Sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III raised his eyes and perked up when he heard the word, as if he had been waiting for it.
That word – “revenge” – will be on the collective mind of the LSU men’s basketball team when it plays host to Alabama on Saturday afternoon in the PMAC. The Tigers (15-9, 6-7 Southeastern Conference) and the Tide (18-8, 10-3 SEC) tussled two weeks ago in Tuscaloosa, Ala., with Alabama coming out on top in a 60-57 slugfest.
“I really wanted to win that game,” O’Bryant said. “After being down in Tuscaloosa, I really tried to play as hard as I could. So I’m going to try to do the same thing this time around.”
O’Bryant exploded for 22 points – a career high at that point – and 11 rebounds in the first contest, good for one of his SEC-leading 11 double-doubles. O’Bryant set a new benchmark for points in a game with a 30-point performance at South Carolina last week, and he’s averaged 21.5 points over the Tigers’ last four games.
Though sophomore guard Anthony Hickey initially said Saturday’s matchup would be treated just like any other game, he went on to echo O’Bryant’s vengeful sentiments.
“It left a bad taste [in our mouths],” Hickey said. “We went down there, lost by three and had a couple of errors. We lost that game because we let them get up. We let them get in the paint more than we should. We’ve just got to keep them out of the paint.”
Hickey will be tasked with defending Alabama junior guard Trevor Releford, who leads the Crimson Tide with 14.5 points per game. Releford was one of four Alabama players to score in double figures in the first game between the two.
“I know I’m going to get ball-screened, but I’ve got to keep [Releford] in front of me,” Hickey said. “I’m going to do my best. I’m going to do better than I did in Alabama.”
The LSU guards are undersized in comparison with their Crimson counterparts, and Hickey said the Tigers’ focus on offense will be to use their speed to penetrate into the lane. LSU coach Johnny Jones acknowledged the disparity in size, but stressed the importance of playing with a sense of urgency and making the proper rotations on defense.
LSU will spend the last leg of its season trying to improve its seeding for the SEC tournament, as it currently sits at ninth in the conference. With only three home games remaining on the final five-game slate, O’Bryant placed significance on the chance to defeat Alabama on his home court.
“We really should have won [the first game], but we let some opportunities slip away, and I really think Alabama knows that.” O’Bryant said. “… Hopefully they’re prepared for us, because we’re definitely prepared for them.”
Who: LSU (15-9, 6-7 SEC) vs. Alabama (18-8, 10-3 SEC)
When: PMAC
Where: 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Watch/Listen at: SEC Network, 98.1 FM
