With an undefeated record still intact after an overtime victory against Texas Tech, the LSU men’s basketball team is set to tip off against Old Dominion in its first game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
The Tigers (2-0) traveled to the island of St. Thomas, where they will take on Old Dominion (2-0) in the first-round starting tonight at 5:30 p.m. The winner will play the winner of Illinois State and Weber State match on Sunday.
“This tournament we’re going to, we’re certainly going to be challenged,” Jones said. “Old Dominion is a very good basketball team and you have a great group of teams that are there as well. We look forward to those challenges. The thing is we’re a young team, we’re inexperienced and we have a lot of new pieces.”
St. Thomas has plenty to offer the team outside the University of the Virgin Islands’ Sports and Fitness Center, but junior guard Keith Hornsby said he isn’t worried about the team getting distracted.
“I’m used to that. My freshman and sophomore years of college I went to the Bahamas, Atlantis and Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Tip Off so I know how to manage my time in the Tropics,” Hornsby said. “It’s tough, but we know what we have to do. We probably won’t get too distracted by the sand and clear water and palm trees.”
Jones said he sees the tournament as a good opportunity for his team to become a closer unit and build more chemistry while in unfamiliar territory.
“Our guys are a close-knit group,” Jones said. “They are always around each other but this is going to be a great opportunity for us as a team to bond. We always feel like we are family-oriented group, and this is going to give us an added time for teaching as well.”
After a poor shooting performance against Texas Tech on Tuesday, teaching will most likely be in effect leading up to the Tigers’ meeting with the Monarchs.
The Tigers shot under 40 percent from the field on Tuesday while making only two of their 19 attempts from behind the arc.
LSU struggled throughout regulation and the overtime period to get its offense going, but a physical defense helped save the day for the Tigers, who came back and ousted the Red Raiders in overtime.
The grind-it-out win against a Big 12 opponent sends LSU off to the islands with momentum, and Jones said bottling that momentum and taking it with them will be a key to the tournament on its weekend excursion.
“I think it’s going to be really important [to carry the momentum]. I think these two games we’ve had served us a great purpose regardless of what’s going on there,” Jones said. “We know that we can fight back from a deficit and we’ve got to make sure that we’re cognizant and really understand, and I think that’s important for our team.”
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.