NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year Ben Simmons charged toward the rim with 5:45 minutes remaining in the second half, threw down a powerful right-handed jam and it didn’t matter, no one cared anymore. LSU had already lost.
The Tigers’ (19-14, 11-7 SEC) meaningful portion of its season is likely over. With an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament being squandered in the latter part of their SEC schedule, LSU, likely, had to win the SEC Tournament to advance to the Big Dance, which would’ve included a win against No. 1 Texas A&M on Saturday.
Dumpster fire, implosion, whatever one may feel inclined to call LSU’s 71-38 demolishment via the Aggies (26-7, 13-5 SEC), today was just that for the Tigers.
At one point, during nearly an 11-minute span, LSU scored one point, which summed up the evening.
“That’s the story of the day, LSU came out and couldn’t make a shot,” sophomore forward Craig Victor said.
LSU’s one point was out of 13 total in the first half — the second-lowest number through the first 20 minutes of a game in school history.
The Tigers 38 total points were the program’s lowest ever in the conference tournament, and the lowest among the NCAA’s six major conferences since Jan. 13. LSU finished 13-for-63 from the field on a 20.6 percent shooting night.
“If we hit a couple of shots, the game may not have gotten away,” junior guard Tim Quarterman said.
LSU opened with a 8-3 lead. It pushed in transition as a 5-0 run was capped by a flawless euro-step layup from senior guard Josh Gray as Craig Victor sat with two fouls he earned in the opening two minutes.
Sophomore center Elbert Robinson III entered for Victor as Simmons stayed on the floor with two fouls, too, and eventually landed his third foul.
Then, all Victor could do was hope.
“Just give us something, a bucket,” Victor said. “There isn’t any 20 point shots out there. We just couldn’t hit a shot.”
The Aggies stretched a 32-5 run to end the half after the Tigers quick spurt, and LSU had no solutions to stop the bleeding.
“Early foul trouble kind of costed us the game, they were able to pull away,” Victor said. “[We were] trying to execute and expecting other players to step up that haven’t really been in a rotation.
“It’s just a tough loss. It’s a tough way to go out.”
The Tigers’ inability to score likely set them with a decision to accept, or decline, a bid to the NIT Tournament — it’s destined postseason landing zone since the Tigers three-straight losses to Alabama, Tennessee and Arkansas on Feb. 17-23.
The NIT’s selection show will be held on WatchESPN at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“It’s been a hard year,” Quarterman said. “It’s difficult knowing the losses we had, we could’ve done a lot without them. We let those get away and it’s come back to haunt us.”
“Whatever the future holds, we’re going to take it,” Simmons said.

Johnny Jones: “So as a season, we’ve had some great ups. But, anytime you end the way we did today, you’re very disappointed.”
— Christian Boutwell (@CBoutwell_TDR) March 12, 2016

When asked after the game about his future, Quarterman deflected and said he was, “focused on winning the tournament.”
“It’s all emotions, now,” Quarterman said.
Simmons, the likely No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, reminisced the moments of happiness after LSU’s relevant season had recently ended in utter sadness, confusion and exclusion.
Simmons finished the game with his 23rd double-double this season, tying former UCLA star Kevin Love for third most in Division I history by a freshman.
He’s enjoyed his run thus far as a Tiger, he said.
“I want to play with these team for as long as I can,” Simmons said. “These guys are like brothers to me. I don’t want to leave.”

I asked Blakeney about where the fault lies for seeming unprepared: “It’s on us. We’re out there playing. It’s on us.”
— Christian Boutwell (@CBoutwell_TDR) March 12, 2016

You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter: @CBoutwell_TDR.