In desperate need of a signature victory, LSU coach Johnny Jones turned to his upperclassmen to get it done at home against Kentucky, a program LSU hadn’t defeated since 2009.
They responded in the form of an 87-82 upset of the No. 11 Wildcats that not only delivered the biggest win of the season, but the biggest triumph of Jones’s tenure as the head man in Baton Rouge.
Don’t just take my word for it. After the game, Jones himself called Tuesday the biggest win he’s coached thus far.
As important a win as it was for Jones and his team’s chances of making the NCAA tournament, beating Kentucky may have meant even more to his crop of juniors and seniors who had never done so.
No one more so than junior guard Anthony Hickey.
He was named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball during his senior year in high school, but the Wildcats never recruited him. He’s wanted to make them pay for that decision since the first day he stepped on campus at LSU.
“I look at Kentucky as my rival. I look at Kentucky like LSU and Alabama,” Hickey said.
However, his Tigers had not been able to make it happen during his first two seasons. But Tuesday night was different, largely in part to his own brilliant play.
Hickey stayed within himself and ran the offense beautifully, unlike previous matchups with Kentucky. Instead of getting out of control and forcing shots, he efficiently scored 11 points and totaled six assists without a single turnover.
Hickey looked like he knew that if he wanted to knock off Kentucky, he was going to need to let his teammates help him out.
Johnny O’Bryant III came out like a man possessed and turned in his best performance of the season by far with 29 points and nine rebounds.
The junior looked like he considered Kentucky’s loaded roster of McDonald’s All-Americans as a personal challenge, and took it upon himself to be assertive early and he dominated throughout.
In total, upperclassmen scored 63 of LSU’s 87 points on the night. Senior Shavon Coleman said they came together before the game and the sense of urgency permeated the room.
Of course every player wants to win every game, but winning this game meant something more.
“I could see the look in all the guys’ eyes,” Coleman said. “We talked about that we had to come out and play hard if we wanted to win this game because it wasn’t going to be easy.”
But with a team-wide effort, the Tigers did make it look easy.
LSU jumped on Kentucky out of the gate, and besides a stretch in the middle of the first half, the Tigers kept the Wildcats at arm’s length throughout.
Missed free throws and desperation 3-pointers from Kentucky condensed the final margin to five, but that’s not indicative of how the game actually went.
For one night, LSU played like the NCAA threat it was projected to be coming into the season. Because of previous missteps, this win is far from enough to earn the Tigers a trip into the Big Dance.
But on the heels of the disastrous loss to Alabama, beating Kentucky was a good and personally rewarding place for Jones and company to start.
James Moran is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Beacon, N.Y.

Gallery • 24 Photos

Taylor Balkom

LSU junior forward Johnny O'Bryant III (2) blocks a Kentucky shot Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014 during the Tigers' 87-82 win against the Wildcats in the PMAC.