Xavier too much for LSU, leave BR with 80-70 victory

I thought LSU would be able to pull this one out at home, but unfortunately I was wrong. It wasn't hard to tell that Xavier was the more battle tested team, and that they had more talent 1-9. Despite going approximately nine minutes without scoring, it was nice to see LSU battle back within 5 points in the last couple of minutes. During the second half, LSU had 5-6 shots that rimmed out. After the last one, me and a former LSU player looked at each other and just kind of chuckled. It was just one of those nights, and those types of shots have been falling over the past three games. As far as the officiating is concerned, they let a lot of contact go around the basket. I felt that LSU was trying too hard to draw the foul at times and that this hurt them last night. Xavier is a very physical team, and this style of officiating was to their benefit. Having said that, Xavier earned this victory, and the refs aren't to blame.

Here are a few random thoughts from the game:

-Xavier wasn't a great free throw shooting team entering last night (right around 68%)but they shot lights out from the line going 20-24. On the other hand, LSU shot below their season average as they went 12-19 from the stripe. Down the stretch, Xavier made their free throws and this played a large role in determining the outcome.

-For the first time since Utah, LSU got outrebounded (40-27). Raymond was a very big guard, and he had his way on the boards pulling down 9 rebounds.

-Temple and Johnson combined for 10 points, and that simply isn't enough production between the two. In order for LSU to be successful, they really need for these two guys to combine for 18-20 points.

-Despite the loss, it was nice to see LSU take care of the ball. LSU only turned the ball over 11 times against a good defensive team, and Xavier turned it over 17 times. However, this doesn't really matter when you go 9 minutes without putting the ball in the hole.

-LSU is basically going 7 deep with only Q. Thornton and Martin logging any serious minutes off the bench. I know that Storm's back has been an issue, so I'm not sure if that is keeping him off the court. However, I wish they could get a few more productive minutes out of guys like Graham, Bass, and possibly Farrer.

At the end of the night, this game really didn't change my opinion of LSU's team. The Tigers play hard, and they should be a good team within the SEC. Unfortunately, things don't get much easier as they must travel to Knoxville on Wednesday night. As of now, I think LSU has a great shot at winning the SEC West and going something like 22-9, 10-6 or possibly 23-8, 11-5 due to the SEC being down.