3-0 SEC starts are rare for LSU
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Winning true road games has been a problem for coach Will Wade early in his tenure at LSU.
The Tigers lost nine consecutive games on the opponent’s home floor prior to their recent road stretch at Arkansas and Ole Miss. LSU had no road victories since knocking off Texas A&M and Arkansas last January at the start of the Southeastern Conference schedule.
However, Wade’s youthful squad delivered back-to-back victories at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville and at The Pavilion in Oxford. The Tigers defeated the Razorbacks in overtime and pulled away in the second half for a comfortable victory against the Rebels, who had won ten straight games.
So, LSU has begun the 2019 SEC schedule with three straight victories – having beaten Alabama at the PMAC before the two road games. The Tigers rarely have gotten off to such starts in conference play.
Since Dale Brown became coach some 46 seasons ago, LSU has now won its first three SEC games a grand total of four times – 1981, 1995, 2006 and now 2019. The 1981 and 2006 Tigers teams reached the Final Four. The 1995 squad ended up with a 6-10 conference record.
LSU’s 83-69 victory against Ole Miss is its best of the season. The Rebels had won their first three SEC games, including two against nationally-ranked Auburn and Mississippi State.
LSU did not play very well at all in the first half, but neither did Ole Miss. As a result, the teams were tied 31-31 at halftime. The Tigers took control of the game in the first six minutes of the second half and never gave it up.
An 8-0 run put LSU on top 48-39 with 14:14 remaining in the game. Naz Reid accounted for half of those eight points. Having a comfortable second-half advantage has not been good for the Tigers. LSU lost second-half leads in dropping games to Florida State and Houston.
The Tigers saw a 19-point lead dwindle to four against Alabama. Then, LSU blew a 12-point lead and ended up in overtime against Arkansas. When Skylar Mays knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead of the Rebels 54-44 with 10:31 left in the game, no one felt the outcome was decided.
People may have been surprised when Ole Miss never reduced its deficit to fewer than six points in the final ten minutes. The Rebels scored no more than five points in a row in that span.
A 3-pointer by Terence Davis and a basket by KJ Buffen put Ole Miss behind LSU 62-55 with 7:18 to play. Tremont Waters followed with a field goal to give the Tigers a nine-point lead. When Davis got the Rebels within six points at 66-60 on a 3-pointer, Waters answered with his own trey.
Buffen made another field goal to leave Ole Miss down again by seven points at 71-64 with 2:44 remaining. The Tigers countered again with a field goal by Reid and two free throws by Waters. Those four points clinched the victory for LSU.
Waters was the clutch performer in the second half for the Tigers when he scored 15 points. Waters was needed to come up with big play after big play while Ole Miss was trying to rally.
None of the LSU freshmen scored in double figures. In fact, those four players – Reid, Ja’vonte Smart, Emmitt Williams and Darius Days – combined for just 23 of the Tigers’ 83 points.
However, two newcomers were right there with Waters when it came time to halt the Rebels’ momentum. Kavell Bigby-Williams accounted for 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots. Marlon Taylor added 12 points and five rebounds. Both players were stalwarts on the defensive end of the floor.
LSU has become a good home team under Wade with a 16-game winning streak – seven victories against SEC teams. The Tigers need to maintain that success at the PMAC with South Carolina and Georgia visiting in the next week. Only the 1981 and 2006 LSU teams won their first five league games.