Lsu Basketball’s Comeback in Oxford Rewrites Momentum — Fulwiley’s Career Night and Lockdown Fourth Change the Picture

Lsu Basketball’s upset-style rally in Oxford changes who will feel pressure and who will get a breather: players who were on the ropes now have breathing room, and a defense that delivered under pressure looks like the unit to lean on going forward. MiLaysia Fulwiley’s career-high 26 points anchored a 78-70 victory that turned a double-digit hole into a major confidence boost for the Tigers.

How this win reshapes immediate impact for Lsu Basketball and the roster

Here’s the part that matters: the victory altered immediate storylines for multiple stakeholders — the starting lineup that closed the game, bench rotations that contributed energy, and the coaching staff’s short-term margin for error. The fourth-quarter defensive shutdown in particular will be felt first by the team’s perimeter defenders and rotation decisions; holding the home team scoreless from the field in the final period shifted the matchup balance and preserved a ranked win that improves LSU’s standing in the short term.

What’s easy to miss is that this was more than a scoring night for one player — it was a collective swing that delivered on both ends when the margin for error disappeared. If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up, the 19-1 run over the final 6: 24 is the concrete sequence that turned questions about resilience into a clear statement of capacity.

Game details and decisive stretches

The game tipped a few minutes after 8 p. m. at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. LSU trailed by double digits in the second half and entered the fourth trailing 63-54, but flipped the script late. The Tigers finished with a 19-1 run over the last 6: 24 to pull away and secure a 78-70 victory.

• Leading performer: MiLaysia Fulwiley — career-high 26 points, plus seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and three steals.
• Secondary scoring: Flau’jae Johnson — 18 points, five rebounds, three assists.
• Decisive defensive detail: the home team was 0-for-17 from the field in the fourth quarter, with only seven free throws accounting for their late-period scoring; LSU outscored Ole Miss 24-7 in that frame.
• Late-game sequence: down 65-54 early in the fourth, LSU rallied with a 12-4 run to tie the game at 69 with three minutes remaining; Fulwiley’s free throws put LSU ahead for good.
• Records after the game: LSU improved to 23-4 overall and 9-4 in conference play; Ole Miss fell to 21-7 and 8-5 in league play.

Earlier coverage ahead of the matchup had framed both teams as searching to end streaks, describing LSU as having lost its last five games and Ole Miss its last nine starts — context that made the comeback feel like a particularly meaningful reversal of momentum.

Quick timeline rewind: LSU’s ability to erase a 10-plus point deficit was the first such comeback since overturning a 12-point deficit against Kentucky on February 23, 2025, making this rally the program’s most significant late-game recovery since that date.

• Fulwiley’s emergence as a go-to scorer on this night changes rotation confidence for the short term.
• Fourth-quarter defensive execution will influence match plans and late-game substitutions in coming weeks.
• Next signal to watch for confirmation: whether the team can sustain low-turnover play and similar late-game poise in the next outing at home.
• Roster attention: players who contributed to the closing run will see increased scrutiny and opportunity in rotation decisions.

The Tigers are scheduled to return home for a Sunday matchup against Missouri at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center; that next game will be the first chance to see if this comeback produces a trend rather than a single-night surge. The real question now is whether the late-game defense that dominated in Oxford can be delivered again under different circumstances.

What’s easy to miss is the multiplier effect of a career night: an individual milestone like Fulwiley’s can alter how opponents scout and how minutes are allocated, and that ripple could matter more than the eight-point final margin.