LSU puts the pressure on Georgia, cruises past Bulldogs 84-65
Once LSU Basketball went on its 17-0 run in the first half, the Tigers never looked back Wednesday night against Georgia. Building a large lead, LSU clamped down on the Bulldogs and cruised to a 84-65 win.
LSU’s stars, Xavier Pinson and Tari Eason, rose to the occasion. Eason recorded a team-high 21 points and 9 rebounds while Pinson recorded seven points and a team-leading 10 assists.
“The ball moves when he’s in,” said head coach Will Wade of Pinson. “When the ball moves, we can find mismatches. If you don’t find the mismatches, you have the mismatches on the offensive glass to go get the ball even if you miss the shot. That’s how it all works together. The whole pot stirs.
“I thought Pinson,” Wade continued, “obviously with 10 assists, and Tari was phenomenal in the first half just driving and finishing and (Darius) Days did a great job getting himself going on the offensive glass. Really pleased with those guys.”
LSU Basketball forced a myriad of turnovers and notched numerous steals in the contest, which Wade was also pleased with.
“I felt like with them coming and turning it over 15 times a game we could get to them with pressure,” he said. “They have had some injuries, but (Aaron) Cook is their primary ball handler. I thought our pressure was very good. Pinson had four steals and that was great. We had a couple with three steals, (Eric) Gaines and (Tari) Eason, Days also had a couple so I thought our pressure really helped us.”
A strong rebounding effort just showed a glimpse of what LSU Basketball can be when at full strength and playing well. Veteran Darius Days has been on the teams that have won big under Wade and he sees that potential.
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“When we have all our pieces, we’re very hard to beat, for sure,” Days said. “We got our point guard (Pinson) back. He helps us out a lot with the talking on defense, just being in the right spots, directing and facilitating on offense, so you know, him being back plays a big part in our success.”
LSU Basketball doesn’t finish to Wade’s liking
The Tigers went 34-for-69 from the field (49%) and made seven threes. Georgia shot 20-for-45 (44%) and hit eight treys. LSU Basketball had its largest lead of 30 with 6:28 remaining in the game, but the Bulldogs finished 8 of their last 8 from the field, cutting the final deficit to 19, leaving Coach Wade frustrated walking off the floor.
“I am disappointed in the last four and a half minutes of the game. We let them score on six of the last seven possessions. That is not good,” Wade said. “You know we had 12 turnovers going into the last four minutes, then we gave the ball up three times. We got too sloppy at the end.”
Up next is a matchup on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 2:30 p.m. CT as LSU Basketball is slated to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
