Marquette Edges No. 22 LSU in Legends Semifinals

That, friends, is what we call a palate cleanser.

Freshman Ben Simmons had a monster game, but it was the shot he didn’t take that made the difference in No. 22 LSU’s 81-80 loss to Marquette in the semifinals of the FanDuel Legends Classic on Monday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

LSU woke up from there, as six quick points forced Coach Wojo to take an early timeout.

Antonio Blakeney leads the Tigers (3-0) in scoring with at 19.3 average. “We know how good Ben is and what he’s capable of providing for this team. He’s a unique matchup but I thought overall our guys did a good job against him”.

Marquette leads the all-time series, 2-1, including an 84-80 win over LSU back in 2012, in the last meeting between the two.

“I think I let Marquette score too much”, Simmons said.

After the break, it was Henry Ellenson’s turn to shine.

Marquette used a layup on its last possession of the half to lead at the break, 36-34.

Marquette (2-2) will meet Arizona State, a 79-76 victor over North Carolina State, for the title, while LSU (3-1) will play the North Carolina State at 4:30 p.m.in the consolation contest on ESPNU.

Marquette pushed its advantage back to nine, 75-66, on a three-pointer by Ellenson but the Tigers responded with a three pointer and a second-chance layup by Sampson to get within three, 75-72, at the 3:24 mark.

And then stuff, as they say (at least if there are kids around), got kinda weird. More full-court pressure caused Carter to cough up the rock again, trimming MU’s lead to one. If Marquette’s defense improves, they could develop into a scary team. However, LSU was charged with a foul near the Marquette free throw line and Jujuan Johnson made both with 9.1 seconds left for the final margin.

“We have players who can step up and hit shots”. Fischer sagged off Simmons, forcing a pass to the baseline, and then was in flawless position to force another pass when Brandon Sampson drove on Carter.

With career highs of 23 points and 16 rebounds against South Alabama on Thursday night, Simmons became the first SEC freshman to have a 20-point, 15-rebound game since Kentucky’s Julius Randle did it during the 2013-14 season.

Despite the loss, Simmons gave the fans and National Basketball Association scouts their money’s worth with 21 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.