Darius Days made the season opener easy for his LSU teammates.

The senior and only returning starter made seven 3-pointers as the Tigers rolled to a 32-point halftime lead on their way to a 101-39 victory against Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday night.

“Days was huge for us,” LSU coach Will Wade said. “He got hot and I think that relieved all of the tension for some of the younger guys.”

The Tigers (1-0) return to the court to face Texas State (1-0) on Friday night in Baton Rouge, La. The “Days and depth” plan remains in effect.

Days scored 30 points after making 11 of 13 shots, including eight of nine 3-pointers, in 22 minutes.

Two youngsters who settled in nicely were freshman Efton Reid, who had 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and sophomore Tari Eason, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Missouri transfer Xavier Pinson and Eric Gaines both had 10 points and seven assists.

“That’s how our group is, everyone’s going to chip in and contribute,” Wade said.

LSU overwhelmed the Warhawks on both ends of the floor.

LSU shot 52.8 percent from the field and 41.4 percent on 3-pointers. ULM shot 27.7 percent from the floor and 18.8 percent on 3-pointers.

The Tigers held a 47-26 rebounding edge, had 23 assists on 38 field goals, 14 steals and seven blocks.

“It was an all-around team win,” Wade said.

Texas State also won its opener decisively.

The Bobcats took a 19-point halftime lead and defeated Incarnate Word 75-57 on Tuesday in San Antonio, Texas. They had a 44-16 edge in points in the paint and scored 19 points off 19 turnovers.

Two of Texas State’s four returning starters from last season’s Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions — Caleb Asberry (20 points) and Shelby Adams (14) — led the way in the opener.

But head coach Terrence Johnson is looking ahead and not backward.

“I think the most important thing for us to do is to leave last year in the past and for us to focus on moving forward,” Johnson said. “We had some really good basketball players last year, and I think we have some talented guys this year.”

–Field Level Media