Tigers dropped by USC after dismal start

Michael Bacigalupi

By Hunt Palmer

THE STORY

It’s said that a third time is a trend.

LSU’s awful early defense is officially a trend. Tuesday night it cost the Tigers a horrible home loss to South Carolina, a team without a power league win this season.

The Gamecocks made their first nine field goals including six threes in the first six minutes, built a 28-point lead and held off an admirable LSU second-half push to beat the Tigers, 78-68.

Teams get hot. It happens. But LSU can’t seem to stop the bleeding. SMU torched the Tigers in the first 15 minutes in Ft. Worth. Prairie View did it, too. LSU failed to cut off drivers and didn’t contest nearly enough shots. South Carolina got comfortable.

The Gamecocks, a slow-paced offense, dropped 50 in the first half, a season-high in any half. They made 10-of-13 threes in the stanza as LSU misfired time and time again. None of LSU’s nine first half participants made multiple field goals before intermission. The Tigers’ 25-point total at halftime was their lowest in any half on the year.

That’s the story.

LSU’s second half run is secondary. The team deserves credit for defending better, not taking unnecessary chances to try to get steals and attacking the rim instead of chucking it from deep.

LSU launched a 10-2 run to begin the half and an 11-1 run quickly followed that trimmed the deficit to 10 with 12:05 left, plenty of time. A PJ Carter three and two Michael Nwoko free throws made it six with 6:22 left.

But when you fall behind by 30 on your own floor, the rest of the game has to go perfectly. Elijah Strong hit a couple of tough fade-aways for his 27^th, 28^th, 29^th and 30^th points. A dagger of the three by Eli Ellis stretched it to 12 with 2:44 to play to end it.

The Tigers played without their point guard again, and freshman Jalen Reece struggled with sixth-year senior Meechie Johnson. Reece sat much of the second half while Rashad King ran the point.

It was a bad time for the injury to Thomas and a terrible time for South Carolina to play an incredible half of basketball. But, again, I wrote that when SMU went nuts shooting the ball on this group. At some point, the finger has to be pointed at the constant in purple and gold instead of the variable on the other bench.

LSU is up against it now. There’s no doubt. The Tigers could be underdogs in their next five games. An 0-7 start is a death sentence.

Things could get uncomfortable quickly.