Despite losing to Alabama 70-67 to fall to 3-3 in conference play, LSU displayed a trait that is incredibly important to have for the NCAA tournament: resilience.
This was not the only time they have displayed resilience, with this trait also being evident in their games against Louisiana Tech, Tennessee and Florida.
While the first half was a back-and-forth affair, the second half was not quite as even. LSU lost their second starter, Darius Days (third if you include Adam Miller), to a sprained ankle late in the first half, and it was clear that it had an impact.
Alabama outplayed LSU through the first 12 minutes of the half, and they appeared to have the Tigers beat after a Will Wade technical foul and an on-the-floor foul gave the Crimson Tide four free throws, which they made, causing the score to go up by 13 points.
But with their backs against the wall, the team composed itself to deliver a performance that will be hard to forget. Eric Gaines, who had not made a field goal up to that point, made three three-pointers in a row to cut the Alabama lead to just four. Then, Brandon Murray added another three-pointer and Tari Eason sunk two free throws to tie the game at 58.
Despite going on a 14-1 run and obtaining most of the momentum, LSU was put in another dire situation when the Tide went on a run of their own, taking a seven-point lead with 2:45 left and an eight-point lead with a minuscule 1:22 left in the game.
What was LSU’s response?
A 7-0 run in the next minute and 15 seconds, encompassed by an enormous Brandon Murray three-pointer with just eight seconds left in the game. Alabama made both free throws and LSU was put in a position to tie the game with five seconds remaining on the clock.
Eric Gaines sprinted up the court, put himself in a solid position to make a three-pointer and…
Missed it. It was a tough way for the game to end, with what could have been a legendary comeback mounted by the Tigers being stopped in its tracks. However, the performance still displayed great resilience and ability to play under pressure.
And considering how many players the Tigers had out against Alabama, it is telling of how much potential LSU has whenever they are healthy.
This game also showed how well one player in particular could perform with the team on his back, and wow, did he deliver or what? Tari Eason, who sported his best performance of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds, had a lot of praise for the way his team fought.
“What I do love about this team is our resilience,” Eason stated. “We could have easily gone the other way down 13 [but] instead, we decided to come together. I love that about this group.”
“Once we get some other things cleaned up, and we have all our guys, we’re going to be a machine.”
This team has shown off a lot of their flaws lately, with free throws, turnovers and rebounding all plaguing them, but there is still plenty of time to fix them. With those being the team’s main focuses going forward and the return of multiple starters coming faster than you think, this team could make waves come March.
