There was a touch of excitement in the air at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Wednesday night. LSU was giving away 2,000 caps commemorating Tiger legend Shaquille O’Neal’s induction into the 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame. The LSU basketball team was also playing Florida, a top 25 ranked opponent.
That hint of excitement soon left the PMAC after the game began. The Tigers were embarrassed at home losing 106-71, a 35 point margin.
“We certainly owe our fans an apology,” said LSU basketball head coach Johnny Jones. “We did not represent those letters [LSU] or those colors [purple and gold] tonight.”
Florida took the lead 3 minutes into the game and never relinquished it. They drained a total of 19 three-pointers, which tied the PMAC record for most threes made in a game.
Florida freshman guard Eric Hester was a perfect 5-5 from behind the line. Junior forward Devin Robinson also made five three-pointers.
LSU attempted 17 from behind the three point line but only made two baskets.
The Tiger defense played soft the entire night, which Johnny Jones said had been a problem all year.
This sixth straight loss brings LSU’s record to 9-10, 1-7 in the SEC. Jones can’t seem to find a silver lining anywhere.
“There were no positives from this game,” Jones said. “Zero.”
There’s a lot of speculation regarding if Jones will be relieved of his duties as head basketball coach at the end of the season. Jones has gone on record saying he’s not concerned with that, but his frustration with his team was evident following the game.
“I haven’t been in a position like this and had a team that performed that way,” Jones said. “I don’t think I’ve ever recruited a group of guys that performed that way. If you watch guys play and get beat like that, you don’t recruit them.”