Saturday’s men’s basketball game began with cheers of “Geaux to Hell, Ole Miss” from a relatively full LSU student section.
It ended with eerie silence and empty seats.
Ole Miss (13-7, 1-4) mauled LSU, 78-51, to hand the Tigers their second-straight blowout Southeastern Conference loss of the season.
The most recent one has been harder to swallow than the first.
Kentucky gave LSU (10-9, 2-2 SEC) its first blemish on the conference record Jan. 15, 82-44, but the Wildcats were a top-25 team playing in historic Rupp Arena.
Losing to Ole Miss was a different story.
This scar came at the hands of a winless SEC West team in front of the 1981 and 1986 Final Four teams and 8,060 fans.
“The last two games have been embarrassing,” said freshman guard Matt Derenbecker. “We’ve been dominated in all aspects of the game.”
The Tigers roared into conference play with wins against Auburn and Arkansas, but since then LSU has been outscored 160-95.
“We’re not talented enough to come into league play and just try to rely on our talent and not rely on hustle and out-rebound like we did the first two games,” said Derenbecker, who led the team with 14 points.
The team’s best shooter, freshman guard Ralston Turner, missed his fourth-straight game from a stress reaction in his foot.
LSU Coach Trent Johnson reiterated his plan to air on the side of caution with Turner’s injury, but the Johnson said the guard could return Jan. 29 against Alabama.
LSU’s other injured player, junior forward Storm Warren, saw 12 minutes of playing time but continued to run gingerly on a sensitive right Achilles tendon.
“If you can go, you can go,” Johnson said. “If somebody tells me you can play, play.”
Junior forward Malcolm White spoiled an opportunity to impress his former teammates. White, a member of the Rebels team from 2007 to 2009, scored six points but committed five turnovers.
“It was good seeing those guys again, but we didn’t come out with the win,” White said. “My expectations were to come out with the win.”
The schedule doesn’t ease up for LSU. The Tigers travel to Tennessee for a Wednesday night tip-off against the Volunteers.
LSU started the game 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Derenbecker drained a three from the right side of the court about a foot behind the arc and then sunk another from the left side a few possessions later to go up, 10-9.
But the Tigers went on to only make two more 3-pointers the entire game.
  Gallery: Men’s Basketball vs. Ole Miss
 
“We’ve been scouted well,” said freshman point guard Andre Stringer. “Our perimeter can’t find good open shots so now we have to create our own, and that’s what has been the difference from now and early on in the season.”
The Rebels came out strong in the second half with a 16-4 run, beginning with a jumper by Ole Miss senior guard Chris Warren. They kept the pressure, outscoring the Tigers, 40-19, in the last 20 minutes.
Warren entered the game as the fourth-leading scorer in the SEC, and he didn’t disappoint, finishing with 18 points. The Orlando, Fla., native helped Ole Miss shoot 70 percent in the second half.
Johnson echoed Derenbecker’s sentiments about hustle and toughness.
“The thing that bothers me is our inability to get the loose balls, being beat 33-19 on the glass,” Johnson said. “There’s a level of frustration there. For me it’s about mental accountability.”
Johnson expressed frustration in the hesitancy of the offense to take risks.
“You can’t be afraid to make a play,” Johnson said. “You can’t be afraid to shoot an open shot when you’re open.”
 
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]