In a game that could have served as a strong bounce back victory for LSU following a close loss to Kentucky, it instead had its flaws on full display, both new and old. It lost to Texas A&M 69-56 in a game that was never close, based on both the score and objective perception.
On the positive side, the Tigers finished the game shooting over 40% from three, but that came on just nine made attempts, five of which came off the hands of a rejuvenated Adam Miller.
Miller led the team in scoring with 16 points, shooting 50% from the field and 62.5% from three, but the rest of the team couldn’t replicate his success.
The team as a whole struggled to get things going offensively, with Miller being the one component that occasionally provided fans with hope and kept them watching. They finished shooting under 35% from the field and while they did manage to grab eight offensive rebounds, they converted those into a total of just five points.
“I thought [Texas] A&M made some adjustments to their coverages; they went to a lot more switching, and we didn’t attack that as well as we needed to,” Head Coach Matt McMahon said. “I thought it was very disruptive and we never really got into the flow.”
That number of offensive rebounds is misleading as well. LSU missed 32 field goals and five free throws, meaning its offensive rebounding rate came in at around 22%, a rate that rivals some of the worst rebounding teams in the country. It once again lost the rebounding battle by double digits, a fact that McMahon wasn’t ecstatic about.
“We’ve got to find some way to rebound the ball at some sort of competitive level in this league,” McMahon said following the loss. “We’ve got to continue to search for some different ways to improve on the glass.”
The Tigers surrendered 18 second chance points and 42 of their opponent’s 69 points in the paint, as Texas A&M was able to consistently penetrate their weak interior defense. In terms of interior offense, they struggled as well, finishing with just 10 points in the paint and eight made field goals from two-point range.
“I don’t know if a team has ever been outscored 42-10 in the paint and won a game,” McMahon said. “I’d be shocked if that’s ever happened. We certainly have to find some solutions there to be better, both finishing on offense and preventing those rim shots on defense.”
Overall, it’s difficult to judge whether this loss is indicative of what to expect from the team moving forward or if it was just a rough display of sluggishness that the Tigers can bounce back from.
The Tigers will have a chance to bounce back Tuesday at home against Florida. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be streaming live on SEC Network.
