LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson doesn’t mince words.
The third-year coach didn’t hold back Wednesday night after Tennessee trampled his injury-riddled team, 75-53, for the Tigers’ third-consecutive blowout loss.
“Nobody likes to admit this more than me, but Kentucky, Ole Miss and this team — they’re better than we are,” Johnson said in his postgame radio interview. “We need to deal with that and move forward.”
LSU (10-10, 2-3) has lost by an average of 29 points in its three-game skid, shooting a meager 31 percent from the floor in the three conference games.
“We’ve got to get this behind us,” Johnson said. “We haven’t played very well three times out.”
The Volunteers (13-7, 3-2) dominated from the opening tipoff in Thompson-Boling Arena, never trailing the Tigers in the contest.
Freshman guard Matt Derenbecker, who scored a team-high 13 points, drained a 3-pointer to put LSU on the board early to begin the game, 3-3.
But the Tigers went on to miss three treys and didn’t score another point until the 13:14 mark in the first half.
Freshman forward Eddie Ludwig, Derenbecker’s former teammate at Country Day High School, notched a career-best 12 points in his sixth career start.
Johnson emphasized the need to take more risks during Monday’s media session. Ludwig seemed to be one of the only players to heed the warning.
“That’s Eddie’s best game in terms of being aggressive, not turning down shots,” Johnson said.
The Country Day connection of Derenbecker and Ludwig accounted for 47 percent of LSU’s total points.
Tennessee went into the halftime locker room with a 16-point lead after ending the first half with a 13-5 run.
“We didn’t finish the half right,” Johnson said. “That hurts you in a game like this. We gave them a cushion because of our mental breakdowns.”
Tennessee junior guard Scotty Hopson already had 17 points after the first 20 minutes and finished with a game-leading 22.
“I just wanted to get the team going on all cylinders and keep the team going,” Hopson said in a postgame interview. “We wanted this one tonight.”
The third-straight loss comes after the Tigers started SEC play with two victories.
“This ship’s not going downhill,” Johnson said. “The only people that thought we were going to be good were ourselves.”
The slump paralleled a period of injury problems as the LSU training staff continues to be popular with the players.
Freshman guard Ralston Turner dressed out but didn’t play against Tennessee, still recovering from a stress reaction in his foot.
But the Muscle Shoals, Ala., native is no longer wearing a boot on his foot, and he could see his first game action since Jan. 2 on Saturday when LSU plays Alabama.
The offense also didn’t get production from another team leader.
Junior forward Storm Warren sat the bench with an Achilles tendon injury. Warren played through the ailment the past four games, but he took a step back this week in practice.
“Quite frankly, we’re just undermanned against a team like this,” Johnson said.
Junior forward Malcolm White did take the floor despite troubling knee problems, contributing nine points in 26 minutes.
“I just got to feel good about us getting our full bodies back,” Johnson said.
LSU’s road trip continues Saturday as the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the Crimson Tide at 7 p.m.
 
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Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected]