LSU Basketball loses star forward Jalen Reed to a season ending injury

The LSU Basketball team knocked off Florida State in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday Night improving the Tigers to 7-1 on the year and giving them another strong resume building win. The night was costly for LSU however as early on in this game, the Tigers lost forward Jalen Reed to an injury which kept him out the remainder of the game.

The Tigers had tests done on Reed's knee and everyones worst fears have been realized as Jalen Reed has torn his ACL. LSU Head Coach Matt McMahon issued a statement on the injury on Wednesday Night.

The news is absolutely heartbreaking for Jalen Reed as he chose to return rather than turning pro and early on it looked like a great decision as his stock was improving quickly. On the season, Reed was averaging 11.1 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, 1.3 assists per game, and a block per game.

In the absence of Reed, LSU will need to do exactly what it did on Tuesday Night and step up to replace him. The Tigers are without transfer Noah Boyde as he recovers from his injury last season while Tyrell Ward is also out for the season.

In replacing Reed, LSU will need to turn to Corey Chest, Daimion Collins, Robert Miller, and Derek Fountain. Collins has dealt with an injury of his own and while he was out Corey Chest quickly proved he should receive more playing time as he's become the energy of the team.

Robert Miller and Derek Fountain are each averaging 1.8 points per game and while Reed is out one of the two will need to make a serious jump to help fill the void. The loss is brutal however as this team was quickly outperforming expectations but, LSU has a month until SEC play to find a solution.

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