The LSU men’s basketball team cannot seem to catch a break nowadays.
Junior forward Glen Davis missed practice Thursday for the third time this week, and LSU coach John Brady said Davis will not be in the lineup when the Tigers take on No. 3 University of Florida on Saturday in the PMAC.
In addition to Davis’ injury problems, sophomore forward Tasmin Mitchell injured himself Thursday in a collision with sophomore center Chris Johnson.
Brady said Mitchell was taken straight to a local orthodontist following the injury, and Senior Associate Sports Information director Kent Lowe said Mitchell is listed as probable for Saturday’s contest with the Gators.
“Tasmin’s mouth and front two teeth collided with Chris’ head,” Brady said. “Usually lips and teeth lose against headbutts. A couple of his teeth were loosened a little bit in that impact.”
The impact Davis’ absence has caused was evident in the Tigers’ last outing. In LSU’s 70-63 loss to the University of Kentucky, the Wildcats outrebounded the Tigers, 35-33, and outscored LSU in points in the paint, 34-26.
Brady said he expects sophomore forward Magnum Rolle will start in Davis’ place again alongside senior forward Darnell Lazare.
Rolle played 20 minutes Tuesday against the Wildcats and scored four points while grabbing seven rebounds.
Rolle said no matter who dresses out Saturday against the Gators, the Tigers have a shot at victory as long as they play together.
“One man don’t make a team,” Rolle said. “We proved that the other night when we played Kentucky.”
LSU built up a 16-point first-half lead against Kentucky. The Wildcats closed the advantage to one point by halftime and shot 59.1 percent from the field in the second half to seal the win.
Brady said the loss to Kentucky has not rattled his team’s overall attitude.
“I’m not concerned about our team’s spirit,” he said. “Our games have always been down to the last three, four or five minutes, and we haven’t done a good enough job to win those. [Our spirit] is quite good actually, based on where we find ourselves, even [with] the disappointment of the unmet expectations.”
Sophomore guard Garrett Temple said the team has been able to hold its head high since Tuesday’s defeat in Lexington, Ky.
“We’re not into moral victories at all, but if we were that would be one … playing well in a hostile environment like that,” Temple said. “They lost three in a row, and we came in and gave them a run for their money.”
The Tigers have given many teams a “run for their money” this season, but the effort has not translated into wins.
LSU has lost eight of its past nine games with all of the losses coming by less than 10 points.
The Gators, on the other hand, have rebounded nicely since Vanderbilt University handed them their first conference setback Saturday, 83-70, and snapped Florida’s third 17-game winning streak in the past 15 months.
Florida’s 63-49 win Wednesday against the University of South Carolina clinched the Gators an outright SEC title and set a school record for most regular season wins.
All five of Florida’s starters average double-figure points, led by junior guard Taurean Green, who averages 13.3 points per game.
Florida coach Billy Donovan said keeping the team hungry and motivated for another national title run is not as easy as it may seem.
“It’s a continual challenge every day,” Donovan said. “Our guys going through what we had to this year, I couldn’t imagine going through it with a better group of guys. You have to have a group of guys who understand.”
The Gators will be the Tigers’ sixth ranked opponent this season. LSU is 2-3 in games against nationally ranked competition, but only two of those teams – the University of Alabama and Texas A&M University – are currently ranked.
Temple said he hopes the attention that will be given to Saturday’s game will light a fire under the team and possibly spark an upset victory.
“We have a chance to show the nation that we are a good basketball team, and we still have the players and kind of talent that we can make a run in the SEC tournament and hopefully get in the NCAA Tournament,” he said.
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]