2019 NCAA Tournament: LSU’s season ends with loss to Michigan State

A memorable season for the LSU Tigers came to a close Friday night in Washington DC, as the Michigan State Spartans defeated LSU, 80-63, in their Sweet Sixteen matchup.

Michigan State scored the first eight points of the game, as the Tigers looked overmatched from the very beginning, and the Spartans led by double-digits for most of the first half because a Tremont Waters three-pointer cut it to 12 going into the break.

Michigan State controlled the glass and paint in the first half, with 16 of their 40 points coming in the paint and 12 of their 40 points coming off 10 offensive rebounds. LSU had no answer for Aaron Henry, who hauled in seven rebounds in the first half and scored 13 points.

Waters did all he could to keep the Tigers afloat in this game, including scoring the first seven points of the half to cut the deficit to five points, but it simply wasn’t enough. Michigan State went on an 11-0 run to get the lead back to 15, and they cruised to victory over the course of the rest of the second half.

Waters led all scorers with 23. Henry led Michigan State with 20. The Spartans will face the winner of Duke/Virginia Tech on Sunday. LSU finishes the year 28-7.