LSU’s defensive pressure did its job.
No one was open for Louisiana Tech during its inbound on the left sideline. To avoid the five-second violation, it threw a pass to the backcourt. It was underthrown and stolen by LSU guard Skyy Clark, who spun around his defender for a scoop righty layup in the second half.
Moments like that personified how LSU took down Louisiana Tech 90-50 on Monday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers now lead the all-time series 14-1 and, for the first time in program history, won three straight games by 40 or more points.
The Tigers forced 23 turnovers and scored 38 points off those miscues. LSU
LSU’s sharpshooter Clark made his first 3-pointer of the year after missing his previous14 attempts. Even though he scored only nine points and went 1 of 5 from beyond the arc, he paired that with impressive defense, recording five steals. Point guard Donovan Dent also had five steals along with 12 points and five assists.
“It’s good to, you know, break the (cold) streak there,” Will Wade said of Clark. “But he’s going to be a great shooter for us. He’s going to shoot it great all year for us. So we’re not worried about that. But he does so much stuff that helps you win, man. When he’s out there, he’s just helping you win. Everything he does helps you win. And he had five steals. Donnie had five steals, and so I thought those guys were tremendous.”
LSU’s defensive intensity was sharper from the jump than its most recent 41-point win over Texas Southern when it trailed 10-7 after five minutes.
Saliou Niang was an early pest, taking away potential driving lanes and denying routine passes around the arc. The 6-8 wing picked up his first steal of the game when Louisiana Tech’s 6-foot-7 forward Ethan Blackmon spun around the free-throw line area, and Niang cleanly swiped the ball out during the turn.
Wade’s entire team had plucky hands as it made Louisiana Tech’s offense operate like its gasping for air. The Tigers had 10 steals in the first half and forced 11 turnovers in the first half. LSU had just three turnovers to that point, with one coming from point guard Dent, who ended his streak of pristine ball security. The UCLA transfer had 20 assists to zero turnovers before the game.
“Sky’s a great defender, (Niang’s) a great defender in our press,” said Abdi Bashir who had 16 points. It causes so many turnovers or opportunities for points, and yeah, those points, you know, you can steal away from teams quick. We have more possessions because we’re getting the ball more from turnovers and converting them into points. So that’s important.
LSU guards Clark and Dent and power forward Mo Dioubate were also aggressive, pressuring ball handlers and filling passing lanes. In the first half, Clark had four steals, Dent had two steals and Dioubate had one that led to a fastbreak score.
The 6-7 Kentucky transfer defended 6-foot Bulldogs point guard Jay Tyler as he initiated offense, read his eyes on a pass, poked the ball during its flight and wrestled the possession from the intended target near half-court. Dioubate passed it ahead to 7-foot LSU center Michael Ruzic, who caught the ball in stride, gracefully took two steps around Tyler and finished the and-one layup.
Ruzic’s interior scoring remained a bright spot for the third straight game, ending with 17 points. Dioubate also pitched in 15 points before fouling out. His fourth foul was a technical that came as he got into a short shoving match with Louisiana Tech’s Blackmon, who also received a technical foul. Divine Ugochukwu also was involved and assessed a technical foul.
“We got too much on the line to be engaged in that sort of stuff,” Wade said. “We got to be able to be up first, up quiet and move away from that and deescalate that because we have too much on the line, you know, to be into that foolishness going into Saturday.”
When the Tigers didn’t force turnovers, they made Louisiana Tech take difficult shots mostly on the perimeter. The Bulldogs didn’t make their second field goal until the 12:21 mark and finished the game 18 of 57 from the field.
LSU’s lackluster 3-point shooting was one of the few critiques of the team as it entered 12 of 50 from beyond the arc. Wade’s team improved, making the quality looks it previously missed. The Tigers went 8 of 24 on 3s.
Backup shooting guard drained 4 of 10 3-pointers.
LSU’s next game is against No. 14 Gonzaga at 2:30 p.m. at Numerica Veterans Arena in Spokane, Washington.
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