LSU’s Winning Streak is Snapped in Athens, Tigers Lose 91-78

After getting a season defining win against Tennessee and scoring a season-best 104 points against Auburn, the LSU men’s basketball team got an unpleasant taste of reality Tuesday night.

The Tigers (14-7, 9-5) played an ugly game and lost to Georgia (14-9, 7-9) 91-78. LSU trailed for virtually the entirety of Tuesday’s game, and was down by as many as 22 points.

“It was a total embarrassment,” Will Wade said after the game. “I feel bad for all of our fans and everybody who follows our program. It was laughable and it starts with me.”

If there’s any positives from Tuesday’s game, I’ve yet to find them. LSU shot 40 percent from the floor and barely made 25 percent of its threes. The Tigers had as many turnovers, 11, as they did assists and were once again out-rebounded.

Offensively LSU was as out of sync as they have been all season, needing 77 possessions to score 78 points. Cam Thomas needed 19 shots—and eight free throw attempts—to score 21 points. Trendon Watford and Darius Days combined needed 20 shots to piece together 17 points, and we’re 0-9 on their three-pointers; in fact Days had more fouls, five, than points, four.

Georgia, on the other hand, had no issues on offense. Toumani Camara led all scorers with 22 points and was a crisp 9-12 shooting. Camara also grabbed 10 rebounds. K.D. Johnson scored 21 points and got to the free throw line an absurd 14 times. Tye Fagan, 18 points, and Sahvir Wheeler, 14, also pitched in, scoring a combined 32 points.

For LSU, Tuesday’s defeat is the kind of bad loss the Tigers can’t afford. Maybe it’s not bad enough to put LSU back on the bubble, but for a team that appeared to have worked its way off the 8/9 line, Tuesday was a step in the wrong direction.

LSU has a chance to get back on track Saturday afternoon in a pivotal game at Arkansas.