Da Boot Sports 2/2/2023 LSU Sports Communications By: Kent Lowe COLUMBIA, Missouri – The LSU basketball team had its best and longest stretch of sustained offense Wednesday night, but couldn’t stop a first-half barrage of three-pointers in an 87-77 loss to Missouri at Mizzou Arena. The Tigers had six players in double figures with two double doubles as LSU made 11 three-pointers and had opportunities in the second half to cut a quickly established double digit lead by Mizzou down to single digits inside the final eight minutes. “The way they (Missouri) play with their pressure and their switching and denial defense makes it difficult just to come down and run sets and execute in the half court. So, what ends up happening is you have to go by that pressure and make plays,” said head coach Matt McMahon. “I thought we were able to do that with success at times. You see the balance in the scoring, I thought we were able to get good looks throughout the game. Unfortunately, when you go on the road and give up 87, you are going to have to be a lot more efficient there on some of those opportunities we had on the offensive end.” KJ Williams had his sixth double double as he led LSU with 15 points and 11 rebounds, making 6-of-10 from the field and one three pointer while Derek Fountain recorded his third double double of the season, scoring 11 points with 11 rebounds. Juice Hill, in his longest stint since returning back to the team (35 minutes), had 13 points and four assists. Also, at 11 points for LSU was Adam Miller and Trae Hannibal. Hannibal also had five assists. Kobe Brown hit 10-of-11 shots for Missouri, including 5-of-6 treys to tally 26 points with eight rebounds and five assists. Noah Carter and DeAndre Gholston had 14 points each and Isiaih Mosley had 12 points. Missouri hit 11 first-half three-pointers, the most they had recorded in 10 seasons in opening up an 18-point advantage in the first 20 minutes. Mizzou hit 11-of-23 three-point attempts and was 6-of-9 inside the arc to finish the first half 17-of-32 from the field and up 48-35 at intermission. “Yeah, that was the ballgame right there. You look at the first 12 minutes we were unable to defend the three-point line at all, whether it was man, zone or switching we just couldn’t get the job done. You look at their two front court guys at the four and five position with (Noah) Carter and (Kobe) Brown, they go 8-of-12 from three with the majority of that done in the first half,” said McMahon. “Really put us in a position where we were trying to fight and claw to get back in the game. I thought we had some opportunities there. From the eight-minute mark to the four-minute mark, we had a lot of open looks and some opportunities in transition that we were not able to convert and get that lead back down to six or seven.” LSU began in the second half to attack over the Missouri press and drive to the goal and cut the margin to 11 twice – the first at the 7:34 mark with possession of the ball after a Missouri inbounds turnover. LSU was unable to close the game after missing two three-point attempts on the next possession. The Tigers would again get the game back to 11, 79-68, with 6:04 to play and after blocking a field goal attempt by Missouri, LSU missed again from distance which would have cut the game to single digits. A three-pointer by Miller with 16 seconds left got LSU back as close as it had been since early in the contest. LSU out rebounded Missouri, 38-32, with an impressive 15-5 advantage on the offensive glass which resulted in an 18-7 advantage in second chance points. LSU turned the ball over 12 times to Missouri’s 10 but the points off turnovers difference, which had plagued LSU in January SEC games, was just three, 17-14. It marked the first game LSU had more than four players in double figures and the most balanced offensive showing of the year. LSU returns to Baton Rouge and the Maravich Center to host nationally-ranked Alabama on Saturday at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at LSUTix.net.
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Da Boot Sports 1/31/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - I want to personally thank former LSU basketball coach Will Wade for setting our basketball program back into a dismal rebuilding process caused by his crookedness The LSU fan base accepted you with open arms when you arrived in Baton Rouge and had your back with massive support during your late season suspension in 2019. You have gone on to represent the dark side of college athletics. Why sir? Why break so many rules while recruiting kids to Baton Rouge when you have so many reason why it can be done without any violations? Was it worth it Will? It wasn't worth it to LSU fans LSU has a solid basketball tradition, thanks to great coaches like Dale Brown and John Brady who helped take the Bayou Bengals to a winning, respectable level without needing to stoop to oozing slime of desperation, chancing to destroy the program. The LSU basketball program and the fans are now suffering for your actions. You sir are the definition of corruption in college athletics and it angers and sickens me what your actions have done to our basketball program. You should adopt a new nickname. Change it from 'The General' to "The Corrupter"... I hope one day the NCAA will decide to punish head coaches who commit these serious violations, holding them more accountable, handing down harsher punishment on the guilty instead of punishing the universities, players and the fans. Here is some of the wire tap conversation that lead to Will Wade’s firing and to the current LSU basketball struggles. “I was thinking last night on this Smart thing,” Wade told Dawkins in the audio clip. