Rapid Reaction: LSU eliminated from NCAA Tournament, falling in close loss to Iowa State
By Andrew Olson
Published:
No. 6-seed LSU came up short against No. 11-seed Iowa State on Friday night in Milwaukee. The Tigers’ 2021-22 season comes to a close with a 59-54 loss to the Cyclones.
It was a 5-point game at the half, 24-19 in Iowa State’s favor. The teams played evenly in the second half, but LSU was unable to overcome the deficit. Iowa State led by as many as 11 points (50-39) in the second half, but LSU didn’t let the game get away. The Tigers battled back, getting it down to a 1-point game (51-50) with 2:13 left on a Darius Days free throw. Days finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds while Tari Eason led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points.
ISU’s Tyrese Hunter, the game’s leading scorer (23 points), delivered the dagger with under 20 seconds left, draining a 3-pointer, his seventh of the night.
TYR3S3 HUNT3R. AGAIN. 🥶#MarchMadness | @CycloneMBB pic.twitter.com/04Myap6Edn
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
Neither team shot above 40%. LSU finished with more turnovers (19) than field goals (17). Iowa State shot just 35.7% (20-of-56) from the field, slightly below the Tigers’ mark of 37% (17-of-46). Three-pointers favored the Cyclones in a big way. ISU was 12-of-37 from 3-point territory, while LSU made just 4-of-19 3-point attempts. The Tigers won the rebound battle, 38-30, and took advantage of more trips to the foul line, making 16-of-23 free-throw attempts while ISU was 7-of-10.
In terms of seeding and the betting line, it was an NCAA Tournament upset on paper, though, LSU was playing under interim head coach Kevin Nickelberry after Will Wade’s dismissal Saturday. The Tigers finish with a 22-12 record.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
