The Missouri Tigers (10-18) travel to take on the Louisiana State Tigers (19-9) on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
LSU
IT'S GEAUX TIME FROM RUPP
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— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) February 24, 2022
Louisiana State is 4-6 over their last 10 games. Over their past 12 games they are 4-8. At the beginning of the season, after their first 16 games, the team was 15-1. Clearly, a team with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
The lows can be highlighted in their most recent performance against the sixth ranked Kentucky. The Tigers started the game hot and came out to a lead as large as 27-16. From then on we saw the offensive struggles and droughts that this team has faced all season. From that point in the game, Kentucky was able to get momentum and go on a run for the rest of the first half and into the second.
The tigers fought back at the end but the damage was done. The final score was 66-71 in favor of Kentucky.
Offensive Struggles:
So what went wrong? Actually, the bigger question is what is going wrong.
The simple answer would be that LSU is playing more confident teams and their schedule has not been easy. Their beginning of their season was stellar but could also be attributed to the teams that they were playing. The Tigers are now facing more established programs and a lot of competitive SEC schools.
The higher competition has exposed LSU’s lack of offensive drive. Over these past 12 games, LSU has played the same high energy full court press defense that lead to their success, but the offense has dropped off.
You can see, in their game against Kentucky they were able to force 12 turnovers, a great feat against a top 10 team. But in the same breath, they shot 21-57 for a shooting percentage of 36.8. If you want to beat a top team like Kentucky, the offense has to come around again.
Still, with three games remaining LSU has set themselves up for a game in the tournament. Can the Tigers find their form heading into March?
https://twitter.com/LSUBasketball/status/1497273941294993413?s=20&t=Of8xQPYMB_Ty1szGKsSBfw
Missouri
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— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) February 22, 2022
Missouri has had a season to forget. The Tigers have struggled this season on both sides of the ball and their record has shown this.
The Tigers have averaged 64.9 points a game and have given up 70.4 points a game. Against their competition, the team has struggled to stop offenses and this has taken them out of many games.
Missouri is going to struggle against any team in SEC and LSU is no exception. No matter the woes of LSU’s season they are incomparable to the woes of the other Tigers’ season.
According to ESPN, LSU is a 97.2 favorite in this upcoming matchup. Missouri would need to have a game to beat LSU in Baton Rouge.
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— Mizzou Hoops (@MizzouHoops) February 23, 2022