What we learned from LSU MBB's exhibition win on Tuesday night

LSU got the exhibition win over Loyola (NO) on Tuesday night in the PMAC 110-48, getting to play all of their healthy and available players and getting to put on a show for LSU fans in attendance as a preview for the season ahead. A week from tip-off to begin the season, LSU is beginning to find it’s identity and with this game behind them turns its attention to the start of the regular season.

LSU’s availability

Noah Boyde continues to recover from the ACL injury he sustained in December of last year. 

Derek Fountain and Tyrell Ward were out due to precautionary reasons.

For those wondering, I do not expect Boyde back until at earliest conference play as he recovers from the ACL injury. He’s been active in practice outside of five-on-five though, which is encouraging. Fountain and Ward have been in and out of practices throughout the fall, so it’s not alarming that they’re out for the exhibition. Still, we’ll monitor their situations entering the year.

Three-point attempt rate

LSU ended the game 18-of-37 from 3-point range  with four players hitting multiple threes. Jordan Sears went 4-of-7, Cam Carter went 5-of-8, Mike Williams went 3-of-6, and Curtis Givens went 2-of-3 in the win. The Tigers got whatever looks they want, ending the game with 37 of their 70 shots coming from behind the arc, scoring 54 points from deep, 40 points in the paint, and 14 points from the free throw line, making for an efficient outing with only two points from non-paint twos.

LSU under Matt McMahon has been an efficient offense and looks to limit the amount of difficult shots and tonight was a prime example of what it would look like if LSU’s offense could do whatever it wants. Sears is an elite shooter and Carter and Williams look the part of being over 35 percent this year as well.

LSU didn’t even have Tyrell Ward, one of the best shooters in the SEC for this game and still had a great shooting game. The past two years, LSU was 133rd and 174th in 3-point attempt rate, but I expect that ranking to be significantly higher this year

“I think [we’re good taking that many], if they’re high quality looks,” McMahon said. “We were right around a 50-50 split. The selection was pretty good for the most part. Some of our young guys fired up an airball early, but then once they settled in knocked down some shots. We just want to get the highest quality shot we can get, whether that’s penetration to the rim, Jalen Reed in the post, or extra pass threes, we want to take those and shoot them with confidence.”

Defensive effort

I thought it was a good defensive performance, but not great. The first half was obviously strong, holding Loyola to 12 points while forcing 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. LSU was sharp with its rotations and had four blocks and eight steals in the first half. 

The second half was far more spotty which is to be expected in an exhibition when you’re up 40 at halftime. Still, the overall activity dipped and Loyola had a ton of open looks, shooting 14-of-36 from the field with only six turnovers.

Ultimately, I think LSU’s defense with Cam Carter, Dji Bailey, Daimion Collins, Mike Williams, and Corey Chest will be better than it was last year, but I still have some questions about Jordan Sears defending in the SEC and the overall ability for this team to unsettle teams. 

It’ll be nice to see them face a DI opponent next week so we can really get some clarity into this roster.