Coming off a gut-wrenching loss to Kansas State in the Cayman Islands Classic finale, LSU aims to bounce back Sunday when it hosts Wofford in Baton Rouge, La.
On Wednesday the Tigers appeared to have tied the game against the Wildcats on a layup by Trae Hannibal as time expired, but the shot was waved off because of an issue with the clock starting on the inbounds play. The Tigers (5-1) were left on the short end of a 61-59 loss as a result.
That issue aside, turnovers didn’t help their cause as they had 14 in the second half and 17 for the game. The Tigers also shot just 50 percent from the free-throw line.
“We turned it over 14 times and shot 50 percent on our free throws. It’s hard to win when you do those two things,” LSU head coach Dave McMahon told the Advocate.
But McMahon continues to be encouraged by his team’s effort.
“I can’t fault our players for their great effort on the floor. We just couldn’t score enough points in the second half to win.”
As for Wofford (4-2), it’s riding a three-game winning streak into its battle with the Tigers and searching for its first road win. The Terriers beat North Greenville 70-59 on Wednesday.
LSU is one of two SEC schools Wofford plays this coming week as it travels to Vanderbilt next Saturday.
Freshman Jackson Paveletzke has played a key role for the Terriers, tied for the team lead in points with B.J. Mack at 16.5 points per outing. Paveletzke is also their top playmaker, dishing out a team-best 23 assists (3.8 per game).
“Paveletzke is fearless. He doesn’t play like a freshman,” Wofford head coach Jay McAuley told WSPA 7 News earlier this season.
LSU has two players averaging better than 16 points per game in KJ Williams (17.3) and Adam Miller (16.3). The Tigers have scored 70 or more points four times and are 3-0 at home.
–Field Level Media