One down, one to go for the LSU men’s basketball team.
The Tigers (5-2) defeated the University of Massachusetts in dominating fashion Tuesday night, outscoring the Minutemen by 22 to start the team’s hardest week of nonconference play. When the schedule for the 2014-15 season was released, many pinpointed this week as a pivotal week for the Tigers and their strength of schedule.
LSU, as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, travels to Morgantown, West Virginia, tonight to take on No. 16 West Virginia at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. After a convincing win against a tough opponent in UMass, LSU coach Johnny Jones said the team knew coming into this week it would be a difficult one to get through.
“It’s a great week. It’s a quick turnaround for us,” Jones said. “They’re a top 15 basketball team, and it’s going to take that type of effort to play against a team with the quality of West Virginia. We’ve got to do a great job of making sure we’re composed in that type of environment being on the road. It’s going to be a great experience for our young basketball team.”
The Mountaineers (7-0) will be the toughest test the Tigers will face during out-of-conference play, with West Virginia being the only top 25 team on their schedule. West Virginia averages a margin of victory of 19.6 points per game and has defeated only one opponent by less than double digits.
The Mountaineers have made their name on defense, forcing opponents to turn the ball over 14 times per game while winning the turnover margin by nearly 13 a game. Ball security could be vital for a Tigers squad currently losing the turnover margin against their opponents.
LSU averages 15 turnovers per game, and while the Tigers force their opponents to commit just as many at 14.6 per game, the lack of consistency on the offensive side of the ball could be an Achilles’ heel for a young, inexperienced team.
LSU sophomore forward Jarell Martin said the Tigers are going to have to stay composed and focused if they want to come out with a victory.
“We know it’s going to be a big test,” Martin said. “They pressure the ball. They like to press, so we know it’s going to be pretty hard and tough for us. But after this victory [against UMass], we’re confident, and we feel like with the game we played today, we can go out and do the same out there
having an outcome of winning.”
LSU will hope to ride the hot hand of junior guard Josh Gray, who had a career night for the Tigers against the Minutemen, scoring a career-high 25 points.
The strong scoring performance by the team, which tallied 82 points against UMass, may spark an LSU team that had noticeably struggled from the field up until Tuesday.
The Tigers improved their shooting, going 53.8 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range. Their field goal percentage was its second-highest on the season, and the they put together their best 3-point shooting performance on the year against UMass.
LSU sophomore forward Jordan Mickey said it’s vital for the team to be playing their best basketball during their toughest tests of the out-of-conference schedule.
“I feel it’s important that we hit on all cylinders right now,” Mickey said. “We had a pretty balanced scoring night between all of our guys, so carrying this momentum into Thursday would be big for us.”
The game Thursday might be a learning experience for the slowly growing Tigers stepping into a hostile environment against an undefeated top 25 squad early in the season.
But Martin said if the Tigers can treat the trip to Morgantown as a business trip, the growing pains may subside for an up-and-coming LSU team to get
the victory.
“It’ll be big. We just have to mature ourselves and go out there strictly business,” Martin said. “Don’t go out there playing around — go out there with a mindset that we’ve got to get this victory. It’ll definitely help us along the road playing in that atmosphere out there. It’s going to be pretty loud, and that’ll definitely help us later on in the season.” 
You can reach Jack Chascin on Twitter @Chascin_TDR.