Recap: LSU 79, Florida 61 - Tigers Silence Florida Crowd

After a very disappointing loss at home to Texas A&M, LSU seemed to correct their mistakes in a bloodbath over Florida 79-61. The loss was the Gators worst home loss since 2010. LSU was led by Jarell Martin who scored 22 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. His front-court mate, Jordan Mickey, had his 10th double double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Hornsby and Quarterman each added 15 points apiece.

No one on Florida's squad scored over 10 points in the game, and LSU held Florida to 0.88 points per possession. Dorian Finney-Smith was held to 10 points on 13 shots. The Gators were also held to 3 of 16 from the three point stripe, a place that has helped Florida in the past.



LSU shot 94.4% from the free throw line, 61.5% from three, and 48.7% from inside the arc. They out-rebounded the Gators 35-30 and had a positive AST:TO ratio. The Tigers had control of the game nearly the entire time, playing with a lead from the 12 minute mark of the first half till the end. While the Tigers struggled to finish against Missouri and Texas A&M, LSU's largest lead of the night was the final score as LSU was able to drain clock and hit late shot clock jumpers.

For the third straight game, Darcy Malone got the start, and while he did pick up 4 fouls in 13 minutes, he is easily our best option right now at center. He made his only shot he took, had no turnovers, and LSU was able to run offense through him without any errors on his part. I'd expect to see Malone continue to start and play between 10-25 minutes based on performance and foul trouble.

Patterson and Quarterman both performed exceptionally off the bench. While Patterson only scored 6 points on 2/3 from the three point line, his contributions go much further than just scoring. He was able to guard the perimeter with a ton of success and brought a calming effect to the floor after Gray struggled with the press.

The win went a long way in some of the computer rankings. LSU's KenPom ranking moved from 59th to 40th. RPI moved from 53 to 42. Even Dick Vitale tweeted out that LSU was one of the "stars" of the night with their big win in Gainesville.

Moving forward, LSU plays at Vanderbilt on Saturday night. Vanderbilt took Kentucky to the wire in Rupp. They play tough and can shoot the ball. Still, LSU has a chance to win on the road at two of the toughest venues in the SEC this week.