Scouting Report: LSU Tigers

Tonight at 7:00 Kentucky will take on the LSU Tigers down in Baton Rouge. Coach Will Wade’s squad is 12-1, but 0-1 in the SEC after last week’s 70-55 loss at Auburn. The Tigers will be ready to right the ship on their home floor. Meanwhile, the Wildcats are 11-2, 1-0 in the SEC with four straight wins of at least 27 points.

Coming in with the country’s best defense per KenPom, LSU mostly dominated their non-conference opponents against an admittedly weaker schedule. They open with an absolute gauntlet of a schedule in the Southeastern Conference, so it won’t take long to find out who they really are. Prior to tip-off, the Tigers will honor former head coach Dale Brown by naming the court for him. There is no doubt the Maravich Center will be rocking.

SEC road trips like this one are what separate the good teams from the great ones. There is no such thing as an easy conference win, especially on the road. That is even more true when playing a Top 25 team like the LSU Tigers. However, Kentucky has played like one of the best teams in the country over the last four games. Tonight is the perfect opportunity to prove it to the world on ESPN.

As always, we’ve got a full scouting report for you just like the player’s receive in the days leading up to the game. Here you will find a full personnel breakdown, footage of LSU’s offense, and a look at what makes their defense elite. Finally, we will go over the keys to the game. Now sit down, relax, and get to know a little more about the LSU Tigers.

LSU Tigers Personnel

Starters

#1 Xavier Pinson: 6’2″ 154 lbs, Senior Guard

11.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.5 apg

Skilled, thin guard. Very aggressive with the ball in his hands. Will push the tempo. Need to get the ball stopped in transition. Likes to shoot 3’s off of the dribble. Get out and break his rhythm on the perimeter. Don’t let him dribble into a 3. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase him off of downscreens and flares. Make him finish over you while driving it. Not a great finisher with someone between him and the basket. He is the one guy we don’t want to help a ton on when he drives it. Good passer. Contest everything. Don’t get smoked going right. Need to cut him off. You can help off of him, but closeout more aggressively. No off-the-dribble 3’s. No layups. Stop the ball in transition.

#2 Eric Gaines: 6’2″ 150 lbs, Sophomore Guard

8.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.7 apg

Very thing guard. Non-shooter. Closeout short. Shooting 4/31 from 3. We want him to shoot 3’s. Do not let him attack your closeout. That is why you are closing out short. No right hand drives!!! Get your feet away from him on the perimeter. Very athletic. Wants to drive it hard to his right hand. Good playmaker off of the dribble. Cut him off and stay between him and the basket. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. Get back and stop the ball in transition. Just contest the pull-up jumper if he shoots it. You can bring some help as he drives and come take it off of him. Team-high 40 turnovers. Absolutely no layups for him.

#5 Mwani Wilkinson: 6’5″ 206 lbs, Sophomore Forward

4.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.8 apg

Athletic slasher. Right hand driver. No right hand drives!!! He is a non-shooter. Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Very good in transition. If they throw it ahead to him cut off the right hand drive. Get all the way back and get the basket. Loves to finish lobs at the rim. Excellent cutter in the half court. Help off of him. Be aware of him cutting to the rim when the ball goes in the post. Have to see him and the ball when helping off of him. No backcuts! No transition dunks! Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out!

#4 Darius Days: 6’7″ 245 lbs, Senior Forward

14.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 0.8 apg

Ultra-skilled, physical 4-man. Very good shooter. No catch-and-shoot 3’s! Need to be tight enough to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Once you take away the catch-and-shoot he is going to want to drive it right. Very physical driver taking it to his right. No right hand drives! Need to get over on his right hand and cut him off. Bring help when he puts it on the floor and make him give it up. Not thinking about passing. Make him uncomfortable when he has it. Lots of pressure. 10 assists to 14 turnovers. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Aggressively dig the ball out of the post to make him pass it. Hard contest when he shoots the turnaround. Be physical when the shot goes up. Box out! Don’t help off of him unless you are going to steal the ball.

