On Tuesday Night, the LSU Basketball team lost its second game in a row to a Top 5 opponent falling 65-59. The loss dropped the Tigers to 14-14 on the season and a brutal 3-12 in SEC Play leaving LSU 15th in the SEC. The game for LSU was very similar to the one they played against Florida, there were stretches where LSU looked worthy of pulling off the upset but, when the Volunteers turned it on LSU was clearly outclassed.
Following the game, Matt McMahon, Cam Carter, and Vyctorius Miller spoke to the media about LSU's loss while Rick Barnes spoke from Tennessee.
Following the game, Matt McMahon opened up his press conference with his opening statement where he credited what Tennessee did in this game.
"I thought our guys came out and competed extremely hard, especially on the defensive end; we were able to be disruptive there. Credit to Tennessee, their physicality and toughness on the offensive glass overwhelmed us. I thought their second-chance points ended up being the difference in the game. Our field goal defense was certainly good enough to give us a chance, but when you’re playing against a team that’ll contend to go to the Final Four, you can’t give up that many second opportunities against a team of their caliber. I thought there down the stretch you saw (Zakai) Zeigler make some of those winning plays where he whipped us off the dribble and got to the rim and finish to seal the game."Matt McMahon
The Volunteers work on the glass was far and away the biggest difference in the game and what sunk LSU. The Volunteers got 17 offensive rebounds doubling up LSU's 8 offensive rebounds. Losing Jalen Reed to a torn ACL before SEC Play has been the root of the majority of LSU's struggles. As of late, Matt McMahon has had to rely on a small ball lineup of players and while it's helped LSU spread its opponents out it's left LSU vulnerable inside and Tennessee was able to outscore LSU 32-20 in the paint.
On the other sideline was Rick Barnes who showed a ton of respect for Matt McMahon after the game.
"What I make of our team tonight is their respect for LSU. I have great respect for Matt McMahon and his entire staff. When you lose players like he did early in the year, he continues to find a way to keep his guys in games. We talked a lot about it. I thought mentally, we were sloppy on offense, but they had something to do with that. They played hard and they screened hard. We felt coming in that our number one emphasis was that we had to get to the offensive board and had to get to the lane as much as we could. The game was played the way we thought it would because LSU fought all year long. I have the utmost respect for what McMahon is doing and how hard his guys play."Rick Barnes
Barnes is true in that despite the injuries and the record, the Tigers haven't quit on Matt McMahon and the Tigers are often in these games until the opponents talent takes over. It's going to be every opponents goal to get the ball inside and to crash the glass as LSU is at a size disadvantage, LSU will need to find a way to overcome it.
After the game, Cam Carter was asked about whether or not the wins would start coming soon for the Tigers.
"I mean, we still have what three, four guaranteed games. I think we do it to ourselves a lot of times and we’re just gonna take these mistakes and then fix them and carry them onto the next game and you know, just keep getting better."Cam Carter
The final stretch for LSU won't be easy as the Tigers three remaining games come against 24th ranked Mississippi State, 17th ranked Kentucky, and 12th ranked Texas A&M while they're also guaranteed a game in the SEC Tournament. In regards to postseason play, the Tigers very well could end up being invited to the NIT Tournament or the CBI Tournament.
As LSU went on a late 11-1 run to make this a game once again, Freshman Guard Vyctorius Miller was the focal point. After the game, Miller was asked about his plays down the stretch to which he said the following:
"I would probably just say just us not giving up and showing that dog. We’re supposed to be here and I feel like that is what kicked in. Us huddling up after every dead ball was a big part of that."Vyctorius Miller
This game marked the highest scoring total for Freshman Vyctorius Miller who scored 17 points leading LSU while making 6 of 11 shots. After the game, Vyctorius Miller was asked about his best game yet and what the process has been like.
"Just staying with it. Even though I haven’t had the games I wanted to have, just still going to the gym in the morning, still having my same routine, just not letting up. Today was a cool day, but we still lost."Vyctorius Miller