PALMER: Tigers showed offensive punch in bounce-back win

By Hunt Palmer

Saturday’s win didn’t erase last Sunday’s walloping.

But it helped.

LSU’s non-conference slate didn’t allow for much positive affirmation. Destroying overmatched teams in front of sparce Assembly Center crowds doesn’t prepare LSU for the SEC. It also doesn’t prove much about LSU’s team other than that they would win the SWAC.

The loss against Texas Tech last week opened the door for doubt. The Tigers looked completely overmatched for 40 minutes against the first stern competition of the season. Saturday provided a bounce-back opportunity against a solid SMU team. It also presented a chance for LSU to be exposed again.

Instead, the Tigers played a tremendous 40 minutes of offense and got enough stops to comfortably dispose of SMU in New Orleans, 89-77.

Max Mackinnon‘s sharp-shooting display will steal the headlines. He earned that by burying 6-of-7 from behind the arc. But Dedan Thomas‘s 12-assist game was the real catalyst for LSU’s offensive onslaught.

Mackinnon isn’t going to make six threes most nights. He’s done it twice in the last six games, so those nights will happen. But it’s not something LSU can rely on. Thomas running the show certainly is.

In Ft Worth, Thomas was unable to facilitate much offense, and guys weren’t hitting shots. Saturday night, he was in constant attack mode and found teammates for lobs on at least five occasions. Pablo Tamba‘s reverse lay up on one feed was sensational on both ends. Mike Nwoko threw down a couple in the second half.

Speaking of Nwoko, he only played three minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, and LSU still scored 47 points. He’s been LSU’s most consistent scorer, and LSU did it without him early on. That’s encouraging.

Saturday night’s effort proved LSU’s skill offensively against a team that is on par with some Southeastern Conference foes. That’s not a hypothetical. SMU has already beaten Mississippi State and Texas A&M.

It’s easier now to suggest that last week’s throttling was more circumstantial than indicative of LSU’s weakness as a team. Texas Tech shot the lights out, and LSU couldn’t throw it in the ocean.

It happens.

LSU outclassed DePaul for 40 minutes and Boston College for 25. The Tigers looked to be the better team Saturday night against SMU, winning both halves. That at least suggests that the Tigers are better than lower-level and mid-tier Power Five teams.

Considering the SEC’s non-conference effort to this point, it stands to reason that the league is at least a notch or two below last year’s historic pace. As bad as last week’s loss was, Saturday’s win and LSU’s non-conference body of work suggests the Tigers are far more prepared for the league gauntlet this season.

LSU has three non-conference games left. All three should be wins despite Southern Miss playing Ole Miss and South Carolina close. The Golden Eagles are 6-5 with a loss to Grambling State.

That will put LSU 12-1 entering SEC play. Saturday morning I couldn’t confidently suggest LSU was a potential tournament team. Twenty-four hours later, I think it’s a reasonable take.

I think that’s how important Saturday night’s effort and result in New Orleans were.