#15 Efton Reid: 7’0″ 238 lbs, Freshman Center

9.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.5 apg

Big, physical 5-man. Looking for deep post catches. Will duck you in around the basket. Wants to catch it with two feet in the paint so he can just turn and score. Need to be physical with him and get him off of the block. Percentages go down significantly the further off the block he catches it. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Need to be physical on his left shoulder. No drop steps. You can come aggressively dig the ball out of the post when he has it. 7 assists to 18 turnovers. Not very comfortable with the ball. Come take it off of him. Be physical when the shot goes up. Excellent offensive rebounder. Averages over 2 per game. Box out!

Bench

#13 Tari Eason: 6’8″ 216 lbs, Sophomore Forward

15.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 0.9 apg

Athletic, skilled 4-man. Leading scorer. Very good driver from the perimeter. They will isolate him in space to attack from the perimeter. Right hand driver. No right hand drives!!! You need to get over on his right hand and cut him off. Bring help aggressively when he starts to drive it. 11 assists to 22 turnovers. Come take it off of him. Pressure him and make him uncomfortable. Capable shooter. Throw a hand up to contest when he shoots from 3. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Need to aggressively dig the ball out of the post when he has it inside. Be physical on his left shoulder. Get him off of the block. No drop steps. Make him score over you with a post move. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out!

#11 Justice Williams: 6’3″ 170 lbs, Freshman Guard

7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.0 apg

Saw first action in last game replacing #0 Murray. Good shooter. Need to be there to contest the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Wants to shoot jump shots. Be ready for him to pull-up from mid-range as he drives it, especially going left. More likely to attack the rim going right. No right hand drives. You can pressure him on the perimeter as much as possible without getting blown by to his right. Contest everything. Chase him off of downscreens and flares. Get over ballscreens and handoffs. You can still help off of him, but closeout more aggressively.

#3 Alex Fudge: 6’8″ 185 lbs, Freshman Forward

4.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.5 apg

Athletic backup 4-man. Right hand driver. No right hand drives! When he is on the perimeter he is looking to attack your closeout and drive it right. Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Non-shooter. Always coming back to his right hand to finish. Very athletic. Need to get your hands up and make him score over you. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. You can bring some help when he drives it. Not thinking about passing. 7 assists to 17 turnovers. Come take it off of him. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out!

LSU Tigers Offense

First and foremost, the LSU Tigers want to score in transition. They are looking to play fast, push the ball up the floor, and take the first available shot before the defense is set. A big part of this begins with creating turnovers on the defensive end as well to really get the fast break started. According to KenPom, LSU’s offensive possessions are the 15th fastest in the country at just 15.4 seconds in average length.

When the Tigers are forced to play in the half court, things still operate at a fast pace. There will be a lot of early ball screening action and drives from the perimeter by their forwards. It is pretty much a dribble-drive motion. LSU does like to dump it down into the post to guys like #15 Reid, #13 Eason, or #4 Days, but especially Eason and Days play on the perimeter a lot as well.

Getting back in transition is the name of the game to guarding these guys. Transition defense comes down to protecting the basket, stopping the ball, and then matching up beginning with the next most dangerous guy. You’ll hear it a ton throughout the day: basket, ball, next most dangerous. We will show some clips to give examples of how fast they bring it and show a few half court actions, but transition defense will dictate our level of success tonight.

Transition: Coast-to-Coast

Regardless of who gets the ball, LSU is going to bring it at us fast. In this clip you have 6’8″ forward Tari Eason getting a steal and taking it coast-to-coast for a layup. We HAVE to get back with a ton of urgency and protect the basket. Basket, ball, next most dangerous. No coast-to-coast layups like this tonight.

