The LSU men’s basketball team snapped out of its recent offensive slump Wednesday night against the University of Alabama.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the improvement on offense came in a hard-fought but losing effort.
The Crimson Tide shot 51.9 percent from the field against the Tigers, including a 60 percent shooting performance and career-high 31 points from senior center Jermareo Davidson en route to a 73-70 victory.
For the first time in Southeastern Conference play, LSU succeeded on the offensive end of the court, shooting 51.8 percent from the field but lacked the defensive intensity that has become somewhat of a trademark for the team. The Tigers will try to put two and two together and end their four-game losing streak when they travel to Mississippi State University 4 p.m. Saturday for a contest.
Even with the poor defensive effort Wednesday, LSU still sits near the top of the SEC in defensive statistics. The Tigers are No. 2 in the conference in scoring defense and No. 3 in field goal percentage defense.
LSU coach John Brady said during the SEC coaches teleconference that his team needs to improve on sealing close games.
“We played well [against Alabama] but hadn’t made enough plays to be able to finish a game,” Brady said. “I’ve got to do a better job of giving our team what it needs in the last five or six minutes of those games. Last year we were able to win all of those close games, and this year we haven’t been able to.”
The Tigers had a 4:27 scoreless stretch in the final 5:00 of the contest against the Tide. In the previous game, the University of Georgia held LSU without a point in the final 4:59 of the Bulldogs 57-54 victory against the Tigers on Sunday.
The Bulldogs enter the weekend in a similar position as the Tigers. Mississippi State has lost four of its past five conference games, including two three-point defeats to the universities of Florida and South Carolina.
The Bulldogs will have to win their remaining nine games to achieve their fifth 20-win season in the past six seasons, but Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury said that with more than half of the conference schedule still left to be played, it is not yet time to push the panic button.
Stansbury said defense and rebounding are the key to getting the Bulldogs’ ship back on track.
“We have to defend and rebound more consistently,” he said. “We’ve got to get more rebounding from our inside guys, and I’ve got to do a better job getting our guys to understand that somehow.”
One bright spot for the Tigers in their loss to Alabama was the play of sophomore center Chris Johnson.
In his first career start, the Washington, D.C., native scored 13 points, blocked three shots and hit all four of his free throw attempts in only 18 minutes of play.
Brady said after struggling to sleep following the loss to the Tide, he called every player on his team and spoke with them for about 10-15 minutes.
Johnson said the phone call should provide a boost of confidence for the rest of the season.
“I feel that [coach Brady] believes in me enough to play me and start me,” Johnson said. “I’m just going to work hard for him and work hard for my teammates.”
Brady said he hopes Johnson’s positive attitude will translate to the rest of the Tigers.
“Before he hung up he said, ‘I just want to thank you for the opportunity you gave me to play,'” Brady said. “That was pretty positive. If we keep that approach and attitude, we’ll have a chance.”
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]