Tag: xavier pinson

Tigers Recap: LSU snaps three game losing streak with win over Aggies

Brandon Murray leads the Tigers as they stop the skid

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The LSU men’s basketball team snapped their three-game losing streaking with a 70-64 win over Texas A&M. LSU played without two of the three top leading scorers. Darius Days and Xavier Pinson were both out for the game.

With over a minute left, the Tigers were down 64-61, and Mwani Wilkinson hit a game-tying three-point shot. Texas A&M missed some shots on the next possession but got a couple of offensive rebounds. Andre Gordon grabbed the last one, and Shareef O’Neal blocked the shot attempt.

On LSU’s following offense sequence, Eric Gaines was fouled and made two free throws to give LSU a 66-64 lead. Then on the defensive end, Gaines blocked a Marcus Williams dunk attempt, and it sealed the game for LSU.

With Days and Pinson out, LSU needed players to step up, and that’s what happened. Tari Eason moved into the starting lineup and had 14 points and nine rebounds; Eric Gaines pitched with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Gaines made some huge plays down the stretch. The one player that stepped up big time was Brandon Murray; he led the team with 21 points off the bench. O’Neal gave LSU solid minutes off the bench with seven points and three rebounds.

LSU did an outstanding job getting to the free-throw line making 24-35 free throws. Eleven misses are not good but for a team missing stars, any extra points help. The Tigers were aggressive getting to the basket, and it paid off. It was a massive win for LSU missing two key players.

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Instant Analysis: Takeaways from the LSU Tigers win over Texas A&M

Five takeaways from the LSU victory over Texas A&M

The LSU Tigers men’s basketball team was finally able to get off the snide after a three-game losing streak. They were back at the PMAC, in front of a raucous crowd.

They were once again without starting point guard Xavier Pinson and standout forward Darius Days would also watch the game in street clothes. This meant that Tari Eason, Eric Gaines, and Brandon Murray were going to have to shoulder the load on offense.

Late in the game, the Tigers found themselves in a hole. Down five points and time running out. After it went back and forth, LSU was down 64-61 with 1:49 left in the game. The defense would tighten up and the Aggies wouldn’t score again.

Mwani Wilkinson hit a corner three-point shot to tie the game up at 64 with 1:19 to go. In the final 40 seconds of the game, Gaines and Murray would go 6-6 at the charity stripe to give LSU the 70-64 win.

We broke down five takeaways from the game.

Texas A&M at LSU preview: Tigers with a chance to get back on track

Tigers looking to end the skid.

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Things haven’t been great for LSU on the hardwood lately. Just a couple weeks ago, they were 15-1, fighting for a one seed.

Now, they’ve lost three in a row and are below .500 in conference play. Things have been better.

Their last win came on Jan. 12 at Florida. It’s LSU’s lone win since losing Xavier Pinson against Tennessee.

It doesn’t sound like Pinson will be back when LSU hits the court against Texas A&M on Wednesday night. To make matters worse, LSU could also be without Darius Days.

Without Pinson and Days, LSU is a completely different team. Those are two guys with a lot of experience. They’re also guys that can get hot shooting the 3-ball, something LSU doesn’t have a lot of this year.

Texas A&M’s defense is good. If LSU really struggles on offense again, they could lose this game.

The injuries to Pinson and Days have made what was supposed to be the easy part of the schedule a bit more challenging.

This will be the first opponent not in the top 40 LSU has faced in over a month. It’ll also be a welcome trip back home after the environments LSU had to play in last week.

Like LSU, Texas A&M is also 15-4. It’s just come against a much easier schedule.

A&M just has two wins against top 100 teams. A win over Notre Dame in December and a win over Arkansas earlier this month.

They’re coming off back-to-back losses to Kentucky and Arkansas. A&M held their own in both games, losing by just a combined nine points.

The Aggies don’t have an elite scorer, but they have three players averaging in the double-digits per night. Senior guard Quenton Jackson is their leading scorer with 12.6 points per contest.

Duke transfer Henry Coleman is one of the better big men in the conference and will present a challenge for LSU down low.

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Prediction

I think LSU gets the win here, but it might be closer than people think.

LSU men’s basketball holding steady as top 10 team in NET rankings

Updated NET rankings after loss to Tennessee

It has been tough sledding for the LSU men’s basketball as of late. Not only did they lose their starting point guard Xavier Pinson against the Tennesee Vols, but it has been a downward slope since that moment. They won the first game following the injury to a struggling Florida Gators team, 64-58.

Since that moment, the Tigers now find themselves on the receiving end of a three-game losing skid. They dropped a home matchup to the Arkansas Razorbacks in which turnovers did them in late. They would head on the road to lose a close battle with Alabama in Tuscaloosa. In their latest game, LSU fell to Tennessee in a game that started rough.

Despite the current slide, the Bayou Bengals are holding steady in the latest NET rankings. The NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings replaced the old RPI. The NET is used for seeding in the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers are currently the No. 10 team and holding steady at that spot.