Transition: Throw Ahead

In the progression of transition offense, first you look to just drive it in for a layup. Next, your read goes to looking for a throw ahead opportunity for a layup. After going coast-to-coast in the last clip, this time #13 Eason is on the rim-run and receives a pass from #1 Pinson. You cannot back pedal against LSU! Sprint back to the top of the charge circle and protect the basket.

Transition: Trail Spot

For as good as the LSU Tigers guards and forwards are at attacking the basket in transition, they are equally as dangerous when trailing a play. #4 Days is built to play out of the trail spot because his ability to shoot the basketball. As you protect the basket, get the ball stopped, and identify the next most dangerous, you have to start matching up. Most of the time, #4 Days will be that next most dangerous guy. It takes all five guys SPRINTING back on defense EVERY TIME to stop these guys. Can’t allow these wide open trail spot 3’s.

Transition: Post Up

Continuing in the progression of LSU’s transition offense, they will look to post up out of the break as well. In this clip, the Tigers advance the ball up the sideline with the throw ahead as #13 Eason is sealing his man up the lane line. They are able to enter the ball over the top as the defender fights around for an easy layup. This is great transition execution.

Middle Ballscreen Roll/Replace

This is pretty much what LSU will go to when not just playing out of motion in the half court. They love the middle ballscreen roll and replace action. Sometimes they will start from a Horns set like they do here, or they will just run up into the ballscreen. Anytime you get a middle ballscreen you can expect the other forward to replace up to the perimeter from behind the play. You have to get over on #4 Days right hand and cut him off. Do not let him turn the corner to his right hand.

LSU Tigers Defense

In four years as the Head Coach of the LSU Tigers, Will Wade’s defense has only finished in the Top 100 of KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. So far this season the Tigers have the best defense in the country. They have essentially dominated every aspect of the defensive side of the ball which plays right into the hands of their transition-based offense. It all starts with their on-ball pressure.

LSU is fifth nationally in turnover percentage (26.9%) and first in steal percentage (17.2%). Those live ball turnovers really get the Tigers moving in the fast break. Additionally, they are seventh in the country at the rim in block percentage (17.3%). Teams haven’t found success from beyond the arc either shooting just 26.2% from three. This all adds up to having only given up 60 or more points three times including a high of 70 last Wednesday in their loss to Auburn. It is hard to lose games when you don’t give up more than 70 points.

The Tigers have mixed in some full court pressure where they trap at half court, but primarily it is just man-to-man defense. They switch ballscreens one through five most of the time which lets them stay in front of their man. Off of the ball they are very active in the gaps and are great at stunting at the ball handler and recovering with urgency to their man. Expect a lot of ball pressure and for them to cut off driving lanes.

It can be hard to penetrate when they are switching all screens and have athletic enough forwards to stay in front of the ball. This clip shows LSU switching all of the perimeter action and eventually you see their 7-foot center #15 Reid out near mid-court denying the ball. That takes a really special athlete. Once Auburn starts driving they help aggressively and force a turnover. It will not be easy to attack the basket. You must be patient and controlled.

This last clip shows a little bit of LSU’s extended pressure with the trap at half court. They end up guarding for the full 30 seconds and you can see how much ball pressure they provide at every position. LSU is excellent in their closeouts, recover with urgency, and play an aggressive brand of defense. We cannot allow them to speed us up.

Keys to the Game

• Transition defense. Basket, ball, next most dangerous. LSU plays fast and wants to score in transition. We need five guys sprinting back to protect the basket and to try and slow them down.
• Take care of the basketball. The LSU Tigers force 19.6 turnovers per game, including 12.5 steals. We have to keep turnovers to 14 or fewer while limiting the live ball turnovers. No more than 7 steals.
• Pack it in. We need to continue to be in the gaps and help aggressively when they drive the basketball. Create turnovers. Win the turnover battle.
• Contain #13 Easton and #4 Days. Make these guys give it up when they have it. Aggressively help. Take #4 Days away from 3. No right hand drives for either.