The defending SEC champs found themselves down in the 1st half as Tennessee came out hot, but LSU finished the first half on a 7-0 run to grab a one-point halftime lead. The Bayou Bengals pulled away in the second half for a 78-64 victory over the Vols. Just the second team to score more than 70 points against the Volunteers this season.

Javone Smart led the way with 21 points, five made 3-pointers and four assists. It’s the second straight game in which Smart as played really well and he also did not have any turnovers. As a team, the Tigers only had eight turnovers. LSU has really improved with its ball handling, they started the season averaging nearly 20 turnovers a game.

Skylar Mays had a good game as well. The senior from Baton Rouge scored 17 points and had five rebounds. Freshman Trendon Watford added 15 points and nine rebounds. Darius Days had seven points and eleven rebounds, several on the offensive glass that were huge in the game.

Tennessee started hot as they drained nine 3-pointers in the first half, shooting nearly 70-percent from three-point territory. But they only hit four 3-pointers in the second half and finished the game shooting just 40% from the field.

LSU is now 9-4, 1-0 in the SEC. The Tigers have won 10 straight SEC road games, the longest streak since the early 1980s

They will host Arkansas (11-1) on Wednesday and then Mississippi State on Saturday.

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