The LSU men’s basketball defense fell apart late to lose its fourth straight SEC game versus Kentucky despite an electric atmosphere in the PMAC.
The atmosphere carried LSU to a lead for most of the game, but the matchup was ended by a silencing Kentucky buzzer-beater. LSU was up by 18 points at the turn of the half, but the Tigers slowly crumbled in the second.
Mistakes piled up, and with less than two seconds left on the clock, Pablo Tamba missed two crucial free throws, which left the Tigers vulnerable. With the score 74-73, one point stood between the two teams.
The ball was launched downcourt, and Kentucky’s Malachi Moreno jumped to catch the ball over the fingertips of Robert Miller III. He turned and put up a jump shot near the free-throw line, killing LSU’s hopes and clinching a 75-74 win.
“They really got going from behind the 3-point line, and we could not get enough stops there,” head coach Matt McMahon said. “All that said, you’re in position to win the game, and unfortunately, I couldn’t help get our guys across the finish line there. So really proud of our players’ response, I think we got a lot better the last couple of days. Obviously crushed that we weren’t able to finish the deal.”
After three upsetting outcomes to start conference play, the Tigers took another loss to continue this rough patch. However, no matter the outcome of this game, the fans kept the game interesting.
The electric atmosphere was second to none, as most LSU athletes come to expect, and McMahon said they appreciated the fans for bringing the noise and energy.
“I thought the atmosphere, especially in the second half, was phenomenal,” McMahon said.
The Tigers played a bit more of a backwards game than they have in the past. Many times this season, the offense has started off fairly strong in the beginning, but after a few minutes, the defensive struggles kick in, and LSU has to fight for the momentum it started the game with.
The defense stepped up big time tonight for the purple and gold, holding the Wildcats to 22 points in the first half, but faltered in the second, allowing 51.
LSU took hold of Kentucky’s mistakes for most of the game, something it had struggled to do prior to this game. It was a step in the right direction, but the Tigers couldn’t execute when it mattered.
Fifth-year senior forward Marquel Sutton led LSU in scoring by a long shot, which is something he hasn’t done as of late. He’s had hot and cold moments the last few games, and tonight was a hot moment.
He scored 16 points in the contest, going 5-for-9 from the field. He played well off the energy in the stadium and contributed to it at the start of the game. Not only did he lead the team in scoring, but he also made the first bucket of the game: a 3-point shot two minutes into the game.
The one area LSU’s number of free throws trended back upwards on Wednesday. In nonconference play, LSU gold typically shot over 20 free throws a game, but it’s dipped under 18 for each SEC game.
Other than the matchup against Kentucky, the next lowest scoring game at the free-throw line was against South Carolina, with 14 attempts. On Wednesday versus the Wildcats, the Tigers only had 28 attempts, and they made 18 of them.
While the number of times the Tigers got to the line was an improvement, they missed more than they have all season.
After all the drama in the PMAC on a Wednesday night, the Tigers dropped their fourth conference game in a row, effectively putting McMahon in the hot seat.
LSU takes on Missouri on the road Saturday at 2 p.m. CT to try to rewrite the story of the season.
