Behind the Boxscore: Auburn

-17: LSU’s opening deficit

That’s the game right here. LSU’s made a bad habit of getting down early but they’ve been able to overcome each and every time. But LSU finally stepped up in weight class and the other Tigers in their gym put LSU in a hole they couldn’t climb out of.

+2: LSU’s scoring advantage the rest of the game

Give credit to LSU, they outscored Auburn 54-52 the rest of the way. If you take away the 18-1 start, LSU wins its SEC opener and Will Wade gets his first win at Auburn. Hopefully Tuesday night LSU tries its best not to get weighed down by a 17-point anchor.

11:3: Xavier Pinson and Eric Gaines’s turnover-to-assist ratio

LSU’s ball movement was virtually nonexistent Wednesday night and the Tiger starting backcourt did more harm than good. Not only were they sloppy with the ball, but neither could buy a basket as the duo combined to shoot 4-20 and 1-11 from three. Speaking of threes...

6-29: LSU’s three point shooting

That’s 20.6 percent. LSU is not a good three-point shooting team but for whatever reason the Tigers forced the issue time and time again. Maybe it was nerves, after all the majority of this roster hasn’t played in a packed house, but I imagine one reason why LSU settled for so many threes is because of...

14: Number of shots blocked

Auburn center Walker Kessler had 11 blocks by himself. LSU was 5-17 on layups and you can credit most of that to Kessler doing his best Dikembe Mutombo impression.

21: Number of turnovers forced

Give credit to LSU, the Tiger defense kept LSU in Wednesday’s game longer than the 18-1 start would indicate. The problem, however, was when LSU did force turnovers they didn’t make Auburn pay scoring only 16 points off turnovers.

17: Number of conference games remaining

It’s one game. LSU has 17 more opportunities to finish at or near the top of the conference standings.