The largest FedExForum crowd of the season entered Thursday night with hopeful anticipation.
They were here to witness coach Tubby Smith's new-look roster en masse for the first time, ready to be pleasantly surprised by a group picked to finish ninth in the American Athletic Conference.
For a while, Memphis provided encouraging evidence that their blend of scrap and grit could overcome whatever else they may lack at this point.
But as the evening wore on, LSU kept hitting 3-pointers, freshman Tremont Waters kept zooming past defenders and Memphis kept missing shots.
Eventually, the Tigers from Louisiana simply proved to be too much for the Tigers from Memphis, who fell for the first time at home this year, 71-61.
The decisive sequence came early in the second half, after the two teams entered halftime tied at 36. LSU went on a 12-0 run as Memphis (9-4) went cold after shooting 54.5 percent through the first 14 minutes of action.
Sophomore Skylar Mays knocked down three 3-pointers during the surge and Waters had his way with the Memphis defense.
LSU (9-3) finished the game 13 of 26 from 3-point range, the third time in four games Memphis allowed a team to hit that many shots from beyond the arc. Memphis, meanwhile, continued its season-long shooting woes and went just 4 for 22 from 3-point range.
Memphis shot 37.3 percent from the field as a team, and 28.6 percent in the second half. It had more turnovers (9) than field goals (8) after halftime.
Forward Kyvon Davenport led the way for Memphis, recording his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Jeremiah Martin added 13 points and six assists. Senior Jimario Rivers returned from a two-game absence due to a concussion to score 10 points and block three shots.
Memphis played without freshman David Nickelberry, who missed Thursday's game due to an illness.
Rocky Waters
The issues Memphis has had defending on the perimeter surfaced again against LSU. This time, however, the issue was more to do with the overwhelming talent of Waters.
The 5-11 freshman came out firing, launching from 3-point range, finishing over taller defenders in traffic and knifing into the lane to create for others.
He had 11 points, four assists and three steals before halftime and his impact became evident once he sat on the bench with two fouls late in the first half. LSU immediately committed a shot clock violation and had just one basket over the final two minutes.
Water finished with 18 points, eight assists and four steals for the game and proved to be the most gifted player on the floor.
No doubting Davenport
Most of the new Memphis players this year have been forced to combat up-and-down performances, but forward Kyvon Davenport has been a relative constant.
On Thursday, he calmed whatever nerves the Tigers might have had in their biggest home game of nonconference play, knocking down a 3-pointer to open the game’s scoring.
By the time the game was six minutes old, he had eight points, assisted on another 3-pointer by freshman Jamal Johnson, and drew a charge on defense. He’s now scored in double figures in all but one game this season, and his activity on both ends of the floor are invaluable to this team’s success.
Like the rest of his teammates, however, he struggled to shoot from outside after halftime.
Killer droughts
Memphis struggled with slow starts much of this season, but it came out clicking on Thursday. By the end of the first half, though, the Tigers went more than five minutes without a field goal until Rivers hit a lay-in before the halftime buzzer to tie the score at 36.
They weren’t as fortuitous early in the second half when nearly seven minutes elapsed with Memphis scoring just one field goal because of its inability to consistently dissect the LSU 2-3 zone defense.
LSU subsequently built a double-digit lead that became insurmountable.
Up Next
Memphis opens up American Athletic Conference play at No. 22 Cincinnati on New Year's Eve. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at BB&T Arena on Sunday.