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m f***ing tired of dealing with the thing. Like I’m just f***ing sick of dealing with this s**t. … What do you think? Because I went to him with a f***ing strong-ass offer about a month ago. F***ing strong. “The problem was, I know why he didn’t take it now, it was f***ing tilted towards the family a little bit,” Wade continued.. “But I mean it was a f***ing hell of a f***ing offer. Like, hell of an offer. Especially for a kid who is going to be a two or three-year kid. I’ve made deals for as good a players as hm that were f***ing a lot simpler than this.” “We could compensate him better than the rookie minimum,” Wade said in the wiretapped audio. “We’d give him more than the D-League.” Wade was at LSU from 2017-2022, compiling a 108-54 record while winning the SEC regular season title in 2018-19. He was fired on March 12, 2022 right before the beginning of the NCAA Tournament when LSU was notified of 11 alleged violations committed by Wade, eight of them Level I. As I continue to painfully watch the Tigers during their current eight game losing streak, I find myself becoming more and more angry at our former coach. Currently, Will Wade has his own podcast, “The Will Wade Podcast” On one of his current episodes, titled: ‘How to BUILD a SUCCESSFUL College Basketball Program in 2023 with Will Wade’.. What a joke! It should be titled, ‘How to cheat while trying to build a successful college basketball program’ Some of Wade’s comical comments during this show are below… "Everybody talks about culture," Wade said. . "Culture is a bunch of BS. Just win. ... People are not that patient anymore." “You can't build a program anymore. You have to build a team. That is just the way it is with the portal and all that stuff. You are trying to build a program? The kids are going to transfer before you get any good. Every situation is unique, every job is unique and you have to figure out how you can win at that place. Whatever it may be." Wade would go on to add,…. "You have to win, period. You gotta find a way to win. How can you win? Good culture is winning. Everybody is happy when you win. When you lose? Everything goes haywire. You hear from people, everyone has ideas, all that sort of stuff. As long as you’re winning, it doesn’t matter. That culture is winning. All this other junk is what it is. Can you win? What do you need to do to win? What a delusional basket case! Wade also hopes to return to coaching college basketball soon. I surely hope that he never again has the opportunity to ruin another school's basketball program. Once again, thanks a lot for being responsible for the pitiful state of our LSU basketball program, Good bye Will Wade and good riddance! Da Boot Sports 1/29/2023 LSU Sports Communications By: Kent Lowe BATON ROUGE – LSU could not keep up with the Texas Tech Red Raiders with key plays in the final 8:59 of Saturday’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and dropped a 76-68 decision. LSU dropped to 12-9 with the loss, while Texas Tech moved to 11-10. Offensively the Tigers were able to get their offense going in a much more productive way at times in the contest, but couldn’t stop Texas Tech’s ability from distance as they hit 11-of-18 from the arc (61.1%) and 25-of-54 overall for the game (46.3 percent). The Tigers shot over 40 percent in the first half (12-of-28 with 6-of-13 from distance), but could only it 10-of-31 (32.3%) in the second half. LSU finished at 37.3 percent (22-of-59) and hit 9-of-26 three pointers (34.6%). The Tigers, down eight at intermission, 41-33, was able to get back in the game, getting the game back to two on a couple of occasions before Adam Miller’s three put LSU up, 46-45, with 13:30 left. Kerwin Walton then hit two consecutive three-point baskets from the deep corner to give the Red Raiders a 51-46 advantage some two minutes later. But LSU made a 10-0 run to take a five-point, 56-51 lead with 8:59 to play. Juice Hill, who returned to the Tigers after a week away for personal reasons, hit a corner three to make the Red Raider lead just two, 51-49, and after a shot clock violation, Derek Fountain drove the lanes and scored to tie the game at 51-51. Texas Tech turned it over again and Cam Hayes hit a layup to give LSU a 53-51 advantage. TTU missed a three and KJ Williams nailed a three to complete the run and go up five. But Texas Tech would score the next six points to take a one-point, 57-56, advantage as Kevin Obanor scored on two second chance buckets and a runout layup. Derek Fountain made two free throws for a 58-57 LSU lead with 7:33 to play, but LSU went cold, missing 10 straight shots and only getting six free throws in the next seven minutes as Texas Tech closed the game on a 19-10 run for the final margin. Miller was able to get his shot going during the game, hitting 5-of-10 three-pointers and 6-of-12 shots for the game to finish with 20 points for the Tigers while KJ Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds and Derek Fountain had 10 points. Obanor had 22 points to lead Texas Tech, while Walton hit 5-of-6 three-pointers to finish with 17 and De’Vion Harmon had 14 points and eight assists. Texas Tech out rebounded LSU, 36-34, but the Tigers had a 17-15 advantage in offensive boards, leading to 20 second chance points in a game that featured four ties and 12 lead changes. The Tigers hit the midway point of league play on Wednesday night as they play the late Wednesday tilt on the SEC Network at 8 p.m. at Missouri. LSU returns home next Saturday for a 3 p.m. game with nationally-ranked Alabama. --- POST-GAME QUOTES LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon Opening Statement… “Credit to Texas Tech on the win today. Disappointing loss for our team. I thought there were certainly some areas that were much improved for our program today. We came out in the second half and were able to get the lead, go up by five with nine minutes to play. We held them to 10 points the first 11 minutes of the second half. We did a good job from an execution standpoint. But then, just some of the attention to detail, had some breakdowns. Missed a free-throw box out that led to a three-point play. We got into some foul trouble and then we were not able to get stops down the stretch and we were not able to knock down shots. Credit to Texas Tech on the win.” On LSU’s struggle to after KJ Williams’ picked up his fourth foul... “We really struggled to score from that point forward. When he (KJ Williams) went out, and he didn’t have his more efficient day from two-point range, but I thought the flow of the offense was a lot better when he was on the floor. Again, you go back to the free-throw box out. They convert that into an and-one and then they (Texas Tech) hit two threes, and obviously we were trying to get Adam Miller as many looks as we could. I thought it was great to see him shoot the ball well from three today. They (Texas Tech) did a good job of switching out and they were denying him on a lot of his catches. Then, when they switched their five man onto him, we wanted to space the floor and have him drive it and that lead to some playmaking opportunities. At the end of the day, in the second half we were 32 percent from the field and 23 percent from three, and that’s just not good enough to win.” LSU