NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Josh Gray collected a long rebound just outside the Texas A&M three-point line and immediately sprinted down the court in the first half of Saturday’s Southeastern Conference tournament semifinal at Bridgestone Arena.
The LSU senior guard carried a head of steam with just one Aggie standing between him and the basket. Instead of trying to create contact as he attacked the goal, Gray perfectly executed a Euro step, laying the ball in easily and giving LSU an 8-3 lead.
There was 15:47 on the game clock when Gray made that basket.
For the rest of the first half, the No. 4-seed Tigers (19-14) hit only one more field goal and scored just five more points, going into the half trailing, 35-13.
“I’ve never seen a college team performance so badly offensively,” said freshman guard Antonio Blakeney.
In a 71-38 loss to the No. 1-seed Aggies (26-7), eliminating LSU from the league tournament and likely NCAA tournament consideration, the Tigers set a record low for least amount of points scored by a team from the major six conferences this season.
The major six conferences include the SEC, Big 12, Pac 12, Big 10, ACC and the Big East, and the record-low point total was originally set by Boston College on Jan. 13. The Eagles scored just 40 points in a loss to Syracuse.
“Very disappointing for us to find and pick the day to have a bad shooting day and not get anything to go,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “But thought the guys at least tried to finish the game the right way.”
On a day where the Tigers scored the fewest amount of points by an LSU team since 2010, which also was the least amount of points in an SEC tournament game since 1985, the numbers paint a picture of the historical collapse.
LSU knocked down 13-of-63 shots, including a 5-of-27 clip from three-point territory. The Tigers’ starting five combined to shoot 9-of-52 from the field. Freshman guard Antonio Blakeney and junior guard Tim Quarterman, who led the Tigers in scoring in the quarterfinal win against Tennessee, combined to shoot 1-for-11 from the field in the first half and 3-of-27 for the game.
“We just couldn’t make a shot,” said sophomore forward Craig Victor II, who was 0-for-5 from the field. “Like I said, shooting 20 percent for 40 minutes…that’s not a winning percentage for any team.”
Texas A&M’s stat line doesn’t indicate a prolific offensive performance, and the Aggies initially struggled out of the gate, missing 10 of their first 12 shots. But the Texas A&M bench outscored LSU, 42-10, and 11 different Aggies scored, including double digit performances from starting forward Jalen Jones and reserves Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Admon Gilder.
Perhaps the only positive number for LSU was freshman forward Ben Simmons’ 10-point, 12-rebound performance, making him the only Tiger in double figures.
His 23rd double-double ties him with former UCLA forward Kevin Love for most double-doubles by a Division I freshman, but it’s an easily forgettable note due to Simmons’ lack of impact in the first half, which was once again hindered by foul trouble.
Led by four early points from Simmons, the way the game started made the disastrous turn of events that much worse.
LSU notched the 8-3 lead just before the first media timeout, holding a 4-of-8 clip from the field up to that point. But Victor had already picked up his second foul at the 18:05 mark and did not return for the rest of the half.
LSU actually maintained a three-point advantage going into the second media timeout, but the Aggies surged on a 10-0 run right after the break, including treys by Trocha-Morelos and forward D.J. Hogg.
At that point, the Tigers’ wheels had officially flung off.
LSU proceeded to make one field goal over the final 15:47 second of the first half as the Aggies seamlessly cruised on a 32-5 run to end the period. In total, the Tigers went 14:29 of game time without hitting a field goal.
“I didn’t expect that to happen, but it got out of hand a little bit,” Simmons said. “But we were trying to fight back. When the foul trouble happened, free throws, box out. A lot of things went into that game, and I definitely didn’t expect that.”
The Aggies’ 10-0 run forced LSU coach Johnny Jones to take a timeout with 8:15 left in the half, trailing 16-9. But the Tigers’ fortunes didn’t get any better out of the timeout as Simmons picked up his second foul with 7:42 left in the half
Almost out of necessity, Simmons came back into the game with 4:02 left, but he was then whistled for his third foul with 2:48 left and went back to the bench.
Texas A&M’s bench alone outscored the entire LSU team with 17 first-half points. With 2:20 left in the first half, Jones’ two-handed slam gave him 10 points, which was the same amount of points the Tigers had as a whole up to that point.
LSU junior guard Tim Quarterman said Texas A&M didn’t do anything defensively the Tigers hadn’t already seen in the first two meetings between the two teams, which includes LSU’s 76-71 win in Baton Rouge.
“We done played them twice,” Quarterman said. “They pretty much did the same thing. They just caught us on a day when we just couldn’t hit anything, from me to everybody on the team. I think we all feel the same way that – if we would have hit a couple of shots – maybe the game would have never got out of hand like that or we could have done something about it. But that’s how the cards played.”
Already down by double digits, the second half didn’t get much better. LSU actually shot statically worse in the second period than it didn’t in the first, connecting on only 8-of-39 attempts. The Tigers missed 22-of-23 attempts in a portion of the second half and trailed by as many as 40.
After falling behind by 30 with 9:46 left in the game, LSU never got within 28 points.
“I don’t think [we] quit,” Simmons said. “I think we were out there still trying to play hard and play to win, but it’s hard when you get down like that. You do get frustrated, but we definitely weren’t going to quit.”
You can reach James Bewers on Twitter: @JamesBewers_TDR
LSU sets season-low point total among major conference teams in SEC tournament quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M
By James Bewers
March 12, 2016
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