Tag Archives: SEC Basketball
Tigers Torch the Tide
Excuse me if this article is short, but I’m on my way to the airport trying to catch a flight to Vegas for vacation, I mean a week long physical therapy conference. The first 5 minutes of the game was ugly and I was already thinking about how I can come up with a good excuse on why we can’t beat Bama in any sport this year. Then a light switch turned on and LSU looked like the best basketball team in the SEC!!! LSU was down 11-2 at the 14 minute mark and was playing the sloppiest game of the year by far, then it happened. LSU (19-4, 7-1) showed up and dominated the next 36 minutes of the basketball game winning 76-62. The final score does not indicate how bad LSU was in control. No starters played the last 6 minutes of the game, with 11 players seeing playing time in all.
Tasmin Mitchell had a double double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Thorton scored 20 points in the first half and cooled off in the second for a total of 22 for the game. LSU was up 40-28 at the half shooting 47 % from the field and finishing with 45% for the game. The Tigers were 84 % from the free throw line nailing 16 of 19. The game was just as physical as when they were at Alabama the first SEC game of the year (last time LSU lost an SEC game). The refs definitely were letting them play, with no LSU player receiving more than 2 fouls. LSU was able to get a lot of young players in the game, which will be advantageous during the stretch run of the season. I for one think LSU will crack the top 25 in both polls tomorrow for the first time in a couple of years. The Tigers have a tough schedule coming up with a game at Mississippi State on Wednesday, and the Bulldogs will be looking for revenge. I will have to find a place to watch it in Vegas, preferably a place with multiple T.V’s so I can catch some of the North Carolina/Duke game.
LSU Picks Up HUGE Road Win
First off, I want to apologize for my lack of writing an article after the Xavier game. I was out of town in Houston listening to the legendary Dr. James Andrews lecture on the shoulder. Secondly, I don’t remember the last time I’ve cursed so much watching a sporting event. This game had everything you could ask for. LSU took a 2-0 lead to start the game and pretty much dominated the first half. Through the first 9 minutes of the game, LSU was 10-14 from the field and 3-6 from three point land. The refs in this game were definitely bi-polar. The first half you could draw blood and no foul would be called only to blink and a foul would be called on you in the second half. LSU took a 43-38 lead at the half.
The second half was 10 times more exciting. LSU had a 14 point lead at one point only to go ice cold for about a 6 minute period. The only way LSU stayed in the game during that span was thanks to a Bruce Pearl technical foul. The last 3 minutes of the game was a possession difference. With less than one minute left LSU hit the free throws when it counted to go on for the 79-73 victory. Marcus Thorton continued his red hot scoring with 29 points. Bo Spencer played exceptional scoring 15, and Chris Johnson was probably the player of the game with a double double 14/14, but had several key blocks when it counted. LSU shot a respectable 47.5% from the field and 80% from the stripe (16-20). The memorable moment of the game that really stood out to me was when LSU was down by 2 with less than 5 minutes left and the camera showed Trent Johnson on the bench, who was cooler than the other side of the pillow. I was on my treadmill running at a mock 3 pace cursing up a storm, and I read Trent Johnson’s lips and he said “calm down” to his players. Right then and there I knew had John Brady been coaching this team, we would have lost by 10, but Coach Johnson has the cool demeanor to not only calm his players down, but also the crazy fans. Terry Martin had 4 points for the only bench points. Freshmen Delwan Graham and Storm Warren played some good minutes and I’m glad they did. They got a chance to experience what it’s like to be in the fire at a quality SEC opponents house. This was a huge win for LSU that might come back and help them come “dancing” time. LSU (16-4, 4-1) returns home to play Arkansas at 4, and we need the PMAC to be rock’in againn!!!!!
I See London, I See France…
…I see the Quick Change lady’s underpants. Well hello all. There’s not a whole lot going on in the world of LSUtopia so I wanted to tell you all to get to the PMAC and watch the SEC opener against South Carolina tomorrow night. And if you’re not in to Tiger basketball, go for the halftime show. Yes, the one and only Quick Change will be there in all their glory. This husband and wife duo magically change from outfit to outfit in the blink of an eye, all without a flobbiddy, pierced nipplegate accident(really Janet, did they pop your boob when you pierced it? Cause it looked like a deflated balloon.) Aaannnyyyhooo, after the jump is a little video of their act and if you like it on the interweb, wait till you see it in person. And who knows, the Tigers just might make you a fan as well.
