Tag: jalen cook

PHOTOS: LSU men’s basketball falls short on the road against Georgia

The Tigers have now dropped back-to-back games after a 3-1 start in SEC play.

The Tigers had a chance to pick up a solid Quadrant 2 win against Georgia on Wednesday night, but they came up short in a 68-66 loss that dropped them to 11-8 on the season and 3-3 in SEC play.

[autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] made a clutch layup with 16 seconds left as the Tigers trailed by two, and he was fouled on the play. He made the subsequent free throw to give LSU the lead, and on the other end, Georgia missed a shot. But the Bulldogs got the offensive rebound, and center Russell Tchewa put in the go-ahead layup as he was fouled as well.

[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] had a shot at a game-winning three-pointer, but it rimmed out as the Tigers missed out on a Quadrant 2 win. They’ll be back in action on Saturday as they travel to take on an Alabama team that knocked off No. 8 Auburn on Wednesday night.

In the meantime, here are the photos from the disappointing loss to the Bulldogs.

Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball falls to Georgia on last-second shot

Jalen Cook’s late heroics weren’t enough to lift the Tigers past the Bulldogs.

It looked like [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] was going to be the hero for LSU.

With the Tigers trailing by two with 16 seconds to play against Georgia on Wednesday night, Cook drove to the basket to make a layup with contact. He made the subsequent free throw to give his team a one-point lead, but an and-one layup on the other end from center Russell Tchewa with 2.1 seconds left gave UGA a two-point advantage once again.

[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] got off the best three-point shot he could as the buzzer sounded, but it was just offline as it rimmed out and sealed a 68-66 win for Georgia as LSU fell to 11-8 (3-3 SEC).

The Bulldogs had all sorts of offensive issues early in the game, from missed shots to turnovers. But LSU didn’t manage to capitalize, and Georgia got hot. It ultimately shot over 50% in the half, making 9 of 11 field goals at one point as it stretched its lead as big as seven points.

A nice run before half from the Tigers managed to cut into that, but they still found themselves trailing 35-33 as both teams went into the locker room. They shot just 37.5% in the first half, though both [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and Cook scored in double figures in the first 20 minutes.

LSU dealt with some prolonged cold stretches in the second half but kept things within range. It ultimately shot 40% in the second frame as it mounted a comeback attempt, but its lead after Cook’s free throw was the only one it possessed in the final 20 minutes.

Cook finished with a game-high 21 points, while Wright scored 18 thanks to some strong three-point shooting. No one else finished in double figures, however, as LSU finished below its season scoring average.

The loss now marks two in a row for LSU, for which the road doesn’t get any easier from here in a loaded SEC. Next up will be a tricky road game against Alabama, which sits in the top 10 of the NET Rankings as of publication.

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Instant Analysis: LSU basketball drops a close one to Texas A&M at home

LSU came up just short against Texas A&M at home.

Looking to continue a surprisingly hot start to conference play on Saturday afternoon, LSU dropped a close one to Texas A&M.

It was the second meeting in the last two weeks for the respective programs. LSU got the best of A&M in College Station, but on Saturday, the Aggies got their revenge in Baton Rouge.

LSU held a small but steady lead throughout the first half, but A&M responded, going on a run to open the second half.

The two traded runs the rest of the way, going back and forth. Down three with the game winding down, LSU turned to [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag], who couldn’t land a contested three. Texas A&M grabbed the rebound and put the game away.

It was a missed opportunity for an LSU team looking to get back in the postseason race. LSU outscored the Aggies in the paint and held A&M scoreless on the fastbreak, but the difference in this one was rebounding.

Texas A&M grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, more than tripling LSU’s six. On the day, LSU was outrebounded 48 to 34. So despite LSU having the more efficient shooting performance, A&M simply created more opportunities.

It’s hard to be too disappointed about this one. A&M is a good team and LSU continues to show improvement from where it was earlier in the year. Still, this one would have been a resume builder and moved LSU to 4-1 in conference play.

