Vanderbilt flies by LSU in Nashville

Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

By Hunt Palmer

THE STORY

Vanderbilt is elite offensively. LSU struggles on defense.

The Commodores grabbed their first double digit lead less than eight minutes into the game and maintained one for all but 33 seconds the rest of the half. Twice LSU drew within nine in the first half, but Vanderbilt scored the next time down the floor both times.

Three times LSU got the lead down to seven in the second half, but never closer as Vanderbilt cruised to an 84-73 win.

The Tigers got two mandatory results to stay close to a team they were a 15-point underdog to. Max Mackinnon was sensational, and the Commodores shot poorly relative to their usual performance.

Mackinnon finished with 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He made half of his six threes and didn’t miss from the line, 6-for-6. With Dedan Thomas out, he’s the offense. And he delivered.

Vanderbilt is as productive a three-point shooting team as there is, and they missed on 14 of 15 tries from deep in the second half.

With those two scenarios going about as well as possible, LSU still lost by 11.

Vanderbilt and Alabama are the worst two matchups in the league for LSU. The Tigers can score against a lot of teams. They shot 46% from the floor and 35% from three Saturday. Those are good numbers. Turnovers weren’t a problem, and paint points were a wash.

Defensively, LSU is not very good. Vanderbilt only turned the ball over six times in 40 minutes and got to the foul line 29 times. The Commodores had 29 shots at the rim, and LSU blocked three.

Without Thomas, LSU can’t keep up with the top of the league. They got drubbed by the bottom four days ago.

LSU now turns its attention to a pair of home games with a 9-6 Kentucky team and Missouri. Without a win this week, the season is effectively over.