Underrated freshman point guard Chris Warren leads one of the Southeastern Conference’s most potent offenses into the PMAC this weekend as LSU hosts Ole Miss on Saturday. LSU (9-16, 2-9) will have its hands full with the Orlando native – especially with LSU leading scorer, Marcus Thornton, injured. The junior guard hurt his hip Saturday against Kentucky and played only four minutes in Wednesday’s 87-61 loss at Arkansas. “We’re going to certainly prepare as if Marcus Thornton will play, which I anticipate him doing,” said Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy. Thornton, who missed practice Thursday, said his hip has started to feel better, and LSU interim coach Butch Pierre expects the Baton Rouge native back at practice this afternoon. Kennedy said even without Thornton, LSU’s other players will provide “a tremendous challenge.” The Rebels (18-7, 4-7) come to Baton Rouge fresh off the team’s most impressive defensive showing in conference play. Ole Miss stifled in-state rival Mississippi State, 74-63, the fewest points the Rebels have allowed in SEC play this season. “We were going into [Wednesday] night at 17-7, and it felt like we were 7-17 simply because we hadn’t had a lot of success lately,” Kennedy said. “That does begin to wear on a young team.” The win helped counter a 2-6 skid the Rebels hit after a 15-1 start, but the way they got the win was the surprising part. The Rebels are usually more known for their offense. Ole Miss scores 80.7 points per game, No. 3 in the SEC, thanks in large part to freshman phenom Warren. Warren leads the team, averaging 15.5 points and 4.8 assists per game – good enough for No. 10 and No. 3 in the SEC, respectively. While Warren is sometimes overshadowed by the conference’s other premier freshmen, SEC coaches and players have sung his praises all season. “Warren is a good guard, and he’s had a phenomenal year,” Pierre said. Warren’s impressive freshman campaign has come by capitalizing on the Rebels’ need for a passer. “He was able to start out of necessity,” Kennedy said. “We had lost a senior point guard and had a void that needed to be filled.” Todd Abernethy led the SEC a year ago, averaging 5.6 assists per game in his final season running the Rebels’ offense. Junior guard Terry Martin’s re-emergence could play a big role in the Tigers’ attempt to neutralize Warren’s productivity – especially if Thornton is absent or ineffective. Martin led the Tigers with 18 points Wednesday on 6-of-13 shooting. Martin, in his second year since transferring from Texas Tech, has scored in double-digits five of the past six games after a slow start to SEC play. “It feels good, [but only] to an extent because we still lose or we still lost,” Martin said. “It would feel great if I was playing good, helping the team out in whichever way I can, and we were winning.”
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