Click to continue reading “I See London, I See France…”
LSU Comes Out Flat Against Utes
The LSU basketball team will begin their SEC season with a bit of a sour taste in their mouths. LSU was defeated by the Utah Utes by a score of 91-61 before the SEC opener at Alabama on Sunday. Don’t know if it was the altitude or what but LSU shot a miserable 33.3% from the field while their opponent shot 63.5%. The game started off promising for LSU as Chris Johnson scored the first bucket of the game. Johnson, who has been as cold as the snow outside the arena in Utah, had 13 points for the Tigers. While his offense may have improved, his defense took a big hit. He was up against Utah’s Luke Nevill most of the game and could not come up with an answer to stop the big man. The 7’2 Nevill scored 23 points (11-13) and really manhandled Johnson every time he got the ball in the post. The Tigers tried double teaming Nevill, but did not receive positive results. Garrett Temple played horrible tonight scoring ZERO points, 3 turnovers, and 2 personal fouls. One thing that did stand out that will not show up in the stats was his leadership. He chewed some ass and played hard even when the game was out of hand and I applaud him for that. Tasmin Mitchell scored 14 points, most of those in the first half and Marcus Thorton had 17 points respectably. From the stripe LSU was 17-23 and Utah was 21-24.
The Tiger bench was 2-12 from the field with 6 points coming in free throws and of those free throws, most of them came in garbage time. LSU’s bench is not helping at all. The last few games the bench has been ice cold!!!! The SEC may be down this year but it’s still gonna be competitive and you’re gonna need substitution help. LSU needs to learn to win on the road. They’ve only played 2 road games but their record is 0-2 with both losses coming by double digits. LSU was only down by 9 at the half (43-34). The game was not out of hand until 11 minutes left in the second half and once Utah got a 20 point lead it just seemed to snowball for LSU. I like to see a team get down early in the season and see how they respond with adversity. There was adversity tonight and LSU folded. I’m glad this happened before SEC because now they know there is serious work to do. I guarantee that an away game at Alabama is gonna be a lot more tougher than away game at Utah. The main positive that can be brought from tonight’s game is that LSU received a wake-up call, they’re not that good YET!!!!!!
LSU Tigers Embarassed in Last “Warmup Game” at Utah Before SEC Play Begins
The Tigers simply couldn’t get it done in Utah tonight. In fact, they didn’t get much of anything done as the Utes took care of the Tigers, handing them the worst loss in….. well can anyone remember the last time the Tiger lost by 30?! And don’t say this year against Tebow and the Gators…… But, that’s right, LSU went down in Provo 91-61. And just so you know, since I had to look it up, it really wasn’t as long ago as I had thought that the Tigers lost by such a deficit….. Jan 22, 2005 at Kentucky (89-58). Anyway….
Well, let’s try and analyze it. Garrett Temple scored as many as I did. Terry Martin had 3 and Alex Farrer put in 2. I must say that I’m baffled as to why Farrer started in the place of Marcus Thornton tonight. But I guess since the game wasn’t on TV and I was unable to attend the pre-game locker room speech, I may never know, but it happened. Thornton came off the bench to score 17 in 22 minutes. It appears that he was in some foul trouble (4) because Bo Spencer played 30 minutes off the bench and scored seven. Tasmin Mitchell and Chris Johnson contributed a little bit scoring 14 and 13 respectively. But where was the defense?!?!
The Tigers were out rebounded 33-24. Also, Utah has a center from Australia who is 7’2″, 265lbs. Well as you may have guessed, he went 11-13 and scored 23 points with 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. We obviously couldn’t stop him, probably because he outweighed his LSU counterpart (Johnson) by 55 lbs, but we didn’t try to foul him either…..he only took two free throws on the night, of which he only made 1. The Utes had another player score 17 and two others score 13 each. Three other players contributed 8, 7, and 6 points.