LSU Rankings and Quad Victories

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

As of Jan. 24:

  • Ranking: No. 10
  • Record: 15-4 (3-4)
  • Home Record: 10-1
  • Road Record: 1-3
  • Neutral Record: 4-0
  • Quad 1: 4-3
  • Quad 2: 3-1
  • Quad 3: 4-0
  • Quad 4: 4-0

Currently, the LSU Tigers are the third-highest ranked SEC team in the NET rankings. Only Auburn (No. 5) and Kentucky (No. 9) are ahead of Will Wade’s team. Next up for the Tigers is a home matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies on Wednesday. The Aggies are ranked as No. 61 overall. The team will then head to Fort Worth, Texas, to face TCU in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 45 in the updated rankings.

Bad shooting dooms LSU against Tennessee

Darius Days Struggles in LSU’s 64-50 loss to Tennessee

LSU Men’s basketball team has lost three straight games after Tennessee’s 64-50 win. The Tigers are now 15-4 and 3-4 in the SEC.

LSU struggled from the field, shooting 38% and 17.6% from three-point land. Tennessee jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead as the Tigers missed their first seven shots. The Tigers then went on a 12-3 run to get back in the game, but the Vols did an outstanding job holding off and eventually won by 14 points.

LSU played again without point guard Xavier Pinson, and his absence is starting to affect the way the Tigers play on the court. Tari Eason led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points and added six rebounds. Brandon Murray had 15 points on 7-12 shooting, and Eric Gaines pitched in with ten points.

However, Darius Days again struggled, scoring just five points on 2-10 shooting from the field and 1-7 from beyond the arc. He re-injured his ankle but did return to the game.

Santiago Vescovi led Tennessee in scoring with 16 points, and he hit five three-pointers. Uros Plavsic added 12 points and six rebounds. The Vols did a great job on the defensive end, forcing LSU into tough shots. Tennessee also hit ten three-point attempts, which helped them win the game.

Up next for LSU, they return home to take on Texas A&M. The Tigers need to get going; hopefully, Pinson will come back soon. However, they must also get Days on track the last two games; he has struggled a lot.

Game details for the LSU Tigers and Tennessee Vols game on Saturday

Game details for LSU-Tennessee in Knoxville

After starting the season a perfect 12-0, the LSU men’s basketball team has come back down to earth a bit. It started with the loss against the Auburn Tigers as they opened SEC play. Since the perfect run through the nonconference schedule, the Bayou Bengals are 3-3 and looking to avoid their third loss in a row.

The next opponent is a team they have already defeated once this season. On Jan. 8 in Baton Rouge, the Tigers knocked off the Vols 79-67 at the PMAC. On Saturday they head to Knoxville to go for the season sweep against Rick Barnes and Tennessee.

Since their last meeting, the Vols are 2-1. The win over Tennessee came with a cost as they lost Xavier Pinson to a knee injury, he has yet to return to the lineup. He was a game-time decision against Alabama in the loss, but he could return on Saturday.

The Tigers also lost Darius Days to an ankle injury and his status is uncertain at this point. LSU could rely on Tari Eason as they did against Alabama, where he led the team with 26 points.

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook

Spread: Tennessee (-5.5)

Over/Under: 131.5

Money Line: LSU (+200) Tennessee (-250)

Game Details

  • Date: Saturday, Jan. 22
  • Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Time: 5:00 p.m. CT
  • TV: ESPN
  • Radio: LSU Radio Network
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Tiger Bracketology: How LSU stacks up after the loss to Alabama

Looking at LSU’s bracketology resume

LSU lost a tough one in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night. They showed fight, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an offense that sputtered for most of the night.

It was the second loss in a row for the Tigers and dropped LSU to just 3-3 in SEC play and 15-3 on the year.

It was a loss, but it was a respectable one. Despite not being ranked, Alabama is a good team, one that probably should be ranked. In addition, LSU remained without Xavier Pinson and lost Darius Days early in the night with a sprained ankle.

A week ago, LSU was firmly in contention as a one seed. After the back-to-back losses, they aren’t there anymore but they aren’t entirely out of it. LSU now sits at No. 9 in the NET rankings, just one spot below their previous ranking. ESPN has them No. 8 in the strength of record.

Those are encouraging numbers that would suggest if the tournament started tomorrow, LSU would still have a pretty good shot at a number two seed. Certainly, they’d be no lower than fourth.

The first few weeks of conference play have gone a long way to helping LSU’s strength of schedule. The Tigers are No. 21 in KenPom’s SOS and No. 18 in ESPN’s.

One of the most important factors helping to determine the NET rankings is which quadrant wins come in. LSU is currently 4-2 against quad one opponents. A win on the road against Alabama would have made that 5-1.

In quad two, LSU is 4-1. That lone quad two-loss came at the hands of Arkansas on Jan. 15th.

