair of free throws before allowing Reed to get his three-point play opportunity. 
Williams delivered another triple for the Tigers, giving them their largest lead at 24.

   The two teams swapped baskets as time proceeded, and LSU’s lead remained stagnant before the home
crowd fans got treated to two electrifying plays. 

   LSU took full advantage of a breakaway chance off a missed Razorback shots. Trae Hannibal corralled the rock with Jordan Wright tailing behind. Hannibal passed to Wright and went up to snag the lob, finishing the play with a powerful alley-oop jam. The PMAC erupted but didn’t have time to settle before Hunter Dean slammed a turnaround dunk off the bench. 

   With five minutes to go, LSU’s lead sat at 21 following a three-pointer from Cook. That bucket would push him to the 20-point mark.

   LSU led 84-63. From there, it was all Tigers. With 96 seconds remaining, McMahon let his reserves get some minutes in with the victory already on lock.
 
   After putting on their best performance of the season, a roaring standing ovation was given to Baker, Cook, Wright, and the rest of the LSU team. 

   The Tigers improve to 12-9 overall and 4-4 in the SEC.

   Next on tap, your LSU Fighting Tigers will travel to #5 Tennessee for a road date with the Volunteers. That game will be on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at 6:00 pm CST. Geaux Tigers! You can watch the contest on the SEC Network.


   Tune in to our Da Boot Sports YouTube page on Monday night for Talking Tigers with da Boot Sports Podcast as we talk LSU Men's and Women's basketball with host David Penn, co-hosts Clarence Ceasar and Russell Grant plus special guest, Coach Dale Brown!  It will be a fantastic show. See you Monday night at 7:00pm

Photos Below By: Paige Luper