Yesterday's college basketball slate wasn't great, but there were a couple of matchups buried in there that were quiet intriguing to diehard CBB fans. One of those games was LSU vs Kansas State.
These two teams had met two times in the past two seasons. The first time came in 2022 in Matt McMahon and Jerome Tang's first season. Both teams participated in the Cayman Island Classic and advanced to the championship game, and after a little bit of controversy, the Wildcats came out with a 61-59 win. Kansas State ended up making it to the Elite Eight that year while the Tigers won just two SEC games.
Fast forward a year and the Wildcats traveled to Baton Rouge for the first half of a home-and-home series. The Tigers were in the midst of a poor non-conference schedule in which they lost to Nicholls State, and the Wildcats came into the PMAC and dominated them, 75-60.
This time around, LSU had to travel to Manhattan, Kansas to face off with Coach Tang's squad for the third time in as many years. K-State had LSU's number up until this point, but both squads looked drastically different than the ones that faced off last season.
For LSU, they brought in three transfers guards - Jordan Sears, Dji Bailey and Cam Carter (who played at K-State prior to coming home to play for LSU) who have been lights out for them through three games. They also brought in three impact freshmen in Vyctorius Miller, Curtis Givens III and Robert Miller, who have all seen big minutes early in their careers.
For the Wildcats, it is widely believed that they spent the most money of any school in the transfer portal this offseason. It was reported that they gave Coleman Hawkins, a transfer from Illinois, two million dollars while also shelling out some cash to get guys like Dug McDaniel (Michigan), Max Jones (Cal State Fulerton), Brendan Hausen (Villanova) and Baye Fall (Arkansas) to come to KSU.
Despite spending all that money in the portal, it was the Tigers who were able to march into Bramlage Coliseum and get the win.
So how did it happen?
Well despite spending two million on a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center, the Tigers dominated KSU on the boards. From start to finish, you could tell the Tigers wanted it more, and they ended up winning the rebound battle, 43-25. Hawkins finished with just four rebounds in 32 minutes while Jordan Sears (who's 5-foot-11) finished with seven in 33 minutes.
Another reason is because of LSU's guard trio, who once again went off in this game. Dji Bailey only had four points, but like McMahon has said since Bailey stepped foot on campus, he impacts winning with his defense, rebounding and playmaking. Jordan Sears had a quiet 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but that's because the focus was on Cam Carter, who scored 20 points in his return to Manhattan.
Then if you look a bit further down the stat sheet, LSU got some big minutes from their bench. True freshman Vyctorius Miller scored a career-high 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting, Daimion Collins came in and scored 12 on a 5-for-5 night (which included some highlight reel dunks) and Corey Chest earned 21 minutes with Derek Fountain out and hauled in 13 rebounds while adding five points.
It wasn't just LSU's dominance on offense that helped them win this game, they also played elite defense all night long. KSU shot just 37.7% from the field and 23.8% from three. If it weren't for 16 turnovers from LSU, I think they would've held the Wildcats to under 60 points.
Getting a win like this early in the season is huge for the Tigers. They have a couple big non-conference games left against Florida State, Pitt and UCF/Wisconsin, but to get an 11-point win on the road against a team as talented as K-State has to build some confidence.
If they can maintain this level of play and cut down on the turnovers, this is a team that can make it to the NCAA Tournament and maybe win a game or two come March.
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