LSU basketball loses its 11th straight game, fall to Mississippi State on the road
Let the drought continue.
LSU basketball's 10-game losing streak got extended to 11 on Wednesday, as the Tigers fell to Mississippi State in Starkville, 64-53.
LSU (12-12, 1-10 SEC) struggled on offense again. The Tigers were held to 42.6% shooting from the floor and 33.3% shooting from 3-point range. Their ball movement was subpar and they couldn't capitalize on the handful of open looks they generated against Mississippi State's lockdown defense.
The Bulldogs (16-8, 4-7) weren't great on offense either. But thanks to forward D.J. Jeffries, who led the team with 18 points, their struggling offense did just enough.
Meanwhile, KJ Williams led the Tigers with 11 points and five rebounds. Along with Williams, freshman Shawn Phillips Jr. also stepped up with five rebounds and two blocks.
Trae Hannibal, who didn't play on Saturday because of a coach's decision, sat out against the Bulldogs with a lower right leg injury. Justice Williams, despite starting the game, failed to play two minutes.
LSU will try to break its losing skid when it faces Texas A&M at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday.
Turnovers: The story of the first half
LSU turned over the ball 11 times in the first half. The Tigers were constantly pressured by the Bulldogs' tight defense and simply did not handle it well.
Mississippi State has a very good defense. It entered Wednesday's affair with the No. 6 defense in the nation, according to KenPom, and had done an exceptional job of forcing turnovers, causing 15.5 per game.
But regardless, LSU's turnover problems popping up again on Wednesday is nothing short of concerning.
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A quiet KJ
Williams had a very quiet first half against the Bulldogs.
The Murray State transfer and Tigers' leading scorer attempted just two shots in the opening half, finishing the first 20 minutes with just six points.
Granted, Williams' six led the way for the Tigers at the half. But given how relatively mute his production has been in recent contests – he's attempted more than 10 shots in a game just once over the last four games – another reserved outing on Wednesday continued a concerning trend.
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU basketball loses 11th straight game in defeat to Mississippi State