Next up for LSU is a road game against Georgia on Wednesday followed by a trip to Tuscaloosa next Saturday.

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Matt McMahon grateful for home crowd in LSU men’s basketball’s win over Ole Miss

The Tigers are 3-1 in SEC play after an up-and-down non-conference stretch.

The Tigers earned their first ranked win of the season, knocking off No. 22 Ole Miss in Baton Rouge on Wednesday night to move to 3-1 to begin SEC play after an up-and-down non-conference slate.

LSU’s men’s basketball team is hitting its stride, especially since point guard [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] was cleared to play in December, and coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] said the team took advantage of the winter break to improve.

“We’ve got a long way to go but we’re trying to build,” McMahon said, per On3. “We’re trying to build. Our players have worked extremely hard to improve our team. We’re such a better team today than we were back in the middle of December, and our players deserve all of the credit. They really took advantage of the break from academics over Christmas to spend a lot of time not only in the gym working but in the weight room, film study, but starting to build a real team off the court.”

He also had high praise for the raucous PMAC crowd in the win over the Rebels.

“So, we’ve made a lot of strides there, and I think at the end of the day when you’re trying to build, fans respect hard work. They respect players that play with passion, that play unselfishly and together and give relentless effort on the floor. Our guys have been doing that. We’ve got a long way to go. Got to keep building it,” McMahon said. “But we’re really thankful for the crowd tonight and their energy that they brought to the PMAC.”

The Tigers will be back in action on Saturday when they host Texas A&M, a team they already beat on the road earlier this month.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball hangs on to take down No. 22 Ole Miss

The Tigers move to 3-1 in SEC play with the win over the Rebels.

LSU earned its first ranked win of the season on Wednesday night, moving to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in SEC play with an 89-80 win over the Ole Miss Rebels in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The Rebels managed to take several decent-sized leads in the first half, and the Tigers found themselves trailing by as much as seven. But in large part thanks to big halves from [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag], who had 11 and eight points in the frame, respectively, LSU took a 35-33 lead to the locker room despite shooting just 41.4% as a team.

However, the Tigers shot above 50% in the second half while Ole Miss shot just 32.4%. They stretched their lead to as much as 16 points, and though Ole Miss would cut it to single digits a few times, it never got closer than five points in the final 10 minutes.

Wright finished with a game-high 27 points, while [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] ultimately finished behind him with 16 points. The Tigers allowed big nights to stars Jaylen Murray (23 points), Matthew Murrell (20 points) and Allen Flanigan (19 points), but the rest of the Rebels struggled to get going.

LSU will be back in action on Saturday for a rematch in Baton Rouge against the Texas A&M team it upset in College Station to begin SEC play.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball takes down Vanderbilt to begin SEC play 2-0

The Tigers are 2-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2019-20.

With a 77-69 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night, LSU has already matched its SEC win total from last season. It also began league play 2-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season

LSU relied heavily on its defense in the early goings. It was a sloppy game for Vanderbilt, which turned the ball over nine times in the first half, but the Tigers struggled to take advantage and only got 10 points going the other way.

Still, the LSU lead was stretched out to as big as nine points in the first half, but that wouldn’t last. The Tigers ended the half on a cold streak, hitting just one of their final 10 shots from the floor in a field-goal drought that lasted more than four minutes.

Vanderbilt cut the lead down, and LSU was up just 30-28 heading into the break.

The Tigers got hot again to start the second half, though. They expanded their lead to 15 points, but the Commodores wouldn’t go away so easily. A 7-0 run cut LSU’s lead to just seven heading into the under-four timeout.

But the Tigers’ offense, which shot nearly 50% in the second half, was too much to overcome. It was another huge outing for [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag], who scored a game-high 28 points. [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag], meanwhile, put up 15 against his former team.