Guard Adam Miller On the final eight minutes… “I don't think it was nothing necessarily we saw, it is just sometimes hard to keep up, you know, when we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot there. The turnovers, and not boxing out, that was hard to keep up. When people get easy buckets. We get some tip passes, you know what I’m saying, they come over with the 50/50 ball, so it was kind of hard to keep up with those, on the offensive end. Things like that, it’s just kind of hard to keep up with that.” On playing faster… “Yeah, definitely. A big emphasis this week was spacing, getting out on spacing, definitely the last 12 seconds on the shot clock. So, we can have driving lanes, so we can make plays for each other, we can get threes, open threes, we can move the ball... Really just the whole game plan, like coming out the second half, I told everybody just come out like we came out against Arkansas, even though we were down, just keep pushing, have that attacking mentality. That’s kind of how we came out, and you just have to finish that way.” On the efficiency and the flow of the offense … “Yeah, I think we did pretty good on offense. Like I said, turnovers were a problem tonight. But I think, like I said, the spacing was a little better. I think some of our passes, I think I threw a couple where somebody may have helped on me, I threw them a pass but it wasn't on the seams. As a shooter, you kind of want the ball in the rhythm and on the seam so you can knock it down. So, I know I caught like two or three, it was offscreen so you don’t really want to shoot those, but then sometimes you feel like you have to shoot them. Yeah, we just tried to create more of those tonight and it was kind of hard, like I said, with the turnovers and missed box outs.” --- Texas Tech Head Coach Mark Adams Opening Statement … “This win was significant for a lot of reasons. We needed the W and to get it on the road was even better. I thought we played very good basketball for most of the game. I thought we did well on both ends and shared the ball. We had individuals who really stepped up. Kevin (Obanor) really stepped up and showed his leadership. He had over 20 points and played his heart out. Our bench played well and of course Kerwin Walton had a good night for us as well. It is encouraging for us to see these young guys play the way they did tonight.” On what this win means… “I am proud of these guys. Obviously, it has been a really tough January for us. We have been in every game except one and have not been able to finish them. It was great to see these guys get off to a great start and then finish. They made free throws and made plays down the stretch to help us win so it is certainly a confidence builder. I am happy for these guys they certainly deserve it.” Da Boot Sports 1/24/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil FAYETTEVILLE, AR - LSU traveled to Fayetteville on Tuesday hoping to break their losing streak against a struggling Arkansas squad, but the Tigers ended up being just the medicine that the Razorbacks needed as the Hogs dominated the Bayou Bengals, 60-40. The LSU offense continues to sputter horribly. Since SEC play has begun the Tigers have failed to score over 60 points in six of their eight conference games. No Tigers finished in double figures as KJ Williams and Adam Miller lead the team with nine points each while Trae Hannibal added eight points. “It’s the conversation no one wants to hear, but I do agree. In the first half, we just couldn’t finish at the rim and the turnovers killed us,” said head coach Matt McMahon. “We have a pretty simple formula that would give us a chance, you saw that some in the second half. We were able to execute and finish some plays, not have the crazy turnovers that led to transition. What that enables you to do is set your defense. When you turn it over 10 times and miss 22 of you 25 shots against an elite transition offensive team, you are in big trouble. Second half, we were able to finish a few plays, make a few shots and set our defense and were pretty effective there in our half court defense.” The Tigers stunk it up in the first half as they shot 3-25 from the floor for 12%, 0-3 from behind three point land and 8-11 from the charity stripe, as they went into the half traveling the Razorbacks, 38-14. Matt McMahon managed to light a fire under his players at the break as they began the second half looking like a different team, going on a 15-2 run to pull to within, 40-29 at the 14:55 mark. But that's as close as the Tigers would get as they began to cool off, allowing the Hogs to retake control and eventually begin to pull away, outscoring LSU, 14-5 over the final 9:03 of the contest. Our Tigers are now 12-8, 1-7 as the slump continues with no relief in sight. Next up the Tigers will return home and take a one game break from SEC play, hosting Texas Tech in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1:00pm CST. *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) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports supports Autism Awareness Da Boot Sports 1/23/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - I want to thank Coach Dale Brown for sharing this wonderful article written by Mr. Andre Moreau with me.. Now I'm honored to share it with all of you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.. Coach Dale Browns Journey At LSU by Andre Moreau I attended the first basketball game Dale Brown coached at LSU (a 94-81 upset of nationally ranked Memphis St.) and knew in that moment things would be different for LSU basketball. At the time, I was an 8th grader at U-High. By my freshman year at LSU, fortunes were rising rapidly which meant on occasion, our Mike the Tiger mascot was descending from the PMAC ceiling. It also meant invincible Kentucky had met its match. Brown’s teams beat Kentucky 18 times. No other coach accomplished that. In his 25 years, Coach Brown led LSU to heights never imagined and put his name in the SEC and LSU record books too many times to mention. A big mention though, Brown became second only to the great Adolph Rupp of Kentucky in all-time SEC victories. In addition, he remains only the second SEC coach to appear in 15 straight national tournaments. Brown and Rupp are only SEC coaches in history to have 17 consecutive non-losing seasons. Brown's teams won 4 SEC titles, finished second 4 times, and won the only SEC tournament title in LSU history.. His Tigers went to the Final Four in 1981 and 1986. Dale's impact