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’s streak of success interrupted by Arkansas

The Tigers struggled on the road and fall to 8-9 in SEC play with one game remaining.

The Tigers entered Wednesday night game having won four of their last five, but they couldn’t continue that success on the road against Arkansas.

LSU’s men’s basketball team never led after the first three minutes as it took a frustrating 94-83 loss that dropped the team to 16-14 on the season and below .500 in SEC play at 8-9.

[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] (24 points) and [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] (19) were bright spots, but the Tigers couldn’t buy a stop as Arkansas shot north of 60% for the game.

The Tigers will now look to put the frustrating loss behind them and avoid becoming Missouri’s first SEC win when the two meet to conclude the regular season on Saturday.

For now, here are the photos from the loss.

LSU men’s basketball falls on the road against Arkansas

The Tigers couldn’t continue their winning streak on Wednesday night.

The LSU men’s basketball team has been playing very high-level basketball over the last month, but that stretch came to an end on Wednesday night in Fayetteville against Arkansas.

The Tigers lost 94-83 after winning four of their previous five games, falling to 16-14 on the season and back below .500 in SEC play at 8-9.

The first half was competitive in the early goings, but LSU’s only lead in the game was a 7-6 mark less than three minutes in. The Tigers trailed by seven at the half and by a game-high 14 points in the second frame before ultimately losing by 11.

[autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] had big games, scoring 24 and 19 respectively. But LSU’s defense didn’t give it a chance to win as the Razorbacks shot over 60% from the field for the game, which helped mask their 15 turnovers.

The Tigers can’t dwell on the loss too much as they’ll now look to finish the season strong on Senior Day Saturday against a Missouri team looking to avoid an 0-18 finish in SEC play.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball cruises to road win against Vanderbilt

The Tigers have now won four of their last five and are ending the regular season with a lot of momentum.

The LSU men’s basketball team stayed hot on Saturday on the road against a struggling Vanderbilt team, winning 75-61 to move to 16-13 on the season and get back to .500 in SEC play at 8-8.

With the victory, the Tigers have now won four of their last five.

Despite playing on the road, LSU took control of the game early. It quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead, and that trend continued throughout the first half.

The Tigers led by as much as 21 in the frame and took a commanding 42-22 lead to the locker room as [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] combined for 19 points in the first 20 minutes.

The Commodores opened the second half on a 14-7 run and cut the lead to 13, but they couldn’t keep the momentum on their side as LSU stretched its lead once again.

Another Vandy run cut the lead to 10, but it never got within single digits as the Tigers withstood the rally to hang on for a much-needed road win.

Wright ultimately led the team with 15 points, while Ward and [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] scored 10. LSU relied heavily on its bench, which provided 34 points led by Jalen Reed’s 13.

With two remaining games in the regular season, LSU’s next game will come on the road as it looks for a season sweep against Arkansas on Wednesday night.

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NEW: SEC fines LSU $100k for court-storming after Kentucky win

The Tigers were fined $100,000 as a first-time violator of the new court-storming policy that was adopted in 2023.

The Pete Maravich Assembly Center erupted into a frenzy on Wednesday night.

The LSU men’s basketball team upset the ranked Kentucky Wildcats on a buzzer-beating game-winner from [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag], and fans immediately stormed the court as pandemonium ensued. Women’s basketball star [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag], who was in attendance, was even knocked down while storming the court.

While it was a special moment at LSU, it won’t come without a price. The SEC has levied a $100,000 fine against the university for violating its policy against court-storming.

Per the rules established last year, teams are fined $100,000 for the first offense, $250,000 for a second offense and $500,000 for any subsequent offenses.

This is the SEC policy, according to a release from the league.

The policy states that “institutions shall limit access to competition areas to participating student-athletes, coaches, officials, support personnel and properly credentialed or authorized individuals at all times. For the safety of participants and spectators alike, at no time before, during or after a contest may spectators enter the competition area.”

While LSU is likely happy to eat that fine, it will be something to monitor if there are any court-storming events at the university in the future.

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Matt McMahon breaks down LSU’s last possession in upset win over Kentucky

Trusting in his players proved to be the right call as the Tigers moved to 14-12 and 6-7 overall in conference play.

