Pressey’s speed a concern for LSU

Missouri junior guard Phil Pressey is one of the fastest players in the country, but LSU coach Johnny Jones said attempting to push his speed to force a mistake is a bad idea.

“You don’t want to speed him up,” Jones said. “The faster he goes, the better he gets. Phil is a very good, crafty guard.”

Pressey has totaled 136 assists through 19 games this season, putting him at eighth in the nation with 7.2 assists per game.

“You just have to contain him and keep him in front,” Jones said. “The less people have to help out, in terms of rotating and trying to get to him, the better off you are. When he gets in the gap and somebody comes to helps, he’s got teammates out there who are very capable of knocking down threes.”

Back in top form?

After struggling with a high ankle sprain for several weeks, LSU sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III has registered three straight double-doubles.

But O’Bryant chuckled at the thought of being back to 100 percent health.

“You’re never 100 percent,” O’Bryant said. “I’m just taping it up and just playing, not really thinking about it. It has been giving me a lot of trouble, but I’ve just been playing through it.”

O’Bryant scored 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the Tigers’ 75-70 loss at Kentucky on Saturday.

Bowers expected to return

Missouri senior forward Laurence Bowers is expected to return to action after missing five straight games with a sprained MCL in his right knee.

Despite missing the past two weeks of basketball, Bowers still leads Missouri with 16.8 points per game, while bringing in just less than seven rebounds per game.

“[Bowers] gives [Missouri] a different dimension that they don’t have right now,” Jones said. “…He’s a very important piece of their team. That’s one of the reasons why they’re a very highly ranked team, because of his presence.”