LSU survives a Kentucky rally for a five-point win
If there is one thing clear about LSU’s 2021-22 men’s basketball team, it is never going to make it easy on itself or the opponent.
“We have guys in our rotation who really build off the pressure and chaos,” LSU point guard Xavier Pinson said.
Tuesday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the 21st ranked Tigers saddled up the second half mayhem like riding a bucking bronco, nearly get thrown off in the end before slamming home two dunks off Kentucky turnovers in an 8-second span in the game’s last 14.4 seconds to preserve a 65-60 SEC victory over the 16th ranked Wildcats.
Before a crowd of 11,808 on a night LSU dedicated its basketball court to former head coach Dale Brown, the Tigers improved to 13-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC as they bounced back from its league-opening 70-55 loss at Auburn last Saturday.
To do so, LSU, which led 35-30 at halftime, had to survive UK hitting its first 6 of 8 3s in a 20-6 second half opening run for a 50-41 lead with 13:06 left.
It was followed by LSU’s 20-2 blitz for a 61-52 advantage with 2:35 remaining followed by an 8-0 UK salvo that left the Tigers clinging to a 61-60 lead with 27 seconds left.
But after LSU committed a third turnover in a 68-second span, UK couldn’t corral center Oscar Tshiebwe’s pass after he tracked down and blindly saved an errant full-court pass from LSU’s Darius Day intended for Tari Eason.
Days ended up with the ball and fed Eason for a dunk in a 2 on 1 fast break situation for a 63-60 LSU edge with 14.4 seconds left.
UK quickly inbounded, but Pinson tapped the ball away from UK’s Davion Mintz to LSU’s Mwani Wilkinson. He immediately shipped the ball back to a streaking Pinson, who slammed in a two-hand reverse dunk with 6.7 seconds left to close the win.
“Anytime you get against a team like Kentucky, you’ve got to grind it out and it’s gonna be a physical game,” LSU coach Will Wade said.
Wade had been concerned entering the contest if the Tigers could match UK’s physicality, especially center Tshiebwe who entered the night as the Wildcats' leading scorer and the nation’s top rebounder.
LSU limited him to 8 points and 13 rebounds as UK and the Tigers each grabbed 39 rebounds. Both teams scored 24 points each in the paint and LSU outshot the Wildcats from the field (42.1 percent to 36.2) and from the 3-point line (39.1 percent to 33.3).
Eason led LSU with 13 points and 6 rebounds, Pinson had 11 points and 4 assists with 3 steals and freshman Brandon Murray returned from a hamstring injury scoring 10.
Mintz scored 16 to top the Wildcats (11-3, 1-1 in SEC), who played almost the entire game without starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler.
Wheeler, who averaged 17.5 points and 11.5 assists vs. LSU last season when played for Georgia, was leveled by a legal screen by Tigers’ freshman center Efton Reid after the game’s first 3:53. He stayed on the floor for several minutes before being helped to the bench and never returned.
“I was disappointed in how we started the game,” UK coach John Calipari said. “We had a lot of guys where it was like they were almost intimidated by the game. You can’t play at Kentucky if you’re intimidated by a game.
“When Sahvir went down, he’s the engine on this thing and gets us all moving. They (LSU) gave us a lot of physicalness, like WOW! Guys were getting knocked down, mostly our guys.”
Wade wasn’t happy with the way his team almost folded late. He was satisfied with the win, yet wasn’t overly giddy and ready to move on to Saturday’s home game vs. No. 18 Tennessee. The 9-3 Vols host Ole Miss on Wednesday night.
“The reality is we’ve got a good team,” Wade said. “The problem around here is we act all crazy when we do stuff (like beating Kentucky). We should have high expectations and that’s part of our problem because we don’t have high expectations.”