In its first real game action since a disappointing 14-19 year, LSU opened its season Monday with a 106-60 win over Mississippi Valley State in the Pete Assembly Maravich Center.

It was a dominant wire-to-wire win that saw very few bumps for LSU. Against lesser opponents, a Tiger squad with a lot of new pieces needs to put together complete performances and find its identity. The team made an important step toward doing just that.

Here are three takeaways from the performance, which now has LSU at 1-0 to open the year.

Will Baker can carry the offense for stretches

For about a four-minute period starting with 12 minutes left in the first half, LSU had an extended period of struggles on offense, one of its few dry spells in an otherwise spotless game.

With a lineup of mostly bench players, the Tigers had a few poor offensive possessions, starting with one that would’ve gone nowhere if not for the MVSU defense bailing out LSU by fouling Tyrell Ward on a desperation three.

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Eventually, MVSU went on a 9-2 run in which it drew as close as 28-18. The LSU offense resorted to one-on-one basketball, getting away from the ball movement that had been so successful before.

Then, Will Baker took matters into his own hands. He went to work in the post and scored back-to-back layups to end the run.

He finished the half on a tear, showcasing his ability to score in a variety of ways. He backed defenders down, knocked shots down from deep and turned pump fakes into drives. That success carried over into the opening minutes of the second half.

Overall, Baker was stunning in the opener, leading all scorers with 29 points on 10 of 11 shooting despite sitting most of the second half. He also made his way to the free throw line plenty of times, going 7-of-8 from there.

“It was a great performance,” graduate transfer Jordan Wright said. “The way he’s patient in the post, we knew to get the ball to him down there, and good things are gonna happen. We see it every day, we see the work that he puts in.”

Baker’s scoring can provide stability for the LSU offense when it runs into trouble. Though it’s yet to be seen if his physical, back-to-the-basket game can work against SEC defenses, he clearly brings a versatile skillset that will be useful for the Tigers going forward.

LSU’s offense will be focused on the hot hand

Without Jalen Cook, LSU lacks a true number one option on offense. There’s no table setter that all the plays run through.

That isn’t a death sentence for the team. It just means that it won’t always be a simple choice of going to the most reliable source of offense when things get tough.

Instead, the team says, the game flow will dictate who drives the LSU offense. Whoever has it going is who’ll get the ball and who the team will run through.

“We have enough talent to let the ball decide who has a night,” Wright said. “Any given night, it could be anybody’s time to shine. Whoever has the hot hand, we’re going to feed them and the rest of the guys are going to play off of them.”

In the exhibition game last Monday, the ball went to Wright and Tyrell Ward, who had it going from beyond the arc. Tonight, it was Baker.

LSU has a starting lineup of five players who can legitimately create for themselves and put the ball on the floor; the offensive focal point won’t be the same on any given night.

That will just be the state of things for the Tigers this year, a team built with Cook’s leadership on the floor and in the scoring column in mind. It’s advantageous to have the depth and all-around scoring skill to try to make up for that loss.

Jalen Reed’s ballhandling ability is legitimate

Since Jalen Reed arrived on campus last year as a freshman, head coach Matt McMahon has been exceedingly complimentary of the young player. He praised the four-star’s ability to make things happen off the dribble, a skill that most power forwards don’t possess.

Reed opened last season as a member of the starting lineup, but underwhelming early results caused Derek Fountain to take his spot. He saw his role diminish over the course of the year. This season, Reed is once again the starter.

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After last week’s exhibition game, McMahon mentioned that he sees Reed as one of the team’s primary facilitators, along with Carlos Stewart and Mike Williams III.

Stewart and Williams are guards, so that role is expected. They’re six feet, one inch and six feet, three inches, respectively. Reed, on the other hand, is a 6-foot-10 power forward. It’s an unusual role for a player of his size.

This goes in line with what McMahon has been saying for a while: Reed is a unique player who can legitimately play the role of point forward for this team. He can operate from the perimeter and in transition, make decisions with the ball and make plays for himself driving downhill.

Though his stats weren’t overwhelming in the opener, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Reed was certainly used in that fashion.

He drove to the basket from the perimeter, took the ball from coast-to-coast in transition and served as a facilitator in the high post.

“We’re very confident when he does defensive rebound, for him to attack in transition and lead the break because he’s a very willing and selfless passer there,” McMahon said. “I just love his versatility and his ability to impact the game in multiple ways.”

Reed’s role in this regard will clearly be a consistent wrinkle in the offense, and it’ll be fascinating to watch his development and how he continues to help the team.

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