The LSU men’s basketball team tried to smack, tackle and drag No.1 Kentucky to the PMAC hardwood Saturday.
But the top-ranked Wildcats soared above the rim anyway, emerging from a raucous Assembly Center with a 74-50 win behind a dazzling display of dunks, 3-pointers and post play.
Kentucky sophomore Terrence Jones scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the Wildcats (21-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) overcome an enthusiastic home crowd of 10,060 and the Tigers’ (12-9, 2-5 SEC) physical play.
“They are pretty good, and I think you’ll see that team in New Orleans probably twice,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson, in reference to the SEC Tournament and the Final Four.
High-flying UK freshman phenom Anthony Davis added 16 points and 10 rebounds and was involved in the game’s most heated moment.
Nearly five minutes into a second-half surge that effectively clinched a Kentucky victory, Davis grabbed an LSU turnover and raced downcourt for a clear layup.
But LSU senior forward Malcolm White charged in and horse-collar tackled the dynamic freshman, igniting a war of words between Wildcat and Tiger
players and drawing Kentucky coach John Calipari’s ire.
“There were some questionable plays on Anthony, in my opinion,” said UK senior guard Darius Miller, who scored 13 points. “I don’t really know what [White] was trying to do on that play. We were mad.”
White was issued a Flagrant-2 foul and ejected from the game.
The Tigers cut an early 12-point deficit to one point, 25-24, on a fastbreak Storm Warren alley-oop at the 3:22 mark of the first half, igniting a storm of cheers from a packed student section.
The momentum didn’t last long. Kentucky buried 3-pointers on each of its next two
possessions and hit the locker room with a 35-26 halftime lead.
“Basketball is a game full of runs,” said UK freshman guard Marquis Teague, who only scored six points but effectively defended LSU freshman guard Anthony Hickey. “They pushed us, but we just had to weather it and come through.”
Then Jones took over. Overshadowed by the Wildcats’ fabulous freshmen this season, the sophomore reminded the SEC why he was preseason Player of the Year.
Jones scored the first nine points of the second half on four straight buckets around the rim, and the Wildcats finished off the Tigers with a 27-5, nine-minute blitz.
“When Terrence is on, he makes a huge difference,” Miller said. “When he has it going, it opens up our outside game, and he scored at will [Saturday].”
LSU freshman forward Johnny O’Bryant III started for the first time in nearly a month and fueled the Tigers’ stagnant offense with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Senior forward Storm Warren contributed 11 points off the bench, but the Wildcats’ length in the post bothered the Tigers all afternoon.
“They’re great players, Davis and Jones. Both are very versatile,” O’Bryant said. “Davis, especially, can be intimidating to players in the paint.”
That length clearly affected Tiger junior forward Justin Hamilton, who failed to score in double digits for the first time since January. He finished with seven points.
The Wildcats opened the game with a 22-10 run behind a barrage of 3-pointers. UK made 46 percent of its 3-pointers in the game.
“When we’re making the three, we’re pretty tough,” Calipari said. “LSU has played well [in the PMAC]. They’ll be fine. We had too much for them today.”
The mood in the Tigers’ locker room was considerably less optimistic.
“We were looking forward to that game and were hoping it would be a lot closer,” Warren said. “We thought we could win. For it to be a big loss, that’s pretty devastating.”
 
____
Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]