Marquette 81, LSU 80: Ray Floriani's Tempo-Free Analysis

The exterior of Barclays Center, host of the Legends Classic. (Photo courtesy of Ray Floriani)

Brooklyn, NY ­- Monday evening and time for the Legends Classic, a time to reflect for just a minute regarding the basketball smorgasbord served in our area. ESPN may give us ‘Feast Week,’ yet we do quite well in this locale. Think about it. The past weekend, we had two teams that faced each other in last year’s national championship game. They didn’t match up at the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden, but Duke emerged victorious all the same. VCU and Georgetown, well regarded programs, did more than just round out the field.

On this hectic rush hour, evening the train to New York is shared with New York Ranger fans. The followers wearing jerseys with names ‘Messier’, ‘Lundqvist’, ‘Stepan,’ and the like were fine to this Blueshirt follower. The evening, though, called for basketball. The 2 or 3 train (I am still a relative rookie on the subway) rambled on to Brooklyn. Barclays Center would give us NC State, LSU, Marquette and Arizona State. The same venue will host the Pre-­Season NIT on Thursday and Friday. Finally, six teams will take to the floor Saturday for a doubleheader, followed by a single game at night featuring Louisville and Saint Louis, all within a range of just several miles, and stops on the line.

A great opportunity for those immersed in the college game. A wonderful time to see contrasting styles from teams carrying the banners of a number of conferences throughout several regions. The New York version of ‘Feast Week’. Not even a train delay or two or an uncooperative MetroCard vending machine could dampen the holiday hoops mood.

On to LSU and Marquette in the first Legends semi.....

The early minutes of the second half of the LSU-­Marquette opener saw the Golden Eagles go on a run, not a turnover-induced flurry of transition points. From the 16 to 8-minute mark, the first seven field goals for Marquette were in the paint, dribble penetration and basic post spin moves that LSU simply could not defend.

LSU was not lacking in something virtually impossible to measure: Resilience. The Tigers got the key stop, hit the three, made the steal. Simply, they hung around and were determined not to go away. Ben Simmons' acrobatic penetration gave LSU its first lead of the night with 21 seconds remaining. Marquette answered with two free throws by Jajuan Johnson eleven seconds later. The Golden Eagles held their collective breath as a last-second LSU three missed its mark. Marquette 81­, LSU 80.

The numbers......
Possessions: LSU 82, Marquette 83
Offensive efficiency: LSU 98, Marquette 98

eFG: LSU 43 , Marquette 58
FT Rate: LSU 34 , Marquette 41
OREB pct.: LSU 29 , Marquette 26

TO Rate: LSU 15 , Marquette 27

Leading Scorers and Efficiency Factors

LSU: Ben Simmons 21 points, 47 EF, per minute 1.18

Marquette: Luke Fischer 19 points, EF 28, PM .800

The difference: As LSU coach Johnny Jones would later discuss, shooting. The Tigers forced Marquette into a 27% turnover rate and won the offensive battle of the boards. Shooting was a shortcoming. LSU was 8-of-27 from three, (30 percent) while Marquette hit 7-of-19 for 37% beyond the arc. In addition, the Golden Eagles had a 40­-34 edge in points in the paint.

Final Thoughts

Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski:
“Our guys responded. They prepared and we went in controlling the things we could. We have a young team that really responded on the big stage.”

“Luke (Fischer) was a leader throughout and JJ’s (Jaquan Johnson) free throw were the difference....our guys stepped up. We won this game with preparation, with what we did the last 48 hours.”

“His (Simmons) size, athleticism and ability to handle the ball made him a tough matchup, but I thought our guys defended well.”

“I’m happy our guys responded and have a chance to win a championship.” 


LSU coach Johnny Jones:
“Tough setback early in the season. They came out ‘punching’ (figuratively) and getting a 10-point lead. Our guys fought back. We never were able to get comfortable shooting the ball, but give credit the way our guys battled back.”

“We know what Ben (Simmons) is capable of providing. We know he can’t put up those numbers every night. We have other guys who need to step up. I thought Ben played an excellent game with a sense of urgency.”

“Defense is something I need to improve on. Definitely defense in the post.” - LSU’s Ben Simmons on what he needs to improve on.