LSU Basketball in Need of Wins as Team Tumbles Toward Regular Season Finish

Will Wade saw the improvement in a few of the key areas that has plagued this LSU team. 

The turnovers were at a conference low on the road at Kentucky while the purple and gold also shot a respectable 83% at the free throw line against the Wildcats. But where this team was really killed in its most recent SEC loss was putting the ball in the basket down the stretch, in particular finishing at the rim.

LSU (19-9, 7-8) has been a team that when running and executing smoothly on offense, it's getting downhill, attacking the rim and getting defenses out of rotation for open looks. The Tigers were able to do all of those things fairly well in their most recent effort but couldn't finish with made baskets. 

It's a crushing feeling to do so much right on an offensive possession and then not be able to convert, something Wade says this team has practiced all season but just hasn't been able to crack the code.

"The first two layups we missed were point blank. You spend three hours diagramming one play to get a layup like that and you miss it and it's just deflating," Wade said. "We had every option open but we just gotta finish some plays. It's been an issue all year and as you get into tournament play you have to finish the easy ones."

Statistically LSU has been shooting from the perimeter at a higher percentage than any prior season under Wade. Where the troubles have come offensively for this group is that it's also taking a higher percentage number of shots at the rim than ever before. LSU has always been a get to the rim and convert team under Wade, shooting three percentage points higher at the rim than prior seasons. 

The problem is the group is finishing at a 12% lower clip and has just two players who are finishing at the rim at a 50% clip. Wade says LSU spends at least 20 minutes a practice finishing at the rim stemming from angles, technique and where the ball should be placed on the back court. 

There's a lot that goes into finishing around the rim, most importantly playing through and sometimes over contact. 

"It's about finishing smarter. When the defense is right there and we're physically out manned it doesn't make much sense to finish through them, you need to go vertically and finish higher," Wade said. "We gotta knock em in, we're getting better looks but we gotta make em. We had four or five missed finishes that were easy."

It's one area LSU hopes to improve in a must win game on Saturday when Missouri comes to town. At 7-8 in conference play with three games to go, every single win is critical to not only boosting LSU's chances of getting in the NCAA tournament but what seed it'll get as a result. 

Two of the final three are at home to close out the 2021-22 season, with Alabama coming to town next weekend on senior night for Darius Days in what will be another crucial matchup for seeding purposes. LSU's in a position right now where its still top 20 in the NET rankings which bodes well for its tournament hopes.

"Coming down the stretch in conference play you've gotta defend your home court, play well so we need to play better than we have been," Wade said. "We gotta get in the NCAA tournament and winning tomorrow night would help us tremendously towards that. You gotta get in and position ourselves as best we can but our guys know how important every game is. We've got to handle our home court in SEC play."