The Tigers were dealt a heavy blow just weeks ahead of their opening game against Louisiana Monroe when Illinois transfer Adam Miller suffered a torn ACL in practice. Miller was expected to play a prominent role on both ends of the court, particularly on the offensive end, and his shoes were going to be hard to fill.
Still, LSU did what they could with what they had… and then some.
They kicked off the season on a twelve-game win streak, more than just handling business against the likes of Liberty (No. 1 in ASUN East), Belmont (No. 3 in OVC), Wake Forest (No. 3 in ACC) and Ohio (No. 2 in MAC). They allowed 60 points just three times in that span, sporting the best scoring defense in the country and giving up just 54 points per game.
The team was humbled in a rough road loss against Auburn (currently ranked No. 1 in the country) before besting two other SEC contenders in No. 5 Kentucky and No. 19 Tennessee. But in the latter matchup, the fireworks abruptly halted.
At this point in time exactly one month ago, the Tigers had the sixth best average scoring margin in the country (+20.5), thanks to a defense that ranked third in opponent scoring (56.4 points per game) and first in defensive efficiency (0.762, 0.54 better than the next best team). They either led or were within the top-5 in steals per game, defensive play and possession (No. 1), opponent true shooting (No. 2), opponent effective field goal percentage (No. 4) and opponent assist/turnover ratio (No. 4).
With arguably the best defense in the country and an offense that could pull its weight, LSU was building a reputation as one of the best teams in the SEC. But their starting point guard Xavier Pinson would go down with an injury, causing one of LSU’s biggest flaws to rear its ugly head.
This team has absolutely zero depth in the back court. That was somewhat predictable with Adam Miller’s injury in October, but if anyone was unaware of that before Pinson’s injury, they could not ignore it after the fact.
LSU had two other point guards available to take over while Pinson was gone: Eric Gaines and Justice Williams. And with Justice Williams lacking experience at the college level, Gaines was forced to take on a huge role.
Gaines did an adequate job of filling Pinson’s absence, but the team still suffered immensely without him, especially on the offensive end. LSU’s offense was always the weak part of its game, but it became a liability without Pinson.
It was clear based on their statistics, with the team dropping in scoring (No. 42 to 113), assists (No. 140 to 207), assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 201 to 296) and offensive efficiency (No. 82 to 167). These drops occurred in less of a month of play, just eight games.
The eye test didn’t lack any clarity either, as any average basketball fan could recognize that this offense was lost without their starting point guard. The team lacked chemistry, comfort and direction through those eight games, averaging just 64 points per game and looking like a shell of their former selves.
Pinson returned to extended playing time in their latest matchup against Texas A&M and just like that, the team looked like itself again. Their offense was never perfect but they managed to score the most points in a game since the one where Pinson suffered the injury.
The key difference between their game against Texas A&M and the previous eight games was apparent from the beginning of the first half, as even with scoring being somewhat slow to start, the team looked comfortable on offense. The possessions were devoid of forced shots and charges towards the basket and eventually, the shots started falling.
They played arguably their best first half of the season and though Texas A&M managed to give themselves chances in the second half, each surge was met with a confident response from the Tigers, who never let the lead drop below eight points.
There are still evident flaws in LSU’s play with Pinson on the floor, with the team ranking low in assist-to-turnover ratio due to struggles with turnovers, and their other offensive statistics rank near the middle of the pack or lower. They rely heavily on momentum generated by success on defense and tend to struggle a bit in half court offense.
But when this team is on and completely healthy, they are one of the best teams in the SEC and could make waves if they are playing their best basketball at the right time. That’s not only apparent in the games where they’ve had Pinson, but in how close they were to victory in the span without them.
Of the six losses that LSU suffered in that span, four of them (Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt) could be perceived as winnable without Pinson even being on the floor. The game against Alabama came down to the last shot and the rest had LSU in solid positions to take it late in the game.
They win all four of those games and they are 21-3, which would be one of the best records in the country and the second-best record in the SEC. Wherever this team ends up in March Madness in regards to seeding, they should be a team that no one overlooks.
