The LSU men’s basketball team will try to get its season back on track when it faces South Carolina tonight in the PMAC.
The Tigers (9-4, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) and the Gamecocks (10-5, 0-2 SEC) come into the matchup in similar positions. Though both squads produced in their pre-conference schedules, neither team has secured an SEC win this season.
“We had two bad games already, so we can’t keep having bad games,” said sophomore guard Anthony Hickey. “It’s good to have them early, so we can get going on this run right now. …We’re just going to keep playing together. Our best basketball is yet to come.”
LSU opened conference play with a loss at Auburn and a blowout defeat at the hands of No. 10 Florida.
One of the contributing factors of the Tigers’ weak play is their decline in field goal percentage. They shot 45.4 percent in non-conference play, but they have only converted on 34.8 percent of their attempts in SEC action.
“We’ve just got to make sure that we get back to executing,
being poised, handling the pressure, being patient and making plays,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones.
South Carolina lost its first two SEC contests to Mississippi State and Auburn by a combined five points, and Jones acknowledged that the Gamecocks and first-year coach Frank Martin could easily be 2-0 in the conference.
Sophomore forward Johnny O’Bryant III’s lingering leg injury has proven problematic for the Tigers. As O’Bryant’s minutes have dwindled, Jones has turned to senior center Andrew Del Piero and junior forward Jalen Courtney to fill the void in the post.
“It’s kind of a war zone in this league in the paint area,” Jones said. “That’s where a lot of games are won between those lines. It’s important that we get Johnny [O’Bryant] back or someone has to really step up and play a special role for us.”
South Carolina’s junior guard Bruce Ellington has already taken the Tigers on once this year, as he hauled in four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown as a wide receiver for the football team.
Ellington has shown explosiveness on the court as well. In the Gamecocks’ loss against Auburn on Saturday, Ellington dropped 18 points and added five assists.
“To see a guy that is able to come off the football field and come out and transition as quickly as he has, it says a lot about his ability,” Jones said. “He’ll continue to get better. He’s a guy that we’ll definitely have to watch.”
Senior guard Charles Carmouche said while the Tigers must learn from their losses, they have to put those defeats behind them.
“If you think about those games and the way you played, it’ll mentally eat you up,” Carmouche said. “That’s the good thing about basketball: you’ve got another game ahead.”
“We’ve just got to make sure that we get back to executing, being poised, handling the pressure, being patient and making plays,”
