Though the Tigers had already been a tournament lock before their game against Alabama, they still desperately needed a prove-yourself victory before the regular season concluded. They hadn’t defeated the SEC’s elite since a January win against Tennessee, and it was starting to look like this team didn’t have it in them.
They had a great performance in their previous game against Arkansas, but like many times before, they could not finish the job. That loss further validated their reputation of choking at the end of games, as they had won just 37.5% of close games entering their matchup against Alabama.
It also marked their fifth straight loss against the top-five teams in the SEC, and the fact that LSU hadn’t beaten Alabama since January 2020 added to the magnitude of this battle.
Just like their previous matchup, the game came down to the wire. LSU was given one last chance to prove themselves and during crunch time The Tigers weren’t about to let it go to waste.
Then,… they nearly did.
In the final possessions of regulation, Tari Eason missed a layup that would have given The Tigers a four-point lead with 20 seconds to go before fouling Alabama’s Keon Ellis out of frustration. He made both his free throws, and Darius Days couldn’t close out the game with a last-second jumper, sending the game to overtime.
“I sold,” Eason said regarding his final plays of regulation. “I knew I didn’t want to have a bitter taste in my mouth, especially with this being our last time in the PMAC.”
Overtime was tight from the get-go with each team doing whatever they could to get an edge. Then, with a minute and a half left in the game, Alabama had that edge.
The Crimson Tide held a three-point lead and had just scored five straight points on top of playing solid defense. With LSU’s margin for error being nonexistent and time not being on their side, Eason stepped up when it mattered most.
He made two clutch free throws before blocking aforementioned Keon Ellis’ three-point shot, getting the ball back and finishing the play with an emphatic dunk to give the Tigers a one-point lead with 38 seconds to go in the game.
That play turned the Tide in LSU’s favor, as the Tigers would finish their top-25 opponent off with a pair of free throws and strong defense.
“I did whatever I could to just get it back,” Eason said about his bounce-back play in overtime.
After losing to Arkansas on Wednesday, the Tigers desperately needed this win if they wanted to remain where they were in tournament seeding. They have currently secured the fifth seed in the SEC tournament.
The win wasn’t perfect, with the team still illustrating its tendency to make mistakes and commit unnecessary fouls late in games. Head Coach Will Wade was quick to point this out, stating that it’s something they still need to work on.
“We still made quite a few mistakes,” Wade mentioned. “We’re an aggressive team so it’s hard to kind of dial it back.”
“We’ll keep working on it. There are some things we can do to get better, and we’re going to keep plugging away and keep working at it.”
With this victory, the Tigers finish off a shaky latter half of the season on a positive note, obtaining a solid win behind tremendous performances from their leaders on senior day, and entering the postseason having garnered some momentum.
