As you may recall, I mentioned in my previous article that LSU Basketball needed to put together a complete game in order to advance to the Round of 32. And if you had a chance to check out Saturday’s contest between LSU and St. Bonaventure, then you would know that the Tigers checked off every box on their way to an impressive 76-61 win.
Although the Tigers struggled to get themselves going offensively early on, their suffocating defense prevented the Bonnies from doing damage on the offensive end and taking charge of the ball game.
Yes, the Tigers may have been stuck at two points for 4+ minutes, but because they were devoted to staying in front of the Bonnies out on the perimeter, limiting them to just one shot (for the most part, as they surrendered just 9 offensive rebounds), and taking on different assignments during various defensive possessions they didn’t have to worry too much about falling behind.
Osun Osunniyi did manage to block 3 shots on Saturday which isn’t too surprising considering his tremendous defensive instincts, but overall I would say that the Tigers did a solid job of finding Osunniyi’s chest during their drives, and making it difficult for him to be an explosive two-foot leaper (which hindered his ability to block more shots).
Cameron Thomas provided the Tigers with the offensive production they needed in order to build a comfortable lead for themselves. The freshman standout notched 27 points and four rebounds in 39 minutes of play. 11 of Thomas’ 27 points came from the free throw line which speaks to his ability to successfully get into the paint with ease and force his defenders to jump/lean into him during his gathering and elevation process at the rim.
Trendon Watford, Darius Days, and Aundre Hyatt all played huge roles in the Tigers’ convincing 15-point victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, as they each posted a double-double in similar fashion (Watford scored 11 points and recorded 11 rebounds, Days netted 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, and Hyatt notched 13 points and snagged 10 rebounds). Javonte Smart didn’t have the strongest outing on Saturday as he was only able to contribute 7 points and 1 assist, but I have no doubt that the 6’4 guard will pick up his play in the Round of 32.
LSU will only get to celebrate their Round of 64 win for a little while, as they will have to prepare for a Michigan team that is coming off of an 82-66 opening-round win against Texas Southern.
There are many ways that the Wolverines can impose their will on their opponents which makes them such a difficult team to take down, but if the Tigers are able to achieve the three things that I am prepared to discuss in this article, they could advance to the Sweet 16.