Win gives LSU shot in arm

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Maybe it was just the spark LSU basketball needed.

“When you’re trying to turn things around, you need a little bit of chance, need a little bit of luck,” first-year LSU coach Will Wade said. “You need something positive to happen so your kids can see results from all their hard work.”

The Tigers got a little gift from the hoops gods Saturday when 5-foot-11 freshman sensation Tre Waters splashed home a 35-foot shot with less than a second remaining as the Tigers snatched a 69-68 road victory away from Texas A&M.

“Certainly that shot can provide a jolt for us, give us something we can build off of as we move forward,” Wade said. “Trey’s shot can provide that for us.”

It won’t get much easier as the Tigers (10-4, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) stay on the road tonight to take on Arkansas (11-4, 1-2) at always-tough Bud Walton Arena.

But Waters, who arrived at LSU from New Haven, Connecticut, and picked up his second SEC freshman of the week award for his handiwork against A&M, has been the spark for most of what’s gone right for the Tigers this season. He also hit an earlier 25-foot bomb with 12 seconds remaining to key the comeback against the Aggies.

“He takes them from deep in practice, he takes them from deep in situational stuff that we do,” Wade said. “He’s hit some deep threes, hit some from the logos, but certainly not in that type situation.”

He leads the Tigers with a 17.4 points per game scoring average (fourth in the SEC) and tops the conference with six assists per game.

“He’s made a major impact,” Wade said. “People knew he was good coming out of high school, but I think we’d all be lying if we said we knew he’d be this good.

“You know how talented people are, but you don’t know how they’re going to react in the heat of the moment, when things get tough. 

“Tre’s got that gene, he’s got that trait where when things get a little tough or a little bit harder, when it’s time to be great at the end of the game, he’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s got that competitive factor and he’s going to make a great play more often than not.”

He should have more opportunities tonight against Arkansas in figures to be a high-scoring game.

Arkansas is the SEC’s top scoring team (88.5 ppg) and the Tigers are fourth (82.6) and ranked 1-2 in field goal percentage while the Tigers are 11th in scoring defense and Arkansas is dead last in the SEC at No. 14.

The Razorbacks (11-4, 1-2) opened SEC play with a 95-93 overtime win at home against Tennessee, but has since lost two in row — 78-75 at Mississippi State and 88-77 at home to the surprise of the league, Auburn (14-1, 2-0).