at LSU made the Tigers relevant year in, year out and sellouts were the norm. He orchestrated special event record Superdome crowds in wins over Georgetown and Notre Dame with crowds of 54,321 and 68,112. I had the privilege of covering LSU basketball as a sports anchor at WAFB-TV (1987-94). I came to know Coach for his fair treatment of media and as a friend. As I moved to Top 10 markets nationwide, we remained in contact. When I returned to Baton Rouge and WAFB, a close, trusted friendship developed. I also knew and was crazy about Sue Gunter. Both she and Brown were approachable which is quite a rarity. Sue Gunter was a fine woman and a good coach, but, in no way did she achieve what Dale achieved. In every way, Dale brought LSU basketball into the modern era, making the Tigers a household name. He recruited and built relationships with African American players, white American players, players black and white from countries all over the world and forged teams that loved one another and played for one another. His players loved him because he loved them and went the distance for them. He developed them not just as players, but as men, and to this day, remains in contact with all of those still living. I am the youngest of 10 children raised by my parents, Al and Lilla May Moreau. My father was the captain of LSU's famed five-man NCAA champion track team, then twice world record holder in the high hurdles and captain of the American track team and later ultra-successful track coach at LSU, winning 8 SEC titles in 15 years as coach. He's a member of the LSU and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Joe Alleva, some years ago, wanted to put my father's name on the track. Al Moreau Track at Bernie Moore Stadium was the pitch he made to our family during a meeting he orchestrated. But he attached a $2.5 million dollar price tag to the deal, and we kindly said, no thanks. My Dad, like Dale Brown, deserves better. You also know my brother Doug. LSU All-American, Miami Dolphins star, EBR District Attorney and for 51 years, a fixture offering his expertise on the LSU football radio network. I ran track and earned a letter at LSU. My sisters went to LSU. As you see, our LSU bloodlines run very deep. My connection to LSU has allowed me to have a front row seat at some decisions LSU officials regrettably made over the years. Many were likely for good reasons, but some clearly had personal agendas attached. Such seems to be the case trying to put Sue Gunter's name on the court that only last year was most deservedly named for Coach Brown. Currently, President Tate, Verge Ausberry, D.D. Breaux (in her ambassador capacity) and some Board members are pushing for something they say is in the name of political correctness and fairness. However, I am among many who believe other motives are involved. Your champion for diversity, equal rights and fairness is Dale Brown. He's always been that voice for LSU. It's part of his DNA, instilled by his loving mother. It's why he's always been at the forefront of what's right and what's fair. He was fighting for equality long before it was popular, so HE is your ideal role model. He is the ultimate teacher on the subject. I am enclosing a video piece I did last year on Coach and Collis Temple when it was announced that Dale Brown Court would finally happen. I encourage you to watch and listen. I encourage you to do what is right. Thank you. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rOywFwcvSY&t=108s *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) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports supports Autism Awareness Da Boot Sports 1/21/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - On Saturday afternoon LSU honored their 1979 basketball team during LSU's contest with the 9th ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The Tigers' season meltdown continued, dropping their 6th game in a row as the Vols easily defeated the Bayou Bengals, 77-56. Once again, it was an ugly outing to witness as Tennessee pulled away late in the first half, then cruised to the easy blow out victory in the second half. Tennessee hit 12 three pointers and scored 33 points off of 19 LSU turnovers. “Credit to Tennessee, there’s a reason they are a top five team in the country." Matt McMahon said. "I think, from our standpoint, when you have an opportunity in a game like this you have to find some way eliminate a lot of mistakes. You don’t see numbers like that often where you turn it over and it leads to so many points. When you are playing a top five team, they make you pay for every mistake, every single mistake and that’s what they did today. Both from points off turnovers, missing a switch, you miss a coverage on a flair screen, and they make you pay every time. So, credit to them. They have a terrific team and for us, obviously we’re being tested. We’re being tested and we will find out what we are about as we start preparation for the next opportunity on Tuesday." LSU kept the game competitive through most of the first 20 minutes, trailing by only seven points, 27-20 at the 4:11 mark. The Volunteers then went on a 12-2 run to end the first half, to hold a 39-22 lead at halftime. Tennessee pressed the accelerator to the floor to start the second half, leaving the wounded Tigers in the dust, building as much as a 27 point lead. KJ Williams lead the Tigers with 16 points, Trae Hannibal finished with 10 points, while Jalen Reed contributed nine. The Tigers wore throwback uniforms in the contest as part of honoring Dale Brown's 1979 squad who finished 26-6, 14-4 and ended up winning the school's first SEC Championship in 25 years. LSU now sits at 12-7, 1-6 and next will travel to Fayetteville on Tuesday, January 24 to take on a revenge minded Arkansas team who LSU defeated earlier in the season, 60-57 in the PMAC. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm CST and will be televised on ESPN2. 