Last night, the LSU Tigers took down the Kentucky Wildcats in the Pete Maravich Center. Head coach [autotag]Matt McMahon[/autotag] has taken a team that did not win any conference games last season to a team that has defeated back-to-back ranked opponents.

The Tigers won 75-74 over Kentucky due to a last-second shot that barely beat the buzzer. Kentucky took the lead with less than 10 seconds left and the Tigers had one timeout remaining, so that brought on a big decision for McMahon. Would he trust his team to play it out or would he call a timeout to draw up a play?

“Wish I would’ve called timeout,” McMahon said jokingly, per On3. “But I didn’t want them to get their defense set. I like them playing in transition, just a scramble situation. Trust [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] with the ball there.

“We’ve been searching for some toughness. And [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] comes flying out of nowhere to put that ball in and win the game, just awesome, man. Awesome.”

Trusting in his players proved to be the right call as the Tigers moved to 14-12 and 6-7 overall in conference play.

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PHOTOS: LSU men’s basketball upsets Kentucky on buzzer-beater for 2nd straight ranked win

The Tigers held on for a statement home win against the Wildcats on Wednesday night.

The LSU men’s basketball team is putting something together down the stretch this season.

The Tigers recorded their second straight victory over a ranked opponent with a stunning upset against Kentucky at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Trailing by one in the final seconds, a potential game-winner from [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] was blocked. But he secured his own rebound, lobbed the ball up to [autotag]Tyrell Ward [/autotag]in desperation, and Ward responded with a put-back buzzer-beater to lift LSU to a 75-74 win.

The Tigers move to 14-12 on the season and are now just one game below .500 in SEC play. They’ll look to get back to even as Mississippi State comes to town on Saturday.

In the meantime, here are the photos from Wednesday night’s win.

Instant Analysis: Tyrell Ward’s buzzer-beater stuns Kentucky as LSU men’s basketball earns another ranked win

The Tigers have now revitalized their season with back-to-back wins over top-20 opponents.

When Jordan Wright’s layup with just two seconds to go was blocked, it looked like LSU men’s basketball was doomed to suffer another heartbreaking loss by one point to Kentucky.

But then, Wright secured the rebound and lobbed it up to [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag], who caught the ball in the air and put back a game-winning, buzzer-beater shot to give the Tigers a 75-74 win, marking back-to-back victories for coach Matt McMahon’s team over top-20 opponents.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, but the Wildcats ultimately stretched a nine-point lead at the break. However, LSU flipped the script in the second half in a game that featured 12 ties and 13 lead changes.

An 11-0 run for LSU early in the second half cut the lead to two points, and the teams would trade the lead for much of the rest of that half.

Kentucky thought it delivered the dagger in the final seconds as a Rob Dillingham jumper gave it the lead with 13 seconds to play. But LSU would ultimately respond on the final possession.

Ward ultimately led the team with 17 points, while Wright and [autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag] also scored in double figures with 13 points each in the win.

The Tigers move to 14-12 (6-7 SEC) and have revitalized their season with a pair of clutch Quadrant 1 wins. They’ll look to keep that streak going when they return to the court at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for another tough game against Mississippi State on Saturday.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball’s comeback bid falls short at No. 16 Auburn

A 21-2 LSU run in the second half wasn’t enough to erase a big deficit.

The Tigers made a valiant second-half comeback effort against Auburn on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough in a 93-78 loss on the road.

It looked like things were going to get ugly in Neville Arena at first. LSU found itself down 17 at halftime, and AU led by as much as 28 in the second half. A 21-2 Tigers run flipped the script of the game, and they cut the lead to single digits, but it wasn’t ultimately enough.

LSU shot just 42.4% for the game, though [autotag]Trae Hannibal[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Wright[/autotag] each scored 18 points, while [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] scored 13 and [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] scored 12. It was a sloppy game for the offense, which turned the ball over 17 times.

The loss interrupts the Tigers’ four-game losing streak. They fall to 10-6 on the year and 2-1 in SEC play. LSU will be back in action on Wednesday when it hosts an Ole Miss team that’s 15-1 on the year.

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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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