Hello Tiger fans! We like to keep things exciting in Death Valley! You can play up or down to teams but a win is a win. We are a great team, but we let someone play us with more drive and hype.
I don’t want this game to be misinterpreted. Louisiana Tech never looked like they were on our level. We were forcing turnovers, flipping the scoreboard and dominating every other aspect, as expected. They couldn’t stop our powerful run game and Joe Burrow came out throwing perfect dimes.
Yes, we absolutely got a little dry when fans started leaving and the game was so one-sided. Yes, we let them sneak 21 points on us while we sulked around wondering how one of J’Mar Smith’s 50 passes was completed down the field. Louisiana Tech was as fiery as expected and when they got a few things go their way, it fueled their fire. This is how these games are meant to go. One good play gives them all the confidence in the world and if you can’t crush it, it’s hard to shake them off.
If we had kept our motivation going through the whole game we would’ve dominated. We started and finished strong, but next week against Ole Miss I want us to keep our pace throughout the game, even if their defense is weak. It’s full-throttle all the way, baby! That’s how you dominate.
We had some improvements too. Joe Burrow was great with pressure, and we dominated the trenches after a poor showing at Southeastern. As for the best effort I saw, Grant Delpit wins that award by a mile. He looked like Jamal Adams. As an honorable mention I’ll nominate Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who got 136 yards on the ground, scrambling through would-be tacklers. Look out for number nine and number 22! LSU has so many great playmakers, a bright future is unavoidable!
GEAUX TIGERS!
Tigers looked ok though I’m concerned about the pass defense getting riddled for portion of the game; but maybe that is just football. They need to kick Ole Miss booty this weekend for sure.
Geaux Tigers
Q. The way you guys started tonight seemed very aggressive. Was there much talk going into this game this was one of the better teams you were going to be playing in November, and were you more prepared and amped up for that to get off to a good start? ALJAMI DURHAM: We were facing a good team tonight. We had a week where we amped it up. We wanted to come in and make a statement. We wanted to play hard and wanted to set the tone early and not wait. So we wanted to set the tone early that’s what we did. And I feel like we have to keep that tone throughout the whole game. Q. What didn’t allow you — what got you away from what was working in the first half there? In the second half looked like you didn’t find the groove again. ALJAMI DURHAM: Like you said, we didn’t find groove. I’ve got to take responsibility. I’ve got to make sure we don’t get into that position. I feel like we’ve got to reel it in and we can’t have a half a basketball like that again. Q. Al, you don’t see many freshmen coming into college basketball have three double-doubles in their first six games. What made this transition so easy for Trayce that he can be that effective early in his career? ALJAMI DURHAM: His work ethic. He’s a hard worker and he’s willing to do the little things. And I feel that Trayce, great basketball player and he’s going to do great things for us and he’s going to be big part of us. And Trayce, you see what’s going on. And I feel he’s putting it on display right now. Q. Al, seemed like there was even a moment near the end of the first half where you guys were struggling offensively and you dumped it into Joey. He was able to feed Trayce for one and take a runner. How much did the post players, do you think, settle you guys down in terms of playing through them? ALJAMI DURHAM: We’ve got trust in our post players. I feel like once we get it in, they’re good to either pass it out or score. And I feel like once we pass it in we have trust in them to do either or, or make a great decision out of the post. That’s what they showed you guys when they were playing zone, I think, at the time. And they made great decisions, either scored and made a great pass out. Q. Trayce, are you starting to feel a lot more comfortable with passing in and out of double teams, now that you’ve seen more of it? TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Most definitely. I think this week in practice, Coach Miller made a big emphasis on doubling every time we caught the ball. So, just reverse pivoting and throwing it out of the post is a big thing especially when you have guards open for shots. Q. I know the free-throw line is something you talked about a lot. But this is another night where you put up a really big number in terms of the points you get there in the second half in particular. How much of an emphasis does that have to remain for this team all season, getting into teams in terms of fouls quickly and getting to the free-throw line consistently on both halves? ALJAMI DURHAM: Coach Miller makes it a big emphasis for us to get to the line and get free throws and make sure — because I feel like he emphasizes us on depth. So we use our depth and we want to get to the line and get it inside and foul the other team out basically. Q. Trayce, you want to talk about getting to the free-throw line? TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: I agree. Coach Miller said because we’re a really deep team, a lot of teams aren’t as deep as us, so just trying to get to their secondary and their second unit and fouling those guys out. I know one of their players, No. 11, one of their best players, got in foul trouble early. We were able to capitalize on that. Q. Trayce, your third career double-double. Just how do you maintain that aggressive rebounding mindset in hitting the boards this early in the season? TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: It’s just a will. You have to want to go get the ball, honestly. I think I’ve done a pretty good job on that in timing, where the ball is going to come. And also just having my teammates feed me on offense and getting me easy buckets. So just letting the game come to me, really. Q. Wanted to ask you more about the first half and how things worked so well there. Seems like you guys were sharing it pretty well, finding each other. What is it that’s working? What do you guys like about the ball movement, the way you guys are finding each other? ALJAMI DURHAM: We’ve got confidence in each other. We feel like if we pass the ball to one of our teammates, we feel he can either knock it out or make a great decision for someone else. And I feel like we have a very well bond and a good trust in each other to make the right play when we’re passing it to each other, really.