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) A huge Thank You to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports supports Autism Awareness Da Boot Sports 1/18/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU return home to the PMAC on Wednesday night looking to break their four game losing streak against the Auburn Tigers, but the melt down continued as the Bayou Bengals were defeated 67-59 in front of 9,967 Tiger fans in attendance. It was another ugly performance by the Tigers as Auburn never trailed and controlled the game from the opening tip-off until the final buzzer sounded. Through most of the first half LSU was able to at least stay within shouting distance and actually cut Auburn's lead to three, 16-13 with a three pointer by KJ Williams at the 7:48 mark. But the visiting Tigers shifted it into another gear for the rest of the half, going on a 16-8 run to end the first period, taking a 32-21 lead at the break. LSU opened the second half with an 11-2 run to cut the Auburn lead to two, 34-32 at the 15:50 mark, but Auburn once again took control going on a 27-10 run over the next ten minutes taking a 61-42 lead. Over the final 6:27 of the contest, the Tigers were unable to score a basket, going 0-11 from the floor as their final five points came from the charity stripe. “I thought we were able to get out in transition some to feed off our defense. We did a better job moving without the basketball and converting some of those plays which enabled us to mix some defensive coverages and give ourselves a better chance there." Matt McMahon said. "Then we forced a three. I believe it was 34-30 late in the shot clock. We had it covered in the box outs but didn’t get that rebound. We turn it over on our end and that leads to a basket in transition, so now the lead is six. We did a poor job at executing against the press on a possession they hit a three, its nine and another turnover now it's back to 11. So all that work to start the half was down the drain and with our lack of ability to score going back down with double figures was just too much for us to overcome. Great credit to Auburn for their physicality and execution on both ends of the floor. Give great credit to Auburn. I thought their defense was terrific, very physical. Obviously you saw their ability to make it difficult for us to finish plays in the painted area. Certainly dominated in the paint.” KJ Williams and Trae Hannibal both paced the Tigers with 16 points each while Justice Williams finished with seven on the night. With the loss the Tigers are now 12-6 overall and 1-5 in SEC play.... Next up LSU will host #9 Tennessee in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 3:00pm. The game will be televised by ESPN. Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi Photos 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) A huge thank you to Cardio Health Solutions owned by Ron Sancho for sponsoring our publication! Da Boot Sports supports Autism Awareness Da Boot Sports 1/14/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil TUSCALOOSA, AL - LSU traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on a red hot Alabama basketball team and payed the price as the Crimson Tide dismantled the Bayou Bengals on national television, 106-66. Holy S**t! For the second straight contest there simply isn't much to write about. LSU simply picked up where they left off in the second half of Tuesday night's game against Florida. Ugly Basketball! The worse LSU loss since the 1994-95 season. "That was as thorough of a butt kicking as I've ever been a part of. Got to give a lot of credit to Alabama,” said Coach Matt McMahon. “Not many positives to take away, I guess the only thing is in the second half we didn't lay down and get beat by a hundred." Cam Hayes and KJ Williams both lead the Tigers in scoring with ten points each, followed by Derek Fountain and Justice Williams who both finished with nine points apiece. Alabama did a lot of their damage from behind the three point arc, hitting 20-54 for 37% on the night. They attempted 33 of those in the first 20 minutes, sinking 14 of them as they took a commanding 59-22 lead into the locker room at half. Freshman Brandon Miller was red hot from behind the arc, hitting 7-11 three pointers, finishing with 31 points for the Tide. The Tide also dominated LSU on the boards, outrebounding the Tigers, 52-38. With the loss LSU will limp home on a four game losing streak as they are now 12-4 overall and 1-3 in SEC play. Next up the Tigers will try to stop the bleeding as they host a very good Auburn team on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 6:00pm CST in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center/Dale Brown Court. *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) Da Boot Sports 1/11/2023 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - The Tigers dropped a tough one to the Florida Gators on Tuesday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, 67-56. The loss was LSU's third straight, dropping the Tigers to 12-4 overall and 1-3 in SEC play. "Obviously, I’ll start off by giving Florida great credit for coming in here and getting a big road win." Matt McMahon said. "I think for us, you have opportunities to win games. We got to find ways to eliminate self-inflicted wounds. You look at 16 turnovers that go to 23 points on the other end. Our inefficiency on the offensive end from a shooting standpoint. I though there were a couple stretches that really hurt us. Number one, I thought our start, while terrific, you’re out 7-0. I thought our defense followed the game plan and did the things we needed to do there. I don’t think we took advantage of it. I thought we had some opportunities to execute offensively there and build on the lead. After a really good first half defensively where we were able to protect our paint better, limit some of (Colin) Castleton’s touches, force them into, I believe, 17 of their 28 shots behind the arc in the first half. I thought in the second half, they really put their head down and drove us. Our ability to protect the paint was not effective, and I think that shows in the free-throw line. Their two-point shooting in the second half, which I believe was 9-for-12. We’re not going to be able to win games turning the ball over like that and then having some of those breakdowns around the rim" Nothing much to write about this one except that it was as horrifying as a Stephen King novel. After leading 28-25 at halftime, the Tigers played perhaps their worse half of basketball over the final 20 minutes as the Gators outscored LSU, 42-28. Florida took advantage of LSU miscues, scoring 23 points off of 16 Tiger turnovers. KJ Williams was the Bayou Bengals' only bright spot of the contest as he finished with 23 points. He was the only Tiger to score in double figures. Next up it doesn't get any easier as the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the 4th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, Jan. 14. Tipoff is set for 3:00pm CST. The contest will be televised on ESPN. 