LSU Basketball: 3 reasons why Tigers fell to Saint Louis Billikens

LSU struggled defensively all game

It may have just been me, but it seemed as though if LSU was just a tad bit engaged on the defensive end, they would have walked away from Chaifetz Arena with a victory on Saturday. Instead, the Tigers elected to take several plays off, and give up open shots repeatedly.

I appreciate the fact that the Tigers were committed to switching every screen, so that life would be easier for every player on the floor, but it didn’t really make a difference in the end. As soon it looked like the Tigers were communicating well, and paying attention to all of the action that the Billikens were running, someone would fall asleep on the back side, and either give up a wide open layup, or commit a foul that sent the Billikens to the foul line.

Likewise, when LSU decided to switch things up defensively, and implement the run and trap tactic as soon as Yuri Collins crossed half-court, the Tigers gave up countless open threes to Javonte Perkins and Gibson Jimerson.

Why? Well, because the second level of defenders thought that they could get away, with solely focusing on the guy that was bringing the ball up the floor (who was Collins), and focusing less on the talented scorers that were just a few feet away from them. The Billikens took advantage of this right away, and prioritized getting the ball into the high post first, before skipping passes over to the opposite side of the court, and getting great looks from behind the arc.

Javonte Perkins (who notched 32 points on 55.5% shooting) did make some difficult jumpers, when the Tigers closed out on him under control, and with a high hand, but he did not have to deal with that often. There was even a stretch late in the second half, where Perkins scored eight points in less than two minutes, because of the Tigers inability to find him consistently, and keep him in check.

When the Tigers decided to play regular man to man defense, the game didn’t get any better for them, as they continuously allowed Perkins to rip through to his right or left, and get around them with ease. And yes, I get it, Perkins is an elite scorer who can go and get a bucket at any time, but he isn’t the type of player that is going to shake you out of your shoes, and cause you to get happy feet (which would make it look like you were dancing as you were defending him).

He is a guy that will catch the ball at the top of the key or one of the wings, and attack the side that will allow him to easily rise up for a mid-range jump shot, or get all the way to the rim without any major issues.

That is why the Tigers shouldn’t have struggled as much as they did, to keep Perkins in front of them, and leave him no choice but to keep the ball moving. You do have to give Perkins a lot of credit, for noticing that the Tigers clearly didn’t pick up on his tendencies, or attempt to get him out of his comfort zone at all.

I truly believe that if the Tigers had made more of an effort, to trying to make Perkins’ life as difficult as they possible could, they may have been in better shape, when the game was up for grabs in crunch time.