If you watched LSU Men's Basketball's exhibition and season opener, you'd expect this team to score the ball at a high level, but that hasn't really been the case. In their three games since the opener against Mississippi Valley State, LSU has failed to score 70+ points. On Sunday against Wake Forest, it seemed the Tigers were going to right their offensive woes after a great first half, but they fell off the rails in the second and it nearly cost them the game.

In the first half of their matchup against Wake Forest, LSU's offense completely exploded. They scored 30 points in the first 10 minutes and hit the locker room with a 46-36 lead over the Demon Deacons. They shot 48-percent from the field and were led in scoring by Will Baker (14), Jordan Wright (8) and Carlos Stewart (8).

While their shooting percentage in the first half was actually down from what it usually is, this offense just looked so much more active. They were attacking the paint, and when the defense started collapsing on Will Baker and company down low, they kicked it out to their shooters who were hitting the three at a 44-percent clip. There was much more movement on the offensive end of the court, and overall, they just looked much better offensively in the first 20 minutes of the game.

In the second half, all that good work went straight out the window. It took the Tigers 6:45 to score their first points of the half, and they came on free throws. They wouldn't score their first field goal until the 12:04 mark in the half.

So what changed in the second half that caused this dramatic change in offensive efficiency?

Well for one, the Deacons switched to a zone defense in the second half and it gave LSU a lot of fits. They struggled to find ways to penetrate the zone, and in turn, that meant less touches for Will Baker in the paint. When they were able to break the zone, Baker converted, scoring nine points on 2-for-4 shooting in the second half/OT.

The shot selection was also much worse in the second half. You would expect this with less paint shots, but the Tigers shooting percentage dropped from 48-percent in the first half to 26-percent in the second half. LSU also left eight points on the table from the free throw line, going 15-of-23 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

Turnovers were another big part of the inconsistencies. They committed only four turnovers in the first half, but in the second, the Tigers gave the ball up seven times and allowed eight points off those turnovers. They also failed to score off Wake Forests turnovers in the second half, scoring five points off 10 Deacon turnovers.

The Tigers were still able to escape with an 86-80 OT win over the Demon Deacons, but this game was much closer than it needed to be. They leave the Charleston Classic with a 2-1 record and two gritty wins over North Texas and Wake Forest.

LSU returns to action on Friday with a game against North Florida in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 PM CT.