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." (Give you life to Jesus) Da Boot Sports 1/8/2023 LSU Sports Communications By: LSUStaff BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – LSU was unable to stop the Texas A&M offense that continually scored in the lane and finished on the short end of a 69-56 decision at the hands of the Aggies Saturday night at Reed Arena. The Tigers are now 12-3 on the season and 1-2 in the SEC heading into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. home game against Florida. The Aggies are now 2-0 in the league and 10-5 overall. Texas A&M had a 42-10 advantage in points in the paint and shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) for the game. LSU had success outside the arc, especially in the second half, hitting 9-of-22 three-point field goals (40.9%) but only made 8-of-27 shots from two-point range. Overall, LSU was at 34.7 for the game (17-of-49). Adam Miller led LSU with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 5-of-8 from distance. It was the second straight game he posted five treys. KJ Williams and Cam Hayes each had 10 points. Williams late in the first half picked up his fifth rebound of the game which was his 1,000th rebound of his collegiate career at both Murray State and LSU. He finished with eight on the night. A&M was led in scoring by Julius Marble and Dexter Dennis who each finished with 17 points, while Tyrece Radford had 14 and Wade Taylor IV had 13. The win by A&M snapped a 10-game winning streak in the series. The Tigers were able to do some things early in the game, getting a couple of leads on three-point shots by Miller and Hayes. But LSU was never able to get anything going in the lane as they had the previous two games as LSU posted just two points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes. The Aggies were able to get a couple of six-point runs in the half which would get the lead to eight points for Texas A&M, 22-14, with 6:13 to go in the opening stanza. The lead would reach 11 points at 28-17 with 3:45 to go before halftime and that margin held until halftime when LSU went to the dressing room down, 34-23. The Tigers shot just 8-of-28 in the half, making 4-of-14 shots from both inside and outside the arc. In the second half, the Aggies expanded the lead to 15 and the Tigers could never get closer than nine despite hitting 5-of-8 from distance in the final 20 minutes. A&M finished with an 18-5 advantage in second chance points, with 12 offensive boards in a 38-27 rebound differential. Photos Below By: Mr. Jerome Hicks Da Boot Sports 1/3/2023 LSU Sports Communications By: LSU Staff LEXINGTON, Kentucky – The LSU Tigers battled with Kentucky for the full 40 minutes in its first league road test of the season, before falling to the Wildcats, 74-71, Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.KJ Williams had a strong night for the Tigers making 8-of-13 field goals, including four treys and three free throws to lead all scorers in the game with 23 points. The game marked the first time all season that LSU had more than three players in double figures as Adam Miller had 15 points on five three-pointers, while reigning SEC Player Trae Hannibal hit 5-of-6 field goals in getting back-to-back double figure games in the league with 12 points and Cam Hayes added 11. For the second time this season, LSU was able to keep the turnovers to single digits, committing just nine. LSU had assists on 15-of-their-26 buckets as both teams played a fairly clean game throughout. LSU had a couple of small leads in the first half including 17-15 with 11:36 to go in the stanza. The Wildcats opened an eight-point lead twice in the final six minutes but LSU cut the deficit to just four, 42-38, at intermission. LSU had possession to open the second half and was able to cut the Wildcat lead to just one, 42-41, on a KJ Williams three-pointer. Kentucky tried to take control of the game back, scoring the next seven points to up the margin to eight and the lead finally went to double digits, 58-48, with 12:30 to play. But this group of Tigers tried hard to not allow the Kentucky fans to celebrate too much. Down 60-50 after an exchange of buckets, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run as Miller hit a three-pointer, Fountain followed a miss and scored and then KJ hit a three to make it 60-58 with still 6:29 to play. Kentucky would eventually get the game back to six points before LSU worked back again as Hayes hit a corner three-pointer and Hannibal got a bucket to make it a one-point game, 67-66, as the clock ticked under two minutes. Kentucky led 72-68 lead with 25 seconds to play. LSU after a turnover had to play the foul game, having only committed four team fouls. The Tigers were finally able to get Kentucky to the line in the bonus, which the Wildcats missed with still 19 seconds to play. The Tigers Hayes then was fouled attempting a three-pointer and made all three attempts, putting the Tigers again down just one, 72-71, with 4.6 seconds to play. The Tigers fouled Jacob Toppin with 3.4 to play, who made both free throws to make it 74-71. LSU tried to get the ball downcourt to get up a shot but a hurried effort by KJ Williams was off the mark. LSU is now 12-2 on the season and 1-1 in the SEC, while Kentucky is now 10-4 and also 1-1 in the conference. Toppin led Kentucky with 21 points, while Oscar Tshiebwe had 19 points and 16 rebounds. Calvin Wallace had 14 points and Sahvir Wheeler had 11 points and nine assists. The Wildcats finished the game shooting 51.9 percent, making 28-of-54, with 7-of-18 from distance and 11-of-14 at the line. The Tigers were one attempt under 50 percent, making 26-of-53 or 49.1 percent. LSU had another double-digit night from the arc, hitting 11-of-25 for 44.0 percent (KJ and Miller had nine-of-the-11 makes). LSU was 8-of-10 from the free throw line. LSU, which had 26 points in the paint, was outrebounded 31-22, with Kentucky having a 10-5 advantage in offensive boards. The Tigers for the second straight game got good contributions off the bench. After out scoring Arkansas, 25-0 off the bench, LSU outscored the Wildcats, 16-4. LSU will return to the road this weekend, traveling to Bryan-College Station for a game at Reed Arena with Texas A&M. The game is set for 5 p.m. and will be broadcast on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network and televised by the SEC Network. Da Boot Sports 12/28/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - The Tigers began SEC play on Wednesday night as they