LSU has been playing much better basketball recently, and that will be put to the test on Saturday when the team hits the road to take on a ranked Auburn team.

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LSU men’s basketball’s Jordan Wright named SEC Co-Player of the Week after Texas A&M win

Jordan Wright had a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double in the upset win on Saturday night.

LSU’s season featured some ups and downs through the first month and changed, but it began SEC play on a high note.

As an 11.5-point underdog, the Tigers stunned Texas A&M on the road with a 15-point win in its conference opener. That win propelled LSU up more than 30 spots into the top 100 of the NET Rankings, and it resulted in some hardware for arguably the most reliable player on the roster.

Guard [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag], an offseason transfer from Vanderbilt, was named the SEC Co-Player of the Week along with South Carolina guard Meechie Johnson. In the win, Wright recorded a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, which marked the 10th of his career.

He also had two assists and was impactful on the defensive end, as well, finishing with two steals and a block.

The Tigers are hitting their stride since [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] was cleared to play, and now they have a formidable backcourt unit between him and Wright. LSU will hope that momentum continues when it hosts a struggling Vanderbilt team that’s 5-9 on the year on Tuesday night.

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LSU men’s basketball sees a massive rise in NET Rankings after upsetting Texas A&M

The Tigers climbed all the way into the top 100 of the NET after the win.

It wasn’t the best start to the season for LSU’s men’s basketball, but coach Matt McMahon’s team began SEC play with a bang.

The Tigers upset Texas A&M 68-53 on Saturday night in College Station to notch their second Quadrant 1 win of the season. While that win alone isn’t going to put LSU in the NCAA Tournament, it could ultimately go a long way.

McMahon’s team moved up 35 spots, climbing into the top 100 at No. 96. LSU now sits at 11th in the SEC in NET, ranking above Arkansas, Missouri and Vanderbilt.

The addition of [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag], who was cleared to play last month as a two-time transfer, has made a significant difference as this team enters the most important stretch of the year.

Next up will be another winnable game as the Tigers return home to face a Vanderbilt team that is 5-9 and lost to Alabama in its SEC opener.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball ends non-conference play on a high note vs. Northwestern State

The Tigers’ offense came up big in a beatdown against the Demons.

Non-conference play didn’t exactly go according to plan for the Tigers, but they wrapped up their slate in a nice way against a struggling Northwestern State team on Friday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

It was a textbook offensive game from LSU in a 96-55 win. The Tigers shot 61% from the field for the game and had six players score in double figures.

True freshman guard [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag] was the star, scoring 20 points. [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] wasn’t too far behind him, scoring 17 in the win, and it was another notable performance from [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag], who scored 13 points in his third appearance of the season.

Northwestern State, meanwhile, had a ton of issues on offense, shooting below 40% as a team while turning the ball over 20 times. Despite the rebounding margin being relatively even, the Demons struggled to defend the interior, giving up 50 points in the paint.

After taking care of business and moving to 8-5 on the year, LSU will now begin SEC play with a big-time matchup as it hits the road to take on Texas A&M on Jan. 6.

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LSU F Daimion Collins to return against Northwestern State on Friday night

Daimion Collins will make his return to the court after missing the last six games.

LSU has been without one of its top transfer additions in recent outings, but it will be back closer to full strength as it hosts Northwestern State for the final non-conference matchup before SEC play begins in the new year.

Forward [autotag]Daimion Collins[/autotag] will make his return to the court after missing the last six games, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. A former five-star recruit who arrived this offseason from Kentucky, Collins is averaging 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in five games this season.

He’s been a rotational player and will likely resume that role, giving LSU some more depth on the interior with the 6-foot-9 player.

It’s one of several recent boosts the Tigers have gotten as transfer guard [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] was finally given the green light to play as a two-time transfer ahead of a loss to Texas.

Now closer to full strength, LSU will hope to reverse its fortunes from last season in SEC play. First, it will take on the Demons at 7 p.m. CT on Friday night.

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