LSU Tigers at Mississippi State Bulldogs
When/Where: 1 p.m. Saturday at Humphrey Coliseum | Starkville, Mississippi
Television: SEC Network
Radio: WDGL-FM 98.1 (Baton Rouge)
Series: LSU leads the series against Mississippi State, 108-96.
Last Meeting: The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead before defeating the Bulldogs, 92-81, on Feb. 19, 2014. It was the first time LSU scored at least 90 points in an SEC game during regulation since the 2004-05 season.
LSU’s last game: LSU blocked four shots in the final 32 seconds and hung on for a dramatic 64-58 victory against South Carolina on Wednesday night in the PMAC.
Mississippi State’s last game: Mississippi State built a 13-point lead against Ole Miss early in the second half Wednesday, but the Bulldogs couldn’t hold on and fell to the Rebels, 79-73.
Mississippi State (9-11, 2-5 SEC)
Possible Starters and Top Reserves:
Senior [F] Roquez Johnson (6’7’’): 10.7 ppg, 27.5 mpg, 5.7 rpg, 53.8% FG (78-145).
Junior [G] Fred Thomas (6’5’’): 9.8 ppg, 26.0 mpg, 4.3 rpg, 32.7% 3-point FG (34-104).
Junior [F] Gavin Ware (6’9’’): 9.7 ppg, 24.3 mpg, 7.2 rpg, 50.8% FG (65-128).
Sophomore [G] I.J. Ready (5’10’’): 8.5 ppg, 23.7 mpg, 2.2 apg, 88.9% FT (24-27).
Redshirt-Junior [G] Travis Daniels (6’8’’): 7.0 ppg, 22.7 mpg, 4.6 rpg, 33.3% 3-point FG (19-57).
Junior [G] Craig Sword (6’3’’): 6.9 ppg, 20.5 mpg, 31.3% 3-point (10-32).
Senior [G] Trivante Bloodman (6’0’’): 4.9 ppg, 20.2 mpg, 77.1% FG (37-48).
LSU (16-4, 5-2 SEC)
Possible Starters and Top Reserves:
Junior guard Josh Gray (6’1’’): 8.9 ppg, 29.2 mpg, 4.7 apg, 42.1% FG (61-145).
Junior guard Keith Hornsby (6’4’’): 12.6 ppg, 34.8 mpg, 4.5 rpg, 38.8% 3-point FG (38-98).
Sophomore forward Jarell Martin (6’10’’): 16.7 ppg, 35.5 mpg, 9.1 rpg, 48.0% FG (120-250).
Sophomore forward Jordan Mickey (6’8’’): 15.9 ppg, 34.8 mpg, 10.4 rpg, 3.7 bpg, 51.5% FG (124-241).
Sophomore forward Darcy Malone (7’0’’): 1.4 ppg, 8.8 mpg, 1.0 rpg, 58.3% FG (7-12).
Sophomore guard Tim Quarterman (6’6’’): 12.3 ppg, 32.9 mpg, 5.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, 79.1% FT (53-67).
Freshman guard Jalyn Patterson (6’0’’): 5.4 ppg, 20.1 mpg, 1.1 spg, 37.5% 3-point FG (21-56).
Three Keys to the Game
Opposite offenses
LSU has had little trouble scoring points this season. The Tigers rank in the SEC’s top three in scoring (74.9 points per game), field goal percentage (45.9 percent) and scoring margin (plus-7.8 ppg).
LSU’s scoring prowess has resulted in victories. The Tigers 11-0 when they score at least 75 points and 5-4 when they don’t. LSU also has two of the SEC’s top five scorers in sophomore forwards Jarell Martin (third, 16.7 ppg) and Jordan Mickey (fifth, 15.9 ppg).
While LSU can score points in bunches, Mississippi State has struggled lighting up the scoreboard this season. The Bulldogs rank in the SEC’s bottom three in scoring (last, 61.9 ppg), 3-point percentage (last, 30.2 percent), field goal percentage (12th, 42.4 percent) and scoring margin (12th, plus-0.2 ppg).
Mississippi State doesn’t have a player ranked in the league’s top 25 in scoring, compared with four for LSU.
Unsheathing the Sword
Despite losing to Ole Miss on Wednesday, Mississippi State junior guard Craig Sword was the star of the game. Sword poured in a game-high 27 points and shot 5-of-7 from 3-point territory.
After missing time this season with a back injury, Sword — who led the Bulldogs in scoring last season with 13.7 points per game — has reached double figures in three consecutive games. He’s averaging 16.7 points during that stretch.
Sword has played LSU three times during his career, and he scored at least 20 points in two of those games. Sword burned the Tigers for 33 points in the teams’ most recent meeting in February 2014 and is averaging 23 points against LSU.
Injury Update
LSU freshman guard Jalyn Patterson missed the Tigers’ win against South Carolina after suffering an unspecified injury against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
LSU coach Johnny Jones wouldn’t definitively confirm whether the freshman guard had a concussion but said Patterson “got hit and got hit hard.”
Jones said the team would see how Patterson was feeling after Thursday’s practice before determining his availability for Saturday’s contest against Mississippi State.
Patterson is averaging 5.4 points per game while playing 20.1 minutes a night. In the three games before the injury, Patterson scored a combined 29 points while connecting on 46.7 percent (7-of-15) of his 3-point attempts.
MORE:
LSU men’s basketball team braces for road trip against Mississippi State
LSU men’s basketball team searching for frontcout depth behind Mickey, Martin