hosted 9th ranked Arkansas (11-1) in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center/Dale Brown Court. LSU (10-1) has struggled against weaker early season opponents, needing to hang on late to win several of those games. So the Tigers need to reboot the season and raise their level of play if they have any hope of upsetting the highly ranked Razorbacks, and that's exactly what the Bayou Bengals did, as they were strictly business in the final five minutes of play, taking down the Hogs, 60-57. With the score even at 49-49 with only 4:27 left in the game, Trae Hannibal took over, scoring six of his team leading 19 points on three huge drives to the basket into the teeth of the Razorbacks defense. LSU not only battled a very good Arkansas team for 40 minutes, they also survived horrible officiating all night long as they had to fight through several phantom calls at key moments of the contest. "The goal was to go 1-0 and for us, we’re such a work in progress that we’re just trying to get better every day in practice and in games. Obviously, the goal is to win while doing it so I hope it’s something we can continue to build on." Matt McMahon said. "There’s a lot of things that went into winning tonight. I thought our defensive effort and ability to defend the paint was much improved. I was really concerned coming in because Arkansas is probably the best team in America in forcing turnovers and then converting those turnovers into points in transition. There were a couple of brutal turnovers late, but we had 10 turnovers and they only scored four points off those turnovers. I believed they were averaging around 25 points off turnovers coming in, so I thought that was really key. Of course, we had huge individual performances such as Trae Hannibal, who was a monster. The first half, we didn’t finish well at the basket while the second half we went 14-for-22 on two pointers. We got to the rim and finished. Derek Fountain had a 14-10 (14 points and 10 rebounds) double-double, but now you’re going down the line. We had great bench play and KJ (Williams), who has been such a great scorer for us. It speaks to his game that he’s just about winning and how unselfish he is. He was the screener on a lot of those downhill drives where Trae (Hannibal), Justice (Hill) and some of our guys got to the basket and finished. A lot of positives to take from it. Obviously, it wasn’t an offensive masterpiece for anybody. Winning is winning and we’ll take it. We’re just really proud of our players.” Both teams began the game ice cold, missing several shots before the Hogs got on the board first when Davonte Davis put the ball up and in at the 17:28 mark. 2-0 Razorbacks. KJ Williams answered the Arkansas basket with a three pointer from the top of the key giving the Tigers their first lead, 3-2. The Tigers hit back to back three pointers, one by Adam Miller, the other by Trae Hannibal to take a 13-12 lead with 11:05 left in the first half. Over the next four minutes LSU outscored the Hogs 4-0 to extend their lead to 17-12 at the 7:39 mark. The game remained an evenly played, low scoring contest with both teams playing even, 6-6 over the next four minutes as LSU held onto a 19-18 lead with 2:59 remaining in the half. The Tigers ended the half with a 5-1 run to lead 24-19 at the break. The Hogs started the second half scoring five straight to tie the contest, 24-24 at the 18:30 mark as the game picked up where it left off at the end of the first 20 minutes. With 11:41 left on the clock and LSU trailing 34-32, Justice Hill missed three free throws after being fouled while shooting from behind the arc. Arkansas' Jordan Walsh would then hit a three after being left all alone at the top of the key to give the Hogs a 37-32 advantage. Trailing 40-35 at the 9:38 mark, the Tigers brought a roaring Assembly Center crowd of 10,428 to their feet as they went on a 12-4 run to go up 47-44 with 5:51 left in the game. “A couple of things stood out. Number one, I’m proud of our players. I thought that they played with great toughness and effort and sustained it for 40 minutes. They deserve all the credit for gutting out a tough and nasty win here." McMahon said. "The second thing: just walking out of the tunnel and seeing the crowd and atmosphere. The energy in the building on December 28th with a top-10 team in the country on our court was awesome. We’re really thankful to the great Tiger fans who came out tonight and we’re really proud of our players for beating an outstanding basketball team.” With the win the Tigers are now 11-1 overall and 1-0 in SEC play. Next up LSU will travel to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 3. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm CST and the game will be televised on ESPN. 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." (Give your life to Jesus) Da Boot Sports 12/21/2022 By: Jordan Taylor BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU played their final mid-season contest against a non SEC opponent and the Tigers would once again find themselves in a dog fight with an East Tennessee ball club that just wouldn't go away. LSU never trailed in this contest, but it became an uneasy Pete Maravich Assembly Center when LSU only lead by two points with a little over a minute remaining in the game. Tigers would hold on in front of their home crowd of 9,059 by the skin of their teeth with another close victory, 72-68. “Very thankful to get the win. I was thrilled with the improvement we made on the defensive end of the floor in the first half, unfortunately we threw it out the window in the second." Matt McMahon said. "I thought we could’ve had a bigger lead at the half if we had better ball security. Some of the unforced turnovers really hurt us because when we did get a shot, we were really efficient there. Nonetheless, I think everyone’s seen a lot of these scores across the country here going into the Christmas break. Obviously, it was not a thing of beauty but we’re thankful to get the win and wish everybody here in Baton Rouge and across the state of Louisiana ‘Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays’ and look forward to getting back Christmas Day and getting back to work.” LSU won the opening tip and surged out to an early 8-0 lead. Over the next ten minutes both offenses would cool off and the turnovers started to pile up as you could feel the frustration from the Assembly Center crowd, but the Tigers settled down and finished off a solid first half of play. Justice Hill