Though the Tigers were able to hold one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country at bay initially, not allowing an offensive rebound through the first ten minutes of game time, they eventually started to break as last year’s SEC Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe got to work.

Kentucky finished the game with 10 offensive rebounds, six of which came in the last 10 minutes of the first half. Amidst that span, it went from a one-score, back-and-forth battle to the Wildcats having a four-point lead and the momentum heading into the second. 

That lead steadily grew through the second half, as the Tigers continued to struggle with rebounding on both sides of the ball. Ten minutes into the half and it had reached double digits, as LSU looked well on its way to its first SEC loss.  

But a team giving offensive rebounds out like candy suddenly stiffened up, not surrendering another after Tshiebwe’s ninth at the 8:12 mark. That just so happened to coincide with the 8-0 run that got LSU back in the game. 

That run got the Tigers within two, the first of five instances where they managed to cut their deficit to a single score. On their next defensive possession, they surrendered a wide-open dunk to forward Jacob Toppin before turning the ball over on back-to-back possessions to allow the Wildcats to re-extend the lead to six.  

Adam Miller, who finished the game with five made three-pointers on 13 attempts, drained one to get them within a possession again. But after getting another open three-pointer off a great move, he couldn’t tie the game and Kentucky aptly responded by once again extending its lead with a Sahvir Wheeler three. 

Rinse, repeat. 

LSU would cut the lead down to one score three more times, two of which were followed by Kentucky scoring on the other end and one where the Tigers got one more opportunity to tie the game. KJ Williams received the ball with a chance to tie it, but strong defense prevented him from having much of a chance of making it. 

“We were finally able to get some stops in the last eight minutes and close the gap on the glass a little bit,” Head Coach Matt McMahon said. “They just make it so tough on you with Oscar [Tshiebwe] in there on the glass and they hit some tough shots to win the game in the last minute and a half.” 

Tshiebwe finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds, but it was Jacob Toppin that led Kentucky in scoring with 21 points on 69% shooting from the field. That included seven points after LSU’s 8-0 run and a huge three to increase the Wildcat lead to two scores with a minute and a half remaining. He played a large role in keeping the Tigers just out of reach. 

“I think he’s a really good cutter without the basketball and does a nice job, whether you’re in man or zone, in finding cracks in the defense,” McMahon said on Toppin. “I thought he beat us on a couple shots. He’s 3-22 from three on the year, but [blasted] that three to ice the game at the end.” 

Despite the missed shot at the end, Williams finished with another stellar performance, scoring 23 points on 61.5% shooting from the field and 66.7% from three. Miller put up his highest scoring output since late November with 15 and Trae Hannibal added 12 in 29 minutes, contributing heavily down the stretch but also struggling with turnovers. 

Though it surrendered its first conference game of the season, it once again exceeded expectations in the loss, coming close to a victory despite being 10.5-point underdogs entering the game. It will have a chance to bounce back on Saturday against Texas A&M.