LSU's offense struggling early, relying on defense to produce points

The No. 21 LSU Tigers has built a 12-1 record on the back of its defense, an unusual trend looking at the program’s last few seasons.

As Adam Luckett wrote earlier today, head coach Will Wade has instilled a hard-nosed style of defense that leads to nonstop transitions chances with a stout brand of man-to-man in the halfcourt. It’s a stark contrast compared to what we’ve seen from the usually offensive-oriented coach, but one that is working so far.

KenPom is in love with LSU’s brand of toughness on that end, ranking the Tigers No. 1 in all of Divison I when it comes to adjusted defensive efficiency. Wade’s squad allows just 55.3 points per game, fourth-best in the country.

Only once this season has LSU allowed 70 points or more–a 70-55 loss to No. 9 Auburn last week. Despite the season-high in opponent scoring, LSU still limited Auburn to 43 percent overall shooting and a 7-23 mark from beyond the arc while forcing 21 turnovers; defense gave LSU a chance to remain undefeated.

The offense, however, took that possibility away.

55 points for LSU was a season-low and well-below the average of 77.7 per outing. The Tigers were a pitiful 28.6 percent from the floor and 6-29 from distance with 17 turnovers. Only one player, forward Mwani Wilkinson, shot 50 percent or better against Auburn (2-3 overall).

Taking a step back though, this wasn’t a shocking development; LSU has not been able to steadily rely on its offense this season.

Will Wade runs an eight-man rotation where the top four in minutes played all shoot under 45 percent from the field (three of Kentucky’s four shoot 50 percent or better). LSU shoots just 31 percent from long range while attempting one of the fewest amounts in the country. Of the five Tigers with at least 20 three-point attempts this season, not a single one connects on better than 37 percent. One LSU shooter, Eric Gaines, had missed 21 consecutive triples before hitting one in the closing seconds of the loss to Auburn.

Those are just surface numbers though that are easily plucked. Diving a bit deeper, the story opens up some more. LSU has performed exceptionally worse shooting the ball against good teams. The Tigers’ schedule hasn’t been all that challenging (although still tougher than Kentucky’s to this point), which has helped mask what could be even worse-looking figures.

Take a look.

LSU’s 3-point shooting against teams ranked 115 or worse, per KenPom
6 games: 55-138; 39.9%

LSU’s 3-point shooting against teams ranked 115 or better, per KenPom
7 games: 34-149; 22.8%

That’s a 17.1 percent difference. Yikes…

So where do the points come from in these wins?

LSU generates scoring through its tenacious pressure on defense. The Tigers lead the country in steal percentage (17.2) and rank fifth in turnovers forced per game (19.6). LSU turns that into 23.7 points per game or over 30 percent of its overall scoring average. The Tigers has outscored its opponents in transition points this season by an astounding mark of 243-93.

If a passing lane needs quick filling, an LSU player will be there to, at the very least, get a fingertip on it. If Kentucky thinks it has a clean look at the rim, think again. Not only is LSU lethal when it comes to forcing steals, but the Tigers also block 17.3 percent of the opponent’s shots (seventh-best in the nation). LSU does an excellent job of taking those blocks, keeping the ball inbounds, and turning it into a fastbreak opportunity.

The defensive side of the ball is where LSU makes up for its lack of halfcourt efficiency. If we have to pinpoint a couple of players Kentucky needs to zero in on, it would be Darius Days and Xavier Pinson. Tari Eason, the team’s leading scorer at 15.9 per outing, can also pour in points in a quick hurry.

Days, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, is the team’s sole three-point threat at 36.4 percent on a team-leading 88 attempts. He’s averaging nearly 15 points per outing, but plays mostly on the perimeter despite his size and isn’t a passing threat. That being said, he’s the one guy UK does not want to heat up from distance.

As for Pinson, the 6-foot-2 senior guard transfer from Missouri isn’t the most efficient shooter, but he’s the one most likely Tiger to take over the game by himself. When he puts his head down and is determined to get to the rim, he will find a way. That doesn’t mean he’s always going to score, but he can put interior pressure on the Wildcat bigs that no other LSU player can.

Kentucky’s defense has steadily improved throughout the course of the season. Slowing down LSU in the halfcourt shouldn’t be too tall of a task to fulfill. For reference, North Carolina and Notre Dame both produce better offenses than LSU and UK held those two to 69 and 66 points, respectively. If Kentucky can take care of the ball, the Tigers will struggle to score.

We should expect LSU to shoot better than it did against Auburn, though. This game is back in Baton Rouge and LSU now has experience against a legitimately good team. In true home games, the Tigers are actually shooting 65-175 (37.1 percent), albeit against mostly terrible teams. Kentucky will easily be LSU’s toughest home test up until this point, and possibly all season long.

Buckle up.