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LSU basketball upsets No. 9 Kentucky: Highlights and recap

By Josh Criswell

Jan 5, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) and teammates cheer from the bench during the first half of a game against the Kentucky Wildcats at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) and teammates cheer from the bench during the first half of a game against the Kentucky Wildcats at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The LSU basketball team picked up its biggest win of the season on Tuesday, upsetting the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats in front of a raucous home crowd.

Sometimes, adversity is all that a team needs to find itself and play up to its full potential. For the LSU basketball team, that could not have been more true on Tuesday night.

The Tigers (9-5) entered Tuesday’s contest with the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats (11-3) in desperate need of a signature win. They received just that, upsetting the Wildcats 85-67 in front of a packed house at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

At first glance, an LSU upset over a top-10 Kentucky team would almost assuredly be the result of a star performance from freshman phenom Ben Simmons.

Simmons had scored just two points at halftime, however, spending the majority of the first half on the bench due to foul trouble.

And while the versatile forward did exert his dominance over the Wildcats, recording 15 points and 10 rebounds on perfect 5-of-5 shooting, it was junior guard Tim Quarterman who led the Tigers to victory.

Quarterman flirted with a triple-double, knocked down timely shots and dished out assists flawlessly, leading the Bayou Bengals on both ends of the floor. He finished the game with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, committing zero turnovers.

Per LSUsports.net:

"“I just went out there trying to be aggressive for my team,” Quarterman said. “I tried to make plays out there. I was aggressive on the offensive end of the floor. I just wanted to go out there and play good team defense. I just tried to help us get the win tonight. I didn’t make all of the right plays tonight but I made enough to help our team get the victory.”"

Sophomore forward Craig Victor II was the only other Tiger to score in double figures, recording 15 points and 10 rebounds. It was Victor’s first double-double of his LSU career.

“It feels great,” Simmons said after the game. “We don’t take any wins for granted, especially against a great team like Kentucky. They have great players and a great coach. We just came out to play.”

The Tigers outplayed Kentucky in essentially every statistical category. Most notable was a 44-to-24 advantage in points in the paint, and a plus-12 advantage in points off turnovers.

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LSU trailed for just 21 seconds, taking the lead for good with 17:15 remaining in the first half.

The Wildcats cut the deficit to four points on an Alex Poythress layup with 9:36 remaining in the second half, but the Tigers finished the game on a 27-13 run to secure the upset.

Kentucky’s loss ended a 22-game conference winning streak.

Highlights

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Odds

The Tigers entered the game as 5-point underdogs, and covered the spread.

What’s Next

Next up for the LSU basketball team is a showdown on the road with the Florida Gators (9-4). The game will be televised on CBS, with tipoff scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT.

Kentucky will look to rebound on the road against Alabama (9-3).

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