Marquette 81, LSU 80: Tempo-free and takeaways

Ben Simmons' New York debut did more than just live up to hype, with 21 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists, albeit in a losing effort. (Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

It was billed as the Ben Simmons show, and after his 21-point, 20-rebound, 7-assist tour de force, rightfully so. In the end, however, it was Marquette who flipped the script on what was supposed to be a dominant performance in a convincing victory, instead grinding out an 81-80 win over the Tigers in the semifinals of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center. We tell the story even further by going inside the numbers:

Possessions: 82 (First half: 40, second half: 42)

Points Per Possession: 

Marquette 0.99 (81 points in 82 trips)

The Golden Eagles bettered their first half mark of 0.90 with a much more efficient 1.07 after the intermission, recording 45 points in 42 trips down the floor. Henry Ellenson was the biggest contributor here, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the second half.

LSU 0.98 (80 points in 82 trips)

The Tigers also picked up the pace in following the halftime break, checking in at 1.10 points per possession after a meager 0.85 in the first 20 minutes. Ben Simmons was able to impose his will more both with and without the ball in his hands, getting LSU's guard trio of Tim Quarterman, (20 points) Antonio Blakeney, (14 points) and Brandon Sampson (10 points) involved more frequently.

Four Factors:

eFG Percentage: Marquette: .578 (First half: .589, second half: .567)

LSU: .425 (First half: .484, second half: .378)

Free Throw Rate: Marquette: 41.4% (First half: 28.6%, second half: 53.3%)

LSU: 34.2% (First half: 18.8%, second half: 46.3%)

Offensive Rebound Percentage: Marquette: 19.6% (First half: 21.7%, second half: 17.4%)

LSU: 37.5% (First half: 26.7%, second half: 44.0%)

Turnover Rate: Marquette: 26.8% (First half: 32.5%, second half: 21.4%)

LSU: 14.6% (First half: 22.5%, second half: 7.1%)

Worthy Observations

- Marquette was able to both clamp down on their defense in the second half (as evidenced by the .106 disparity in eFG percentage) and force LSU into taking ill-advised shots from beyond the arc, (the Tigers were just 3-for-13 from distance after the break) a credit to not just experienced role players shining through when it mattered most, but quite simply, a total team effort. "You want your older guys, when their backs are against the wall, to step up and be leaders," Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski said after the game. "Everybody who played made a winning play, and that was encouraging."

- While the first half was not as aesthetically pleasing during its 40-possession duration, both teams kept a much better handle on the ball to conclude the evening. Marquette's 22 turnovers will undoubtedly be a cause for concern back home in Milwaukee, but only nine of the miscues occurred in the second half. LSU, on the contrary, played much crisper, giving it away just three times after doing so on nine occasions in the opening stanza.

- The interior combination of Luke Fischer and Henry Ellenson seems to be merely scratching the surface of what it can eventually become. Together, the pair neutralized freshman sensation and likely No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Ben Simmons enough to where the 35 points and 19 rebounds posted by the duo was just as impressive as Simmons' virtuoso effort. Said Wojciechowski of his forwards: "These two guys really were men for us. I'm proud of their effort."

- Finally, we have Ben Simmons. In almost nine years as a member of the college basketball media, I personally have not seen; of those I have been fortunate to watch live, a 6'10" forward with the court vision and passing skills of this Australian dynamo. Compared to Magic Johnson and LeBron James by much more established names, the best comparison for Simmons is he is his own player. He runs the floor like a guard, and most importantly, gets his teammates involved on every possession. When assessing his performance, I am reminded of what my colleague Ray Floriani told me after watching Elena Delle Donne: "Don't look at the point total. Look at what is created." The same holds true for Simmons.

Final Thoughts

"There have been countless games that we were on the wrong end of. To come out on top of this one is big for us." - Marquette forward Luke Fischer (19 points, 8 rebounds)

"There's a lot of spotlight on us two, (he and Simmons) but it's a team game at the end." - Marquette freshman forward Henry Ellenson (16 points, 11 rebounds)

"We knew they would come out and play extremely hard. With that understanding, they did an excellent job punching first." - LSU head coach Johnny Jones

On Ben Simmons

"He's a powerful driver. I knew I could give him a step, because he doesn't shoot as much." - Henry Ellenson

"He's a unique matchup. Overall, I thought our guys did a good job against him." - Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski

"Defense, definitely. I let them score too much." - Simmons himself on what he feels needs improvement in his game

"We know the potential in how good he is and what he's capable of providing for this team. As a team, we can't ask him to put up these numbers night in and night out, but I thought he played an excellent game with a sense of urgency that was needed. In the open floor, I thought he did a great job of getting guys on their heels." - Johnny Jones