For a while on Wednesday night, it looked like the Tigers were heading for a season sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats.
They led by eight at the half, but Kentucky surged in the second period, outscoring LSU by 13 in the final frame. Coach Will Wade’s squad had a chance at the end, narrowing the margin to four in the final minute, but it wasn’t enough as the Wildcats earned a 71-66 win at Rupp Arena.
For the Tigers (19-9, 7-8 SEC), it’s now back-to-back losses for a team that is more or less a lock for the NCAA Tournament but is seeing its spot in the SEC standings slip. Kentucky (23-5, 12-3 SEC) meanwhile stays undefeated at home on the year and remains one game out of the lead for the conference behind Auburn.
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— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) February 24, 2022
LSU struggled quite a bit in the second half, but it’s defense wasn’t the biggest issue. UK had a relatively efficient 46.9% shooting outing from the field, but it was just 2 of 12 on three-pointers and missed opportunities at the free-throw line, hitting 23 of its 32 attempts.
Big man Oscar Tshiebwe, the current frontrunner for national player of the year, had a very solid game. He finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, a good stat line but a bit pedestrian by his own lofty standards. Still, he led the Wildcats to a 12-rebound win in the battle on the boards.
Even without star guards TyTy Washington Jr. and Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky got good production from its backcourt. Kellen Grady and Davion Mintz each scored 13 points, and so did freshman forward Bryce Hopkins coming off the bench.
The Wildcats also turned the ball over 12 times compared to the Tigers’ eight turnovers, which resulted in 23 points going the other way in LSU’s favor. But with the way it played on offense, that wasn’t enough. Scoring has proved difficult this season, and this game was no different.
The Tigers shot just 36.8% from the field and finished 9 of 26 from behind the arc after a 5 of 6 start. The most effective player was by far guard Xavier Pinson, who finished with a season-high 26 points but on just 6 of 20 shooting.
Forward Darius Days scored 10 and guard Eric Gaines scored 11 coming off the bench, but that wouldn’t prove to be enough. Star sixth man Tari Eason, one of the most dominant players in the SEC, was held to single-digit points for the first time since Jan. 12 against Florida. He scored just five points on 2 of 7 shooting before fouling out midway through the second half.
It wasn’t the result the Tigers were looking for coming off a frustrating road loss against South Carolina, and this team has now blown double-digit leads in back-to-back games. LSU has a good opportunity for a tune-up at home on Saturday against Missouri before a difficult two-game stretch to finish the season at Arkansas and at home against Alabama.
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