Tag: Mike Williams III

Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball finishes regular season on a high note with Senior Night win over Missouri

LSU will be the No. 8 seed at the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week.

LSU fittingly honored its seniors on Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, beating Missouri 84-80 in the regular season finale.

Coach Matt McMahon’s team will enter the SEC Tournament at 17-14 with a 9-9 record in league play after finishing 2-16 a season ago. Missouri, meanwhile, finishes 0-18 in conference play in what has been a very disappointing campaign after reaching the NCAA Tournament last season.

LSU spent most of the first half playing from behind against Mizzou, which shot just 29% in the frame. However, the Tigers were even worse at 25%, and they found themselves in a 35-29 deficit at the half.

Missouri struggled to maintain that lead, however. LSU retook the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, and it went on to expand upon it. The Tigers led by as much as 21 with less than five minutes to play, and while Mizzou would cut into that lead and even get it within three with four seconds to play after some impressive shooting down the stretch, it was too little, too late.

[autotag]Trae Hannibal[/autotag] led the way with 24 points to go with five rebounds and five assists and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] scored 10 as LSU went with an all-senior starting five. [autotag]Hunter Dean[/autotag] scored 12 with six rebounds in an elevated role, while [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] scored seven with 10 rebounds. [autotag]Mwani Wilkinson[/autotag] also got to start, finishing with four points.

Coming off the bench, [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] scored 14 while [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag] totaled 10.

LSU will be the No. 8 seed in the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week and will begin its run on Thursday against No. 9-seeded Mississippi State.

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PHOTOS: LSU men’s basketball beats Arkansas 95-74 to end 3-game skid

The Tigers will now gear up for a critical road matchup against Tennessee.

The LSU men’s basketball team got back on track on Saturday at home against a struggling Arkansas team, ending a three-game skid with a convincing 95-74 win.

[autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] had a huge game, scoring 25 points on 9 of 11 shooting, while [autotag]Jalen Cook[/autotag] scored 20 and Jordan Wright and [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag] each scored 13.

The Tigers shot north of 50% for the game and dominated throughout, holding a 15-point lead at the half. Arkansas never led after 2-0.

LSU will now prepare for a major opportunity as it hits the road to take on a Tennessee team that ranks in the top five nationally on Wednesday. For now, here are the photos from Saturday’s decisive win.

Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball runs out of gas at Alabama, drops third-straight game

The Tigers have now dropped three games in a row after allowing 100+ points for the first time this season.

LSU looked like it was going to compete for a road Quadrant 1 win in the first half on Saturday night against Alabama, but coach Matt McMahon’s team couldn’t keep up in the second as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 109-88 win in Tuscaloosa.

The Tigers have now dropped three games in a row and four of their last five, falling to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in league play.

Alabama put the pressure on early, making 8 of its first 14 shots. LSU managed to keep up, though, and the game was tied at 26 heading into the under-12 media timeout.

The Tigers outshot the Crimson Tide 48.4% to 45.5% in the first half, but it was a clean half for ‘Bama, which had just two turnovers in the period to LSU’s six. It also went 12 of 14 on free throws in the first half, while LSU went 7 of 13.

The Tigers ended the half on a 2:45 scoring drought, while Alabama went on a 6-0 run as it took a 50-42 lead — its largest of the game to that point — into the locker room.

That would be an omen for what was to come in the second half. Both teams traded baskets for a few minutes to start the frame, but a 9 of 15 shooting start from the Crimson Tide fueled an 8-0 run as it jumped out to a 15-point lead with 11:44 to play.

Things never got better from there for LSU. Alabama stretched its lead as big as 22 points while shooting a stellar 66.7% in the second half. Mark Sears (21 points), Latrell Whitesell Jr. (19) and Aaron Estrada (18) were particularly difficult for the Tigers to contain.

LSU saw five players score in double figures, with [autotag]Derek Fountain[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag] leading the way with 14 points, but that wasn’t enough to keep up as the defense allowed 100+ points for the first time this season.

The Tigers desperately need to end this skid, and they’ll get a good chance to do just that when they return to the court next Saturday with a home game against a struggling Arkansas team.

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LSU men’s basketball’s Mike Williams III named SEC Freshman of the Week

Mike Williams III scored a season high 20 points in the last outing against Northwestern State.

It’s been a bit of a rough start to the 2023-24 campaign for the LSU men’s basketball team and second-year coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag], but the season hasn’t been entirely devoid of bright spots.

