WASHINGTON D.C. — LSU’s season is over. 
The Southeastern Conference regular season champs’ postseason run ended in a lopsided 80-63 loss to Michigan State in the Sweet 16. 
“We were surprised,” said interim head coach Tony Benford. “I think the thing is that I thought we had a great game plan. We wanted to protect the paint and try to get the ball in the paint. But they had some guys that stepped up.
“At the end of the day they flipped it on us on the glass. We knew we had to protect the backboard. We had to rebound, protect our end, and whoever won the rebound battle I feel like was going to win the game. And it played out that way.”
“And they had some guys that made — they made 13 3s. They were 11-of-34 coming in the first two games of the tournament. Tonight they’re 13-of-32 from the 3- point line. You have to give those guys credit that made plays.”
LSU sophomore Tremont Waters led all scorers with 23 points, but the Tigers were still unable to pull out a victory. 
Michigan State’s rebounding and three-point shooting killed the Tigers and kept them from getting back into the game. Spartan guard Gabe Brown made four-three pointers of his own after only making 12 all season long. 
“We wanted to contain Cassius [Winston],” Benford said. “But you’ve got to give guys credit. Brown and Henry made shots.” 
The Tigers seemed to come out with little energy and played lackluster on both ends of the court in the first half. LSU showed flashed throughout the first half, but it failed to do much to stop the Spartans
LSU started the game flat with Michigan State going on an 8-0 run before LSU interim coach Tony Benford called a timeout. 
LSU came back from the timeout with a renewed sense or urgency. Waters came out with a three-point play immediately to cut the Spartans’ lead. 
The Tigers trailed 10-5 at the under-16 timeout with all five points coming from Waters. 
Michigan State’s lead only got larger from there. The Tigers failed to execute on offense and left the Spartans with too many open shots and rebounds on defense. 
Michigan State dominated LSU on the boards in the first half, out-rebounding the Tigers 21 to 10. The Spartans also went 7-for-17 from three-point range in the first half. 
LSU star freshman forward Naz Reid and senior forward Kavell Bigby-Williams were both virtually non-existent in the first half. Reid had four points and three rebounds while Bigby-Williams had one point and no rebounds. 
 The Tigers showed a flash in the final seconds on the first half when guard Skylar Mays got a defensive rebound and Waters hit a three on the opposite end to cut the Spartans’ lead to 40-28 at halftime. 
LSU came out in the second half with a lot more fire than before, making it a game. LSU got back on the boards and began shooting better. 
Waters started the second half the same way he ended the first — with a three-pointer. LSU went on an 8-0 run to start the half, with Waters scoring all eight points. 
LSU cut Michigan State’s lead down to four early in the second half. 
Michigan State didn’t let the Tigers hang around for long, going on a 16-2 run of its own not long after to extend its lead to 58-43. The Spartans never relinquished its lead. 
“We felt like we could get back into the game,” Reid said. “It was a big boost in our confidence. Some things we’ve been doing all year. The whole
team was confident in the coaching staff. We thought we’d come back. We cut it to four but it just wasn’t enough.”
The Spartans played most the second half like they did the first — dominating the boards and knocking down threes. They ended the game with 39 rebounds and shooting 13-for-32 from three-point range. 
“We can’t hang our heads,” Waters said. “Nobody expected us to be here and to be in this place right now, to be in this moment, just shows the type of character of the guys on this team.”