NASHVILLE, Tenn. – LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons still won’t say whether he’s trying to live up to some lofty expectation he or others have set for him.
But Simmons will say when he thinks he’s better than his opponent, like prior to Saturday night’s Southeastern Conference opener against Vanderbilt. After a 90-82 win against the Commodores (8-5, 0-1 SEC), where the rookie Australian notched 16 of his 36 points at the free throw line, Simmons repeated himself.
“Just being aggressive,” Simmons said when asked about shooting 19 free throws. “I knew their bigs couldn’t guard me.”
He wasn’t wrong, and that mentality came at the perfect time.
Simmons recorded his 10th double of the season with highest point total of since 43 points against North Florida, driving LSU to a 90-82 win against Vandy at Memorial Gymnasium. It was the first road win of the season for the Tigers (8-5, 1-0 SEC) and their first win in an SEC opener since 2012.
Coming off a critical nonconference loss to Wake Forest at home – a game the Tigers felt slipped away from them – LSU battled with the Commodores for more than 25 minutes of game time. LSU trailed by one point heading into halftime, and Vandy regained a one-point advantage on Wade Baldwin’s three-pointer at the 14:19 mark in the second half.
But from there, LSU took control.
The Tigers surged to a 7-0 run after Baldwin’s triple and didn’t let the Commodores within four points the rest of the way.
Senior guard Keith Hornsby finished with 23 points with a 3-for-4 clip from beyond the arc, hitting at least two big shots to quell Vandy momentum. The first came after Baldwin’s trey and the second came after guard Riley LaChance cut the Commodore deficit to four points with 5:00 left.
“I didn’t want to force anything,” Hornsby, who had just five points in the first half, said. “We had a good thing going. I wanted take advantage of opportunity when they come to me, and I did that, especially in the second half. So, just take it as it comes, but certainly more aggressive than timid.”

Though he had just five points through the first 13 minutes of the contest, Simmons began to take over at the 6:53 mark of the first half.
With Vandy leading, 18-16, at that point, Simmons scored 13 of the Tigers next 18 points to close out the half. LSU, though, still faced a 35-34 deficit due in large part to the Commodores’ 13-for-13 clip from free throw line.
Still, Hornsby was pleased with the defensive effort in the first half, holding Vandy to just 36 percent from the field after the first 20 minutes.
“We came out different type of energy, and we really prepared for this game better than the other ones,” Hornsby said. “We took in the scouting report incredibly well, and it showed out in the first half
That defensive effort included the job sophomore forward Craig Victor, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds, did on Vandy center and second-leading scorer Damian Jones. Despite foul trouble through most of the contest, Victor held Jones to just five points in the second half as he attempted just two field goals.
Meanwhile, Simmons continued to attack the basket, going 8-of-9 from the line in the second half and 16-of-19 for the game. In fact, no LSU player shot a free throw until junior guard Tim Quarterman went 1-of-2 at the line with 2:01 left in the game, leading by 10 points.
“I’m not so much surprised because I know that’s what he’s capable of doing,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones on Simmons’ night. “But to do it your first night out [in SEC play] – in this type of environment here – it says a lot about him. But certainly not surprised about his play. Not a lot surprises me about him being around him long enough.”
While Simmons’ play isn’t surprising to Jones, what may have been surprising to fans is how the Tigers kept their focus down the stretch of the game after losing several tight games this season.
Clearly, though, the sense urgency was present, Hornsby said.
“We just approached this game differently,” Hornsby said. “We had a better edge about ourselves when we touched the floor. We needed that, and I’m just happy that we did it. And we need to sustain that coming into the next 17 games of conference.”