A combined 8-3 record against quad one and two is a strong record. Due to the 8-1 start, LSU could afford the losses to Arkansas and Alabama without it causing any real long-term damage.

LSU will have another opportunity to add to the quad one category in Knoxville on Saturday. It’s still not clear whether LSU will have Pinson or Days available. If not, it could be another rough day for the LSU offense.

The good news is that if it comes down to it, the selection committee may take into account that LSU was without Pinson for this stretch of games. Especially if he comes back and seems to make a large difference in LSU’s offense.

After Tennessee, LSU’s schedule becomes a world easier. The Tigers won’t face a top 40 team again until Kentucky on February 23rd.

Easier opponents mean an opportunity to get healthy, regroup, and figure out the offense. The flip side to that is if LSU loses any of those games against lesser opponents, it shows up as a bad loss on the resume. A win against Tennessee would go a long way to giving LSU some room for error down the stretch.

Turnovers doom LSU in Tuscaloosa as Alabama ends skid

LSU can’t overcome turnovers and being outrebounded in loss to Alabama.

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LSU men’s basketball team traveled to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide. Unfortunately, LSU lost to Alabama 70-67 for their fifth straight loss in the series.

LSU was down in the second half but used a 14-1 run to erase the deficit. Eric Gaines missed a last-second three-point shot at the buzzer to tie the game. LSU has now lost two games in a row.

Xavier Pinson did not play again, and the Tigers lost Darius Days to an ankle injury in the first half. He finished with 5 points and two rebounds in 12 minutes.

Tari Eason tried to carry the load off the bench and he finished with 26 points on 9-13 shooting from the field. Eason also added ten rebounds. Brandon Murray played a good game with 19 points and six rebounds. They were the Tigers only two players score in double figures.

Jaden Shackelford led the way for Alabama with 26 points and had four rebounds and four steals. Shackleford had to have a big game to upset LSU, and he did. Jahvon Quinerly scored 17 points, while Keon Ellis had 12 points and hit two free throws with five seconds left, giving the Crimson Tide the win.

LSU lost this game because of their 20 turnovers, and they got outrebounded 44-36, with 19 of Alabama’s 44 rebounds being offensive. The Tigers head to Tennesse Saturday to take the Vols.

Game details for the LSU Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks men’s basketball battle

Everything you need to know for the men’s basketball contest against Arkansas.

The LSU Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks will meet for the 73rd time this weekend. The Razorbacks lead the all-time series 38-34. But LSU is 19-12 in games played in Baton Rouge.

LSU comes into the game with a three-game winning streak after beating Florida in a close game on Wednesday night. Their only loss is to Auburn. Tari Eason leads the Tigers in scoring off the bench with 15 points per game. Also, Eason averages 7.2 rebounds per game. Darius Days adds 14.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Tigers. Both Eason and Days form a legit front-line for LSU. Starting guard Xabier Pinson is listed as day-to-day with an MCL strain.

JD Notae leads Arkansas as he is averaging 18.8 points per game. Jaylin Williams leads the Razorbacks in rebounds per with 8.6, but only averages 7.4 points per game. Chris Lykes is second on time in scoring with 11.1 points per game. The Razorbacks will be without head coach Eric Mussleman who was injured in a collision with a player and needs shoulder surgery.

This year, the Tigers defense has been incredible, holding teams to just 56.5 points per game. Also, they are holding teams to 35% shooting from the field and 26.3% from beyond the arc.

Game details

  • Date: Tuesday, Jan. 15
  • Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
  • Time: 1:00 p.m. CT
  • TV: ESPN 2
  • Radio: LSU Radio Network
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook

Spread: LSU (-6.5)

Over/Under: 146.5

Money Line: LSU (-300) Arkansas (+230)

Where do ratings systems have LSU after the win at Florida?

Where LSU lands in KenPom and the basketball power index after the Florida game.

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On Wednesday night, LSU Basketball went to Gainesville and beat Florida. Florida isn’t ranked, but given this was a road win for LSU against a solid team, it’s still a resume builder.

There are over 300 teams in D-1 college basketball. It’s not the beginning of the season, but there’s still a long way to go. All of this can make it hard to figure out how good a team actually is at this point in time.

Luckily, we have some tools to help such as rating systems. For the unfamiliar, these are systems that take lots of information into account and spit out a ranking. There are countless variations of formulas that can be made.

Today, let’s take a look at where LSU stacks up in these algorithms.

KenPom

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps no rating is as popular as KenPom. Put together by Ken Pomeroy, these ratings primarily rely on points per possession on both ends of the court.

After the Florida win, LSU now sits seventh with the top-rated defense in college basketball. However, the Tigers’ offense sits at just 76th.

According to KenPom, LSU has played the 42nd toughest schedule. That isn’t blistering, but for a 15-1 team, it’s impressive.

The only team in the SEC with a higher KenPom rating than LSU is Auburn, to who LSU lost their conference opener last month.

Next, ESPN’s basketball power index

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