Instant Analysis: Huge second half not enough for LSU to spring upset vs. No. 19 Texas

LSU missed another opportunity for a quality win as it had no answer for Texas’ offense.

LSU’s men’s basketball team looked like it was dead in the water at halftime against No. 19 Texas in Houston on Saturday. While it showed real fight in the second half with an offensive barrage, it wasn’t enough as the Tigers fell 96-85 and dropped to 6-5 on the season.

It was an ugly first half for LSU, which shot 40% compared to the Longhorns’ 60% and found itself trailing by 19 at the break. Things seemed like they could break really badly for Matt McMahon’s team, but the second half was a different story.

The Tigers shot on the right side of 50% in the final 20 minutes and put up 48 points, outscoring Texas in the second half. That wasn’t enough to dig their way out of the hole they found themselves in despite Texas’ shooting cooling off in that span.

[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] had his best offensive game as a Tiger, leading the team with 33 points. In his debut, [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] scored 13 points, as did [autotag]Derek Fountain[/autotag].

But LSU allowed four Texas players to score in double figures, and it particularly struggled against guards Max Abrams and Tyrese Hunter, who scored 20 and 19 points.

The Tigers missed another opportunity for a quality win, and they’ll look to bounce back when they host Lamar on Thursday night.

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