LSU’s second exhibition did more than give fans a homecoming look at Will Wade. It offered another glimpse at what this team can be if the pieces available right now keep trending up.
The Tigers outlasted UCF 85-81 in a game that swung back and forth before Donovan Dent and Mo Dioubate delivered the late punch. LSU did it with a thin rotation again, using only six players, and Wade leaned on his starters for nearly the whole night. Even in that limited look, the Tigers again came away with a win over a team that made the 2026 NCAA tournament.
Dent was the driving force. After a quiet debut against McNeese, the UCLA transfer looked far more comfortable Wednesday, finishing with 21 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. He also brought real edge on defense, piling up 3 steals and 3 blocks while closing hard on perimeter shots.
“[It’s] just kind of keeping that mindset, like, you know you’re a good player, and just staying in the routine, staying consistent in what you’re doing,” Dent said.
Wade said Dent’s impact went well beyond the box score.
“I thought he was really engaged tonight,” Wade said. “He drew 13 fouls. He basically fouled two guys out himself.”
Behind Dent, LSU got useful support from Michigan State transfer Divine Ugochukwu and Kansas State transfer Abdi Bashir Jr. Bashir, in particular, found his rhythm from deep. After Wade said Tuesday the staff would “trust his shot,” he delivered by hitting 6-of-12 from 3-point range and finishing with a team-high 26 points.
“I just got back in my routine,” Bashir said. “The McNeese game was my first game back, probably since January, so I kind of had to get my feet back under things.”
Ugochukwu, meanwhile, had a quieter first half after his strong showing against McNeese. He handled the point guard role for less than two minutes in the opening half before Wade turned back to Dent once Ugochukwu hit a rough patch. Still, Wade said the Tigers have confidence in him.
“Divine’s played some point guard, and he’s somebody that we have a lot of belief in,” Wade said. “He’s somebody that’ll play point guard for us as well.”
Michael Ruzic kept showing why LSU needs him on the floor in every possible way. The 20-year-old Croatian freshman has been the Tigers’ lone active big man this preseason because of eligibility problems, and he kept battling through cramps and fatigue against UCF. Even so, he gave LSU a steady presence inside and from the perimeter, hitting the transition 3, setting hard screens and making himself available for dump-offs at the rim.
“He’s been awesome,” Wade said. “Stretched the floor early, hit the transition three, can drive. He just sets great screens.”
Ruzic finished with 13 rebounds and 4 blocks, and LSU’s work around him was enough to edge UCF in the paint 36-34. His screening also helped open the offense enough for LSU to knock down 10 of 26 from long range.
On the other side of the ball, Ruzic was LSU’s most dependable defender, especially as the Tigers tried to protect a short-handed front line.
The broader roster issue still hangs over everything, though. Dessert and Saliou were on the roster before the game, but Skyy Clark remains out as his fifth-year eligibility works its way through the courts. Wade didn’t offer any update on that situation.
“I would love to update you, but because all my words are being used against us, I’m not going to,” Wade said.
That uncertainty matters because LSU still looks incomplete, especially on defense. Dessert, listed at 6-foot-11, is the type of length the Tigers badly need with their guard-heavy preseason lineup. Without him and the rest of the unavailable bigs, LSU has had to lean on one center and has paid for it in the rebounding battle.
Wade said before the season that defensive rebounding would be the biggest concern, and Wednesday’s numbers backed him up. UCF grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to LSU’s 9 and created more second-chance points. The Knights also made 34% of their 32 attempts from 3, with LSU’s shorter lineup having a harder time contesting consistently across the arc.
Some of that is about personnel, and some of it is about time. LSU has only been practicing together for six weeks, and the communication still flashed its rough edges early as the Tigers missed a few switches and assignments.
“We’re building connection as we’re playing through the game. So you guys have seen us build live connection,” Dent said. “So it’s actually really cool.”
LSU has one more exhibition left before the season opener, with Florida State up next in Tallahassee on Oct. 24 at noon.
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LSU's Bigger Worry After This Win Is Hard To Ignore
LSUs exhibition win over Central Florida offered a useful snapshot of where Will Wades roster stands heading into the season: capable of scoring, competitive even while short-handed, but still waiting on the kind of full lineup that can make the Tigers hard to judge. The 85-81 result came with LSU using fewer players than it expects to have once the regular season begins, and senior transfer Abdi Bashir Jr. helped carry the offense with 26 points while point guard Donovan Dent added 21 points and 11 assists.
The broader concern is less about the result than the unfinished nature of the roster this close to November 3. Wade said he is hopeful LSU will have additional players cleared by the NCAA before the opener, which would change both the depth chart and the way this team can be evaluated. Until then, the Tigers are left leaning on a thin rotation and waiting to see whether the version they roll out for the regular season looks anything like the one fans expect to watch. [Read more 🡒]
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UCF Showed Promise But One Late Issue Still Looks Costly
UCF came away with plenty to like from its exhibition trip to the Maravich Assembly Center, where the Knights pushed LSU deep into the closing minutes before falling 85-81. Dior Johnson led UCF with 18 points in a game that stayed tight throughout, while LSU leaned on Abdi Bashir, who finished with 26 to help keep the Tigers afloat when the action tightened.
What stood out for LSU was not just the scoring punch, but the way the game settled into a late-possession fight, exactly the kind of stress test both teams wanted in October. UCF had enough shot-making to stay level, yet one costly late sequence swung the result, leaving the Knights with encouragement and a reminder that the smallest mistakes can decide these exhibition games. [Read more 🡒]