By Hunt Palmer
Texas holds a special place in modern LSU basketball history.
LSU has reached the Sweet 16 four times this decade. Twice the Tiger went through Texas in the middle of the run. The 2006 Team beat Texas in the Elite 8. The 2000 team beat Texas in the Round of 32. That team will be honored on Saturday as the 2025 Tigers try to keep any NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
The monster that the SEC has become was too much for LSU out of these starting gates. LSU stands just 1-6 in league play. Texas, too, struggled with early league games, losing four of their first five. Rodney Terry’s Longhorns come to Baton Rouge 3-5 in the SEC having lost a tough game at Ole Miss last time out.
The story of this game may well be the pace of play.
LSU thought it best to get up and down the floor early in the season. That philosophy has shifted in recent weeks. The Tigers managed to slow things down at Alabama and tried to against Auburn at times. Texas willingly plays at that pace. Only Tennessee plays slower than Texas in the SEC. The Longhorns rank No. 249 in possessions per game.
LSU biggest issues is turnovers. Those come more infrequently when the pace is slowed. If LSU could play team shot for shot, the Tigers are pretty good. That hasn’t been the case. Opponents have attempted 59 more shots and six more free throws than the Tigers this year. That’s because LSU has turned the ball over 28 more times than its opponents and allowed 12 offensive rebounds per league game.
Those extra shot opportunities have cut the legs out from LSU.
Texas hasn’t turned teas over too much, ranking No. 172 nationally in turnovers forced per possession. And the Horns don’t generally swarm the offensive glass, ranking No. 164 in offensive rebounding percentage.
Between the pace and Texas’s style, LSU should be able to stay in the fight. Vegas has set the line at 1.5 in favor of the visitors. Let’s talk keys to the game.
LOTTERY LONGHORN
I’m not sure LSU has seen an NBA Lottery pick yet. Tre Johnson will be one of those this summer. The 6-foot-6 freshman was a consensus top 10 player in the 2o24 class and has played very well against the best competition on the Texas schedule.
He scored 30 on Texas A&M, 26 on Tennessee, 22 on Ole Miss and 24 on UCONN. He’s a lethal mid-range shooter off the dribble and can get to the rim and finish as well. He shot the ball better from deep in non-conference play, 45%. That has dipped to 27% in league games, but he got hot against A&M, and that was the catalyst for the 22 point second-half comeback.
It will be interesting to see how Matt McMahon decides to guard Johnson. The precocious freshman will surely see a number of different looks throughout the evening.
SHOOTING STREAK
LSU finally made some threes on Wednesday. It just wasn’t going to matter because Auburn had LSU outclassed. Texas is in LSU’s weight class, so those shot will be more valuable in this game. Cam Carter only got two threes up, but he made both of them. Jordan Sears found a stroke for a pair of huge threes in the second half. Daimion Collins, Dji Bailey and Curtis Givens all made one.
It’s hard to win without the deep ball, and LSU has shot it worse than any other team in the SEC. The Tigers shouldn’t hoist 27 threes, but if they can made eight or nine, it will go a long way toward getting a win.
STRO SHOW
The keys to the game are easy. LSU needs to take care of the ball and get offensive rebounds. So I won’t go further on another talking point.
The 2000 team is being honored Saturday, and they deserve it. The 2000 team is my first memory of LSU basketball. I was four when Shaq left for the NBA. The mid to late 90s weren’t good enough for a nine-year-old to notice. So, at 12, when LSU started winning basketball games, that was a real thrill. Stromile Swift and Jabari Smith were areal showmen. So was Ronald Dupree. Torris Bright made threes at a 40 percent clip, and Brian Beshara helped out there. Lamont Roland attacked off the dribble, and Collis Temple III came off the bench to play the point.
LSU annihilated Gilbert Arenes, Luke Walton and Arizona in the Assembly Center in January and went 12-4 in SEC play to win the league outright.
They got by Southeast Missouri State with a late three by Beshara and then thumped Texas in the second round.
This group resurrected LSU basketball from the probation days and set the stage for a solid run through the early 2000s. They should get a warm reception on Saturday afternoon.
We’ll see if the 2025 team can pay that off.