started the game with a hot hand but it would be the KJ Williams show for the rest of the first 20 minutes as he finished with 17 first half points as LSU took a 37-24 lead into halftime. East Tennessee played with more energy after the break as they outhustled LSU for most of the second half. The Tigers continued the sloppy play, allowing East Tennessee to slowly cut into the lead as Brock Jancek came off the bench to give the Bucs a huge spark, keeping the game within striking distance. East Tennessee cut the score to three at the six minute mark before the Buccaneers pulled to within two with 1:45 remaining. LSU went on to survive the Bucs best effort tonight as they squeaked out another close win as the Tigers continue to struggle with consistency. KJ Williams lead LSU in scoring with a double-double, scoring 28 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Derek Fountain added 11 points with 8 rebounds. Both Miller and Hill finished with nine points each. Major concerns grow as LSU continues to struggle against their early season opponents with SEC play opening up next week. The Tigers, now 11-1, have a week off to work on cleaning up the turnovers, sloppy play and their inability to put a team away. Hopefully Matt McMahon can get the team focus on the next part of their season. Up next LSU will host the 10th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday, Dec. 28th to open up SEC play inside Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tipoff is set for 8:00pm CST. Da Boot Sports 12/18/2022 By: Terrill J. Weil BATON ROUGE, LA - The Tigers improved their record to 10-1 with a 89-81 victory over the Winthrop Eagles in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday night in front of 9,067 fans in attendance. Cam Hayes lead the Bayou Bengals with 25 points while KJ Williams added 18 points and Adam Miller finished with 14. The Eagle gave the Tigers all they could handle and more throughout the night. LSU held an 80-68 lead with 3:40 left in the contest before Winthrop would go on a 10-2 run to pull to within four, 82-78 with only 1:21 left on the clock. KJ Williams responded, stepping up with a three pointer, then a huge dunk on back to back possession to help LSU clinch the 89-81 win. It looked like LSU would dominate the contest as the build an early nine point lead, 14-5 at the 16:13 mark, but the Eagles would go on a 18-5 run over the next four minutes to go up 23-19. A Kelton Talford dunk with 43 seconds left in the first half would give Winthrop a 39-38 lead at the break. “I thought it was a great team win. If you enjoy offense, three-point shooting, and a lot of points, it was a good game to watch." Matt McMahon said. "I think on our offensive end, clearly our most efficient performance there on the season. I was pleased at halftime. I thought the last 8-10 minutes of the first half we were checking the ball just to make sure it had a lot of air in it, just dribbled around, the ball didn’t move, lot of hero shots, and led to very inefficient play. But the second half, I thought we played the game the right way offensively. The ball moved side-to-side, a lot of great screens, we had 13 assists on our 21 baskets and shot 68-percent from the floor. Finally, in those last seven minutes, we were able to get one or two stops. There weren’t many stops in the game, but in those last seven or eight minutes, we were able to get enough to get the win. Overall, I thought it was a great team win and a fun game to watch.” Next up the Tigers will host East Tennessee State in the PMAC on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm CST. *John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Give your life to Jesus) Da Boot Sports 12/13/2022 LSU Sports Communications By: LSU Staff BATON ROUGE – Derek Fountain and KJ Williams combined for 35 points and 16 rebounds as the LSU Tigers ran their record to 9-1 on the season with a 67-57 win over North Carolina Central University Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Fountain, a junior transfer from Mississippi State, had 17 points, 14 rebounds for his first college double double. He was 6-of-9 from the field, 5-of-9 from the free throw line with 1 assist, 2 blocks and a steal. KJ Williams, the super senior who came in from Murray State, had 18 points, 12 rebounds in posting his 31st career college double double (fourth of the season), hitting 7-of-13 field goals, including his 100th career three-pointer, to go with 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. Cam Hayes also had 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with two treys to go with seven rebounds before leaving the game late in the second half with what Coach Matt McMahon called “cramps.” The game had 10 lead changes in the early going as NCCU was shooting well and Fountain, who had a strong start on the boards that led to buckets and free throws, was keeping LSU even. NCCU tied the game at 23-23 with 6:24 to go before KJ Williams dunked off an Adam Miller pass and then went to the free throw line for three makes after getting fouled on a distance attempt. Then it was Fountain and KJ Williams again that pushed the LSU lead to 32-23 with 3:52 to go in the first half. The Tigers scored the last six of the half on three-pointers by Hayes and KJ Williams to make the LSU lead, 14, 40-26, at intermission. The Eagles made a run to cut the game to four, 49-45, with 11:07 to play, but LSU was able to get the lead back to double figures for the 10-point victory. Justin Wright scored 14 points to lead NCCU, while Brendan Medley-Bacon and Devin Butts had 10 points each. The Eagle shot 43.6 percent for the game (43.6%), making seven threes and 2-of-8 at the free throw line. The Tigers shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63), but hit just 4-of-25 from the arc. The Tigers finished 11-of-18 at the line. LSU had a 45-31 advantage in rebounds, including 15-4 on the offensive boards. LSU had a 38-26 advantage in points in the paint and 18-5 on second chance points. The Tigers are back in action on Saturday night at 6 p.m. against Winthrop. The game will be broadcast on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network and televised on the SEC Network. Tickets are available at LSUTix.net. -- The Matt McMahon Show on the LSU Sports Radio Network will be broadcast Wednesday night at 7 p.m. from TJ Ribs on Acadian Thruway. The broadcast will air on Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge. |
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