By Hunt Palmer
LSU’s two-game start to SEC play has been a disaster.
Half of the SEC is ranked in the current AP Top 25, and the two opponents LSU has played are not in that number. The Tigers have been outscored by 24 points, lost the rebounding margin by 18 and turnovers by nine.
The outcomes of both games have been decided by the under-four media timeout, and optimism is fleeting…to be kind.
Last season Matt McMahon took a team that was non-competitive with Texas, Syracuse and Kansas State in the non-conference and found a way to turn things around. That job will be harder this time around.
Let’s take a look at some of the problem and deem whether or not they’re “fixable”.
TURNOVERS
LSU turned the ball over 11 times in the first half against Vanderbilt and 10 more in the first half at Missouri. Conversely, that number shrunk to four in each of those second halves.
Jordan Sears has five of those in a tick over 40 SEC minutes. Cam Carter has seven in 54 minutes. Those two are the primary ball handlers, and they’re being hounded from tipoff by these SEC foes.
Daimion Collins was a turnover machine in the games following Jordan Reed’s injury. He’s cleaned that up. He’s got just three in his last four games. He committed nine in the previous three.
Is it fixable? To a degree.
LSU has proven that in these second halves. Carter has been a high turnover player in his career. He turned it over three times per game last season at Kansas State. He’s at seven through two SEC games. The real key here is going to be Sears cleaning it up and Curtis Givens growing up.
Teams aren’t going to stop with the intense ball pressure for 65-70 feet. It’s working. LSU has to handle that better.
Fixable: YES
REBOUNDING
LSU got torched on the defensive glass by Charleston Southern (18), UCF (21 in 3 OTs), Northwestern State (21), Florida State (22) and Vanderbilt (17). The Tigers rank No. 328 in offensive rebounds allowed per game. A small part of that is pace, because LSU is No. 222 in defensive rebounding percentage. But that’s semantics. This team does not rebound on the defensive end.
Corey Chest has been a huge bright spot on the glass…until SEC play. He’s only got seven rebounds combined in the two games. Collins has more offensive rebounds (5) than defensive rebounds (4) in two games.
Vanderbilt is the smallest team in the league, and the ‘Dores owned LSU on the glass.
Can LSU block out better? Yes. Can Chest grab more boards? Yes. Can Robert Miller grow up a little bit? Sure.
Is this issue fixable 15 games in? It’s not.
Fixable: NO
SLOW STARTS
This has plagued LSU all year, and I don’t have a great answer for it. In 15 games, LSU is averaging 34.6 points in the first half and 45.1 points in the second half. What’s that disparity? How about 161st in America in first half scoring and 7th in second half scoring. That’s held up in SEC play. While being outscored by 22 in two first halves, the Tigers have only been outscored 87-85 in the second half.
I can’t speak to any adjustments that are consistently made at halftime. Maybe Missouri’s second half defense relaxed when up 17 points or so. That doesn’t explain why LSU was so much better in the second half against UCF and Florida State.
I don’t expect LSU to roar out of the gates against Auburn or Tennessee or Alabama or Florida, but I do think it’s reasonable for LSU to play more consistently in first and second halves.
Fixable: YES
LACK OF POST SCORING
When Reed went down, LSU lost its frontcourt scoring threat. While he wasn’t a technician on the block, Reed could stretch the defense by making threes, and he could get to the rim with that big 6-foot-10 frame. It’s reasonable to think Reed could have scored 12 points per game in SEC play. Chest and Collins just don’t pack that type of punch. Chest’s baseline move to open the game on Tuesday was impressive, but we never saw anything like that again.
I think both guys have some development to do offensively, but it won’t match Reed’s ability in 2024.
Fixable: NO
NO PROS
To win in the SEC, you need pros. When you go to an LSU basketball home game, you see the names on the big screen during a timeout—Cam Thomas, Trendon Watford, Naz Reid, Garrett Temple.
On the best LSU teams of this century you had players like Stromile Swift, Brandon Bass, Glen Davis, Tyrus Thomas and Marcus Thornton.
Without some of those guys, it’s just tough. And I get it, those are Louisiana kids. That makes it easier. You still have to have them.
There will always be a place for Tremont Waters, Tasmin Mitchell and Emmitt Williams, to name some super-productive players that didn’t have a spot in the NBA waiting. But if you really want to be a serious threat, you need pros.
LSU doesn’t have one on this roster right now. At least not one you can point to with confidence.
Fixable: NO
