The Tigers finished up non-conference play Friday night, using their size and perimeter shooting to get to 10 wins before SEC play, knocking off in-state ULM 81-69.
After a two game absence from the starting lineup, sophomore guard Tremont Waters was back with the starting unit, continuing his hot play. Waters scored 11 points on the night with 10 assists. Waters also showed his knack for poking the ball away, with eight steals in a nine minute span and eight total for the game.
Waters was on triple double watch after the seven steal first half and after getting up to 11 points and eight assists in the second half, that watch went on full alert. There had only been eight triple doubles in LSU history, six of them belonging to Shaquille O'Neal and the last coming from Tim Quarterman in the 2015 season.
Waters came up two steals shy of the programs ninth triple double, but his eight steals tied a program record for the second most steals in a game.
"I feel like if I'm playing defense, my offense is going to come," Waters said. "It really helps me stay focus and locked in. It's instinctual and I'm really starting to embrace my role and knowing I'm a smaller guard and being a pest on defense."
LSU wanted to work the big men in the paint early, starting with freshman Naz Reid who scored five of the first 11 for the Tigers. However, the aggressiveness didn't translate to the battle on the boards as LSU was out-rebounded 22-15 in the first half alone.
Turnovers continued to be a problem off the Christmas break as the seven turnovers in the first six minutes of the game resulted in a 9-0 Warhawk run and a three point lead. However the Tigers responded, forcing multiple turnovers of their own to pick up a four point lead at the 10 minute mark of the first half.
LSU finished with 14 total turnovers but held ULM to just 13 points off those turnovers.
"If we can get the turnovers and rebounding fixed, we'll like where we're at," Wade said. "We clean those areas up, we're going to be in very good shape."
The Warhawks were able to keep it interesting in the first half, never letting the lead get higher than nine points. With LSU leading 37-31 with 3:47 remaining in the first, a Skylar Mays buzzer beater put the Tigers up 42-33 at the half. Reid had a strong half of 10 points and seven boards of his own while Waters poured in nine.
In fitting fashion, the Tigers opened up the second half with a turnover on the first possession which lead to an 8-1 run for the Warhawks, cutting the Tiger lead to two points and forcing a Will Wade timeout.
Reid had an equally fast start to the second half, keeping LSU in the lead as he got to a double-double of his own with 17 points and 10 rebounds four minutes into the second half.
LSU was able to cut back on turnovers in the second half while evening up the rebounding battle.
Leading 51-46 with just over 15 minutes to go, the Tigers went on a 16-6 run, headlined by an alley oop from Waters to Marlon Taylor, giving LSU its first double digit lead of the evening.
ULM would not go away as the Warhawks drained three straight triples to cut a 15 point lead to six with 8:37 remaining but that's as the Warhawks would get. LSU responded with a couple Ja'vonte Smart three pointers and held on to the double digit lead the rest of the way.
The Tigers now have 11 days off before they open up SEC play in the PMAC when Alabama comes to town on Jan. 8.
"I'm excited that we're 10-3 and even the losses were ones we could've pulled out," Mays said. "We have a confidence about us that we feel like we can play with anybody but at the end of day we have to build on our deficiencies and improve every day."
