In the first half of Thursday's SEC Tournament game, it looked as if LSU basketball was going to keep its slim SEC championship and March Madness hopes alive, evening the season series with Mississippi State following a deflating loss to the Bulldogs last month.

In the second half, though, MSU began to pull away. The Tigers started cold despite a seven-point halftime lead, and the Bulldogs eventually came back to lead by as many as nine points with under six minutes to go.

LSU battled back and even cut the deficit to one point with under four minutes to play, but the offense turned cold at the worst time, as the Tigers fell to the Bulldogs 70-60.

Trae Hannibal misses time with injury scare

LSU (17-15) senior point guard Trae Hannibal has stepped up down the stretch of this season with injuries and suspensions to other guards on roster, and has made a name for himself as one of the toughest, most physical players in the SEC. However, Hannibal was inadvertently elbowed in the face by MSU's DJ Jeffries on Thursday, which forced him to the locker room with about five minutes remaining in the first half. He returned to start the second.

Defense tightens up in first half

Mississippi State (20-12) entered Thursday as one of the best defenses in all of college basketball this season, but it was LSU's defense that stole the show. The Tigers prevented the Bulldogs from making a shot for the final seven minutes and 42 seconds of the first half. While MSU freshman Josh Hubbard drew some fouls and made all five of his free throws in that stretch, LSU forced Mississippi State to miss every shot attempt from the floor and forced four turnovers. The drought finally snapped as MSU scored about a minute into the first half, but in total, the Tigers shut the Bulldogs out from the floor for 8:45 of game time.

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Roles reverse in second

In the first half, LSU shot a respectable 45.8% from the floor and held Mississippi State to 29.4% shooting, but the Tigers couldn't keep up either performance in the second. The Tigers shot 30.8% on offense while the defense allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 51.6% from the floor in the second half.

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What's next

LSU is almost certainly eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention, but will see if it gets an NIT bid on Selection Sunday.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: LSU basketball eliminated by Mississippi State in SEC Tournament