The LSU men’s basketball team takes on in-state opponent University of New Orleans in its third game of the season tonight.
The Tigers (1-1) come into the game having split their first two games against University of Massachusetts and Northwestern State, while UNO (1-0) rolled in its season opener against Millsaps, 81-45.
LSU is coming off an impressive rebounding performance against Northwestern State. The Tigers brought down 64 rebounds on the night — the first time LSU had 60 rebounds in a game since 1998’s contest against Troy.
“We were beaten on the boards last year when teams were more physical with us,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “So, for us this year having guys as physical as we do three through five it helps us out a lot.”
With the big guys boxing out, senior guard Andre Stringer has been able to bring down six-and-a-half rebounds per game, despite being listed at a generous 5 feet 10 inches.
Jones said Stringer is often the wild card in defensive rebounding situations, as his man often leaks out to help on defense.
Junior power forward Johnny O’Bryant III has paced the Tigers on the boards this season, sitting second in the Southeastern Conference in rebounds.
But the Tigers will most likely be without freshman forward Jarell Martin again, after the highly touted freshman sprained his ankle early in the Tigers’ season-opening game against UMass on Nov. 12.
Jones said Martin was “questionable” for the game but expects him to be ready sooner rather than later.
Fellow freshman Jordan Mickey has picked up the slack in Martin’s absence, garnering SEC Freshman of the Week honors after averaging a double-double and 5.5 blocks per game.
New rules eliminating the use of hands on defense has led to the Tigers’ struggle to stop teams out of the gate, but LSU is trying to improve its technique, according to Jones.
“We’ve been practicing with towels tied around our hands to keep them behind our back,” said junior guard Anthony Hickey. “We’ve got players quick enough to stay in front of people. It’s just about moving your feet.”
The Tigers will also try to cut down the turnovers that have plagued them to start the season. LSU has turned the ball over 39 times through two games, something Jones wants to fix.
“The way I’m asking our guys to play, we’re going to have some turnovers,” Jones said. “We can expect nine or 10 turnovers, but when we are getting up there toward 16, that’s a bit much and we start having problems.”
UNO is led by a pair of seniors, forward Cory Dixon and guard Isaac Mack, both of whom helped the Privateers to victory in their first game of the season.
Dixon led the Privateers in points and rebounds and tied for the team lead in both assists and blocks this season, while Mack was second on the team in points and led the team in steals.
Jones said the Tigers will use these early season games to build toward tougher portion of the schedule — something Jones called the “process” of developing a team.
“It’s a process, that’s why the schedule tapers like this, you want some early season tests,” Jones said. “We’ve just got to keep trying to build and getting ready, and hopefully when that time comes we’ll be ready to perform.”
LSU vs. UNO, 7 p.m. at the PMAC. Listen on the LSU Sports Radio Network and watch on Cox Sports Television.

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Connor Tarter

LSU freshman forward Jordan Mickey (25) leaps toward the basket Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013 during the Tigers' 88-74 victory against Northwestern State in the PMAC.