Matt McMahon’s men came into Saturday’s SEC opener boasting an 11-2 record, their best mark in two years, while riding a three-game winning streak.
Their opponent was Vanderbilt, a program projected as a fellow bottom-dweller alongside the Bayou Bengals. However, as the SEC has exceeded expectations, so have the Tigers and Commodores.
On Saturday, the two familiar foes went head-to-head to see which program was ready to take the next step toward causing chaos in the country’s most challenging conference.
Unfortunately for LSU, it was a tough day from tipoff for the Tigers.
Vanderbilt notched 15 points off the purple and gold’s 11 first-half turnovers. For comparison, the Commodores put up 34 shots in the opening period compared to LSU’s 19, a 15-shot differential.
It felt like the loss of Jalen Reed and the team’s overall lack of a true center were finally starting to hit LSU, and it hit hard. The Tigers came into Saturday’s SEC showdown No. 10 in the nation in defensive field goal percentage (37.7%) and tied for Arkansas for No. 11 in blocks per game (5.7).
But in the first half, Vanderbilt vandalized LSU’s interior defense. The Commodores shot 12-20 from inside the three-point line, with 26 points in the paint.
“In the first half, we kind of had our ‘Welcome to the SEC’ moment, you know, for all of us,” Carter said.
The Commodores’ domination of LSU on the inside doesn’t bode well for the Tigers throughout the rest of the conference play. The opponents will only get bigger, faster, and stronger in the SEC. The SEC is as good as it gets. It’s the grittiest conference in the country. LSU can no longer out-athlete the team sitting on the opposing bench.
“Right away when you’re on the court, look, everybody’s bigger, stronger, faster,” Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington said. “Sometimes details become more important.”
While their lack of size would have to be a problem best solved another day, the purple and gold needed someone to put on a cape and play hero ball. Their offense had come to a screeching halt.
Cam Carter came to the rescue; at this point, it shouldn’t even be a surprise. He’s led the Tigers in scoring this season with 16.9 points per game on the best efficiency he’s ever had: 46.1% from the field and 43.4% from three.
Carter led LSU in scoring during their sluggish first half with seven points shooting 2-6 (33.3%) from the field, 1-3 (33.3%) from three, and 2-2 (100%) from the free throw line.
But in the second half, a game after eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in his collegiate career, Carter came alive when the Tigers needed it most. He shot 8-17 (47.1%) from the field and 4-11 (36.4%) from behind the arc to lead LSU in scoring on the day with 22 and pull his team back into the game.
“The same way we came out in the first half is the same way we need to come out in the second half,” Carter said. “All season, we haven’t really put two halves together, and we got to do a better job at that.”
Jordan Sears, alongside Carter, also had a double-digit second half. He stayed aggressive and drove downhill all day, shooting 4-11 (36.4%) from the field, 1-5 (20%) from downtown and a perfect 8-8 (100%) from the charity stripe to conclude the contest with 17, including 11 in the final period. The duo of Carter and Sears shot 16 of the team’s 18 three-pointers and made five of them (31.3%)
McMahon opted to substitute Robert Miller III for Daimion Collins in the second half, and the Tigers’ interior defense significantly improved. Miller and fellow forward Corey Chest held the Commodores to 10 paint points in the final period, compared to their 26 in the first. While Miller was held scoreless, Chest shot 4-6 (66.7) and 4-5 (80%) from the foul line.
However, LSU’s inability to secure defensive rebounds was too much for the Tigers to overcome. Vanderbilt’s 15 offensive rebounds led to 16 second-chance points that buried LSU 80-72.
“The physicality of their players and their defensive pressure really bothered us in the first half,” McMahon said.
Watching McMahon’s approach heading into the team’s second SEC matchup will be intriguing. Expect to see a lot more Miller with the defensive success found in the second half.
The Tigers must be. Four of the Tigers’ next five games will be on the road. First, LSU will travel for its first conference road matchup to take on Missouri in an all-Tiger throw-down on Tuesday night.
“We in the SEC now,” Carter said. “So you got to learn from every game.”