One standout so far has been true freshman guard [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag], who has played a major role so far this year and has even earned a starting spot in the backcourt. Williams, a former three-star recruit in the 2023 signing class from Cumberland, Maryland, is hitting his stride as the season goes on, and he’s coming off his best game in the win over Northwestern State.

He totaled a season-high 20 points while going 7 of 11 shooting, including 6 of 9 beyond the arc. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for his efforts.

On the year, he’s averaging 7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals.

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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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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball overcomes halftime deficit to beat Alabama State

It wasn’t a complete game, but the second half of Wednesday’s win gave the Tigers something to build on with ranked Texas up next.

After the first half against Alabama State on Wednesday night, it looked like LSU’s men’s basketball team was heading for another rough loss.

But after trailing at the break, coach Matt McMahon’s Tigers team took control in the second half. They pulled away to win 74-56 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, moving to 6-4 on the season.

LSU led for most of the first half, but it never managed to pull away with its largest lead in the frame being just six points. With an 8-0 run to end the half, the Hornets managed to take a 34-30 lead to the locker room despite being outshot 45% to 41%.

[autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag], who had nine points, was a bright spot. Otherwise, it was an ugly half for the Tigers, who were outrebounded 19-15 and had eight turnovers. They had no answer for ASU guard TJ Madlock, who paced his team with 15 first-half points.

The second half was all LSU, however. It outscored Alabama State 44-22 in the final 20 minutes, shooting 15 of 26 from the field in that span.

[autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag] made the start and ultimately led the team with 15 points, while Reed and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] scored 13 and [autotag]Trae Hannibal[/autotag] scored 11. The Tigers also tightened up on the boards in the second half, doubling the Hornets up in rebounds after losing that battle in the first half.

While it wasn’t a complete game, the second-half performance gives LSU something to build on as it prepares to head to Houston with a huge opportunity in front of it against a ranked Texas team on Saturday.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball holds on to take down Southeastern

The Tigers moved to 5-3 on the season Friday night, but it sure wasn’t pretty.

Southeastern entered Friday night’s game against LSU sitting at 2-5 on the year and looking for its first win over a Division I opponent, but it gave the Tigers all they could handle at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Coach Matt McMahon’s team escaped with a 73-66 win, but it wasn’t pretty. It trailed for much of the first half, though it pulled away to a seven-point lead at halftime.

It looked like the Tigers were going to put the game away for good, leading by as much as 15 in the final 20 minutes, but they never managed to put the Lions away.

After shooting 60.9% in the first half, LSU’s rate dropped to 36.4% in the second. It was also plagued by offensive sloppiness, turning it over 17 times in total and 11 in the second half.

[autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] was his usual self with 18 points, and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag] also had strong offensive performances with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Overall, however, the offense was far more inconsistent than McMahon would like to see.

LSU didn’t make a field goal in the final 6:56 of the game, and it had to rely heavily on its defense, which held Southeastern under 40% shooting for the game and under 30% in the second half, to get key stops down the stretch and maintain the lead.

The Tigers got the win to move to 5-3, but it was far from an encouraging performance, especially with some tough games yet to come in non-conference play.

Next up for LSU is a Kansas State team that is coming off an Elite Eight appearance. The Tigers will have eight days to work out the kinks before that game on Dec. 9.

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LSU survives rough second half to beat North Florida

LSU moves to 4-2 on the season ahead of a road game against Syracuse.

It wasn’t quite the blowout it looked like it was shaping up to be, but LSU held on despite a less-than-ideal second half to beat North Florida 75-63 on Friday night.

LSU got off to a hot start and led 36-18 at halftime, but it was outscored by the Ospreys in the second half as their offense started to wake up. UNF cut the lead down to as little as nine with less than four minutes to play, but the Tigers didn’t let it get any closer than that.

Will Baker continues to be the focal point of the offense, leading the way with 18 points and eight rebounds. While [autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag] was held to just two points, he did lead the team with nine rebounds in this one.

Jordan Wright also scored in double figures with 15 points, as did [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Williams III[/autotag] with 14 points and 11 points, respectively. It was a solid shooting game overall for the Tigers at 46%, and they scored 25 points at the free-throw line, eight of which came from Baker.

With the win, LSU moves to 4-2 on the year. Coach Matt McMahon’s team will be back in action on Tuesday night as it travels to take on Syracuse in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

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