LSU Defense And Better Offensive Execution Won The Night At Ole Miss In Double Overtime

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU guard Max “Maravich” Mackinnon stole the show with 34 points, including 12 in the second overtime, as the Tigers won at Ole Miss, 106-99, in double overtime Wednesday night.

But the defense shined when it counted late in regulation and in the overtime periods as Ole Miss’ offense under coach Chris Beard looked disjointed and self-destructed for the Rebels’ 10th consecutive loss in front of 7,357 at Sandy and John Black Pavillion in Oxford. Ole Miss fell to 11-17 and 3-12.

LSU wins a basketball game behind Mad Man Max Mackinnon:https://t.co/pHOOGejuBR

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) February 26, 2026

“You look at some of those plays that Rob Miller made, coming from the weak side to block shots,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “The four blocks – he really fixed some problems on that end.”

Center Robert Miller III had two of his four blocks late in regulation and in overtime while scoring 12 points with five rebounds. With 5.3 seconds to play in regulation, Miller came from the other side of the lane to swat away a layup attempt from star senior guard AJ Storr to keep the score tied at 82, which is where it stood for overtime.

Ole Miss had led 78-71 with 5:36 to play before going 2 of 9 from the field with a turnover. LSU hit just 2 of 6 shots over that same period, but made 6 of 8 free throws, including six straight over the final 2:46 with four by center Mike Nwoko and two by guard Rashad King.

“We were down eight with seven minutes to go, and the guys just kept making plays,” McMahon said. “I thought we hit clutch free throws, too. Rashad hit two, or we don’t even get to the extra period.”

LSU Basketball Has 1 Of Its Last Best Chances For A Victory At Ole Miss Wednesday

In the first overtime, Ole Miss kept struggling on offense, going 2 for 7 from the field while LSU hit 4 of 8. It was 90-90 going into the second overtime. The Tigers outscored the Rebels, 16-9, in the final five-minute OT period on 4 of 6 shooting from the field to 2 of 8.

“At the end of regulation, we had to get stops to get into overtime,” McMahon said. “Once it got to overtime, we were able to hold them to 26 percent from the floor (4 of 15) in the two overtimes.”

In the latter stages of regulation and the overtimes, McMahon had 6-foot-7 forward Pablo Tamba on Ole Miss 6-5 senior guard Ilias Kamardine, who managed just one field goal in the two overtimes on three attempts around 4-of-4 free throw shooting.

“I thought a big key in the game was we moved Pablo to their point guard late in the game,” McMahon said. “Just always a warrior. He guarded Kamardine, and we changed some of our match-ups. And then we were switching some late in the possession.”

McMahon’s offense, meanwhile, shot 57 percent (8 of 14) in the two overtimes, even though Nwoko fouled out in regulation with 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 10 of 10 from the line with five rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.

“I thought our guys really executed on the offensive end,” he said.

Freshman point guard Jalen Reece played all 47 minutes and 15 seconds out of a possible 50 minutes (two 20-minute halves and two five-minute OTs) and had 10 assists with just one turnover.

“Our execution offensively in critical moments was much better than the Ole Miss team, and that’s coaching on the sideline,” former LSU coach/LSU Radio Network analyst John Brady told McMahon after the game.

“I was just really pleased with our execution on both ends in the overtime periods, especially the second overtime,” McMahon said.

LSU had six players in double figures – Mackinnon (34), Nwoko (18), Tamba (15), King (13), Miller (12) and Reece (11). And that was without one of LSU’s best scorers – Marquel Sutton – going scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in 15 minutes.

“I thought the effort and competitive spirit were awesome,” McMahon said. “I thought we played with great unselfishness offensively. We did enough on the defense to get enough stops.”

And now LSU (15-13, 3-12) plays another SEC cellar dweller in Oklahoma (14-14, 4-11 SEC) on Saturday (5 p.m., SEC Network). Could there be a winning streak?

“Unless people are blind,” Brady said, “they’ve seen this team improve over the last three or four games.”