LSU makes history in dramatic fashion with 73-71 road win at No. 5 Kentucky
Coming into Tuesday’s matchup, LSU was 1-35 all time on the road against a top-5 team with the only win coming at No. 3 Kentucky in 1980. Nearly 40 years later, history repeated itself as the Tigers knocked off the No. 5 Wildcats in dramatic fashion 73-71 to stay undefeated on the road in conference play.
Tied at 71 and six seconds left, LSU guard Skylar Mays drove 94 feet down the court and laid the ball up. The shot was a bit strong, but offensive rebounding saved the day as senior Kavell Bigby-Williams cleaned up the mess for a buzzer beater win.
The one problem the Tigers (20-4, 10-1) had in the first half that hadn’t been an issue of late was grabbing rebounds on the defensive end. Kentucky grabbed six offensive rebounds and turned them into eight second chance points in the first half to LSU’s zero second chance points.
While LSU allowed 15 offensive rebounds for the game, it was able to rip down six in the second half with none being bigger than the last one by Bigby-Williams.
LSU opened the second half by cutting the eight point Kentucky lead to five with freshman Naz Reid finding a rhythm with his back to the basket, scoring four points in the paint. Reid, who had been in foul trouble most of the first half, picked up his third and fourth fouls in the span of 1:29 and was forced to spend most of the second half on the bench.
Next man up mentality meant someone needed to step up and that person was Emmitt Williams. Williams picked up right where Reid left off with unrelenting activity in the paint, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds in his first seven minutes on the floor.
Williams gave LSU its first lead since 30-29 in the first half by running the floor, catching a deep pass, pump faking and finishing the layup, making it 58-56 LSU. Coming into the game, Williams was LSU's leader in plus-minus in SEC play and with 10 points and six boards in 12 minutes off the bench, he had a plus three in that category with 7:43 to go. From the point that Reid and freshman Darius Days picked up their fourth fouls, LSU out scored Kentucky 17-9. Williams finished with 12 points and six boards.
Reid entered the game after a 10 minute break due to foul trouble and with the score tied at 62 with four minutes to go, Tremont Waters found Reid for a left wing 3-pointer that put LSU up three. An offensive rebound and putback layup from Reid two possessions later put LSU up five with 2:13 to go.
Kentucky wouldn’t go down easy as PJ Washington, who finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Wildcats, converted on a three point play and a post-up layup that tied the game.
LSU’s hands were much more active in the second half, poking the ball free multiple times including one that led to a break away dunk for Mays that cut the Kentucky lead to three. Of the team’s eight steals, five came in the second half that led to seven points off turnovers after failing to score off turnovers in the first half.
The free throw line became the Tigers biggest friend in the second half as they found themselves in the bonus with 8:17 to go and proceeded to knock down 10-of-11 for the game. For the contest, LSU went 19-of-22 while the Wildcats went 16-of-23.
Shots just weren’t falling for the Tigers in the first half as the starters shot a combined 6-of-21 while the team went 9-of-27 (33 percent) as a whole.
High-flyer Marlon Taylor got off to a hot start, scoring seven of the first 14 points for LSU including a successful alley-oop from Waters that drew oohs and ahhs from the Rupp Arena. Taylor was the only Tiger to have more than one made field goal
Kentucky pushed the pace on LSU and didn’t let the Tigers set up their defense a couple of times, drawing fouls due to missed assignments. As a result, freshmen big men Williams, Reid and Days all had two fouls with 8:19 remaining in the first half.
Trailing 29-22 in the first half and in desperate need of not letting the deficit get to double digits, LSU responded with a 8-0 run to take a 30-29 lead.
The lead would be short-lived however as Kentucky quickly went back to what was working, pushing the ball up the floor and took a 40-32 lead into the break. A scoring drought that lasted the final three minutes of the first half allowed the Wildcats to end the first half on a 9-2 run.
LSU will now face a struggling Georgia team on the road on Saturday at 5 p.m. before coming home for three straight games at the PMAC.