LSU basketball losing streak reaches eight after poor second-half shooting vs Texas Tech

BATON ROUGE - Something had to give at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU basketball and Texas Tech had yet to win a game in 2023. Heading into their SEC/Big 12 Challenge showdown, the two teams were a combined 1-15 against their respective conferences.

The problems and losses continued for LSU on Saturday with the Tigers falling for the eighth consecutive time, 76-68.

After reversing an eight-point halftime deficit into a five-point lead with 8:59 to play in the second half, LSU's offense went ice cold. The Tigers failed to hit a shot from the 8:59 mark until there were just 25 seconds left to play. By that time, Tigers fans were already hitting the exits.

The loss was a crushing one for LSU (12-9). The Tigers had lost by at least double-digits in each of their last six games, and Saturday was their most competitive contest since their Jan. 3 defeat against Kentucky.

Adam Miller led the Tigers with 20 points while KJ Williams owned a team-high nine rebounds. Forward Kevin Obanor led Texas Tech (11-10) with 22 points and guard Elijah Fisher had a team-high nine rebounds.

LSU resumes its SEC schedule at Missouri on Wednesday (8 p.m., SEC Network).

Adam Miller with a strong first half

Miller was the main driver behind LSU's success on offense in the first half. The Illinois transfer scored 12 points and connected on four 3-pointers in the half, as the Tigers shot 42.9% from the field and 46.2% from beyond the arc.

Miller, a former top-40 recruit, has struggled for much of this season. Entering Saturday, Miller was only shooting 30.1% from 3-point range and 34.4% from the floor.

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Texas Tech shoots 52% in first half

Texas Tech put on an offensive clinic in the first half.

The Red Raiders shot 52% from the floor and 63.6% from 3-point range in the opening half. Combined with scoring 12 points off of seven LSU turnovers, Texas Tech finished the first with an eight-point lead.

Obanor led the way for Texas Tech with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first half. He also scored the Raiders' opening eight points of the game.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.