Floats, beads and king cake, it’s Mardi Gras time in Louisiana.
It is a time for celebration and to “Let the good times roll,” as they say in Cajun French. However, there weren’t a lot of good times on Tuesday night for LSU as it fell to No. 5 Tennessee, 65-59.
It was a game where neither team played its best basketball. The Volunteers came into this game averaging 74 points per game while shooting 45% from the field.
However, the Tigers made it difficult for the team in orange and white. LSU held Tennessee to shooting 23-for-56 (41.2%) from the field and 6-for-22 (27.3%) from three.
“You know what really made our team tonight was the respect that they had for LSU,” Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes said.
The Tigers went into the half only trailing by a three-pointer. Vyctorius Miller scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half and inevitably picked up what was an unpleasant offensive outing in the first 20 minutes of the game.
Although LSU kept it close throughout the game, the defense from the Volunteers was just too much for the Tigers to handle.
The No. 4 scoring defense in the nation clamped down the Tigers’ offense to only 59 points while shooting 21-for-51 (41%) from the and 7-for-27 (25.9%) from beyond the arc.
“I think Tennessee, with their physicality, their toughness, really disruptive,” LSU head coach Matt McMahon said. “Ziegler and Mashack, I’d argue, are probably two of the five best individual defenders in the country, just weren’t able to create enough good looks there.”
The purple and gold’s leading scorer, Cam Carter, did not have his best night, only scoring 12 points while shooting 3-for-10 (30%) and 1-for-6 (16%) from the three-point line.
Much credit goes to Volunteers guard Jahmai Mashack, who took the task of guarding Carter for the game.
“He’s taken great pride to be able to do that, and we have to go up against guys like Cam Carter and other guys in this league every night,” Barnes said. “It’s something special about his DNA that makes him do that and want to do it, and again, I’m so glad that we have him.”
Mashack displayed his defensive intensity tonight and made Carter work for every shot on the night.
Although Carter wasn’t able to get his shot going tonight, eight of the nine players who entered the game for the Tigers were able to score.
The lack of size for LSU remains to be a problem. McMahon has been experimenting with a four-guard lineup, and even though the turnovers and spacing have improved, the Tigers have been bullied inside.
Tennessee out-rebounded LSU 44-to-28, including 17 offensive rebounds. The Volunteers scored almost half their points in the painted area, scoring 32 points and 27 points off second chance opportunities.
“Now the defensive rebounding,” McMahon said. “We got to figure out a way. Can’t play 30 minutes in a game just to get one defensive rebound.”
After Tennessee created some separation, the Tigers fought back toward the end, going on a 13-4 run in the game’s last three minutes, but fell short in the end.
Even though more aspects played a factor in LSU’s defeat, one might take a look at the free throw numbers and think about what could’ve been.
The Tigers went 10-for-16 from the free throw line, and in a six-point loss, those six missed free throws will make LSU regret not taking advantage of the charity stripe.
