On Saturday afternoon, the LSU Tigers played host to the Texas A&M Aggies. The two teams matched up just two weeks ago with the Tigers knocking off the Aggies in College Station.
This time, the Aggies got the best of the Tigers, winning a tight 73-69 matchup. There were a lot of ups and downs in this game, and here are my observations from Saturday's matchup.
1. One of their best starts this season
If there's one thing that's hurt this Tigers team this season, it's their slow starts. It seems like in almost every game they get behind early after a slow offensive start, but on Saturday, they flipped the script.
The Tigers scored 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting (1-for-2 from three and 3-for-4 from the line) while holding A&M to two points on 1-for-8 shooting. The Tigers didn't turn the ball over one time while forcing the Aggies into two turnovers.
It was one of their better starts all season, but in the end, they didn't do enough to win despite the quick start.
2. Wade Taylor's up-and-down night
Wade Taylor, Texas A&M's leading scorer, came into this game scoring 72 points in his last two games. In the first half, Taylor committed two fouls and was sent to the bench just five minutes into this game. He was 0-for-2 with zero points heading into the locker room.
However, the moment he touched the floor in the second half, he caught fire. In the first five minutes of the second half, Taylor scored 10 points on 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-4 from deep.
Then, Taylor would get cold. He'd go on to score just four more points while shooting 1-for-6 during that stretch. He'd get whistled for two quick fouls and would hit the bench with 10 minutes left in the game.
He'd eventually return with about six minutes left and score five points down the stretch for the Aggies. He'd finish with 19 points (6-for-17 shooting), five rebounds and four assists on an up-and-down night.
3. Slow second half start
This game was weird for the Tigers. They've been a second half team all season long, but on Saturday, they were slow out the locker room.
They took a 35-33 lead into halftime, but came out flat. Jalen Reed hit a three on their first possession, but the Aggies would go on to score nine straight points, including a 7-0 run by Wade Taylor to take a 42-38 lead.
For a team that has come out of halftime hot so many times, it was a bit shocking to see them get bullied out the break.
4. Offensive rebound disparity was awful
We all know that Texas A&M is the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country, but man, they made their presence on the offensive glass felt today.
In the first half, the Aggies hauled in seven offensive boards and scored eight second chance points. Pretty solid, but it wasn't until the second half that they really asserted their dominance.
In the first six minutes of the second half, they had five offensive rebounds and seven second chance points. They'd finish the half with 14 offensive rebounds and 19 second chance points, giving them 21 offensive rebounds and 27 second chance points in this game.
On the other side, the Tigers hauled in a total of six offensive rebounds and didn't score a single second chance point. It's nearly impossible to win with that big of a rebounding disparity, and it was ultimately the reason LSU lost this game.
