The LSU men’s basketball team will venture outside its home state for the first time in two weeks tonight to face No. 25 Villanova at 8:30 p.m. in game three of this season’s Southeastern Conference/Big East Conference Challenge at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
Both game one and game two of the challenge were played Wednesday night with No. 4 Georgetown defeating Alabama, 70-60, and Auburn hosting West Virginia in a late game.
LSU coach John Brady said the preconference battle between LSU and Villanova was orchestrated as a means to introduce an early season buzz for basketball within both conferences.
“It’s a great concept,” he said. “We did it to create some early interest in basketball.”
The SEC/Big East Challenge was first introduced this past season with four teams from each league battling for conference supremacy.
This season, four different teams from both the SEC and Big East were selected to continue the burgeoning rivalry between the two conferences. Also representing the SEC is South Carolina who will square off against Providence tonight.
The Tigers (5-2) are entering the matchup against the Wildcats (5-1) straight off a two-game winning streak, having easily dispatched both Nicholls State and Southern University at home this past week by a combined score of 156-86.
LSU will have its hands full against a perimeter-oriented Wildcats squad, which is loaded with talent at the guard position.
Villanova sophomore point guard Scottie Reynolds, once heavily recruited by Brady, leads the Wildcats in scoring this season posting 17 points per game.
Villanova freshman guard Corey Fisher, Reynolds running mate in the back court, averages 12 points and two assists per game.
Despite Villanova’s strength at the guard position, Brady said he likes the way LSU matches up.
“Their guards are really good, the best group of guards we’ve played against,” Brady said. “But we can match up with them fairly well. Our perimeter and even our big men can get out and guard a little bit.”
Defense has been a primary issue of concern this season for the Tigers. Before tightening their grip and allowing 86 total points against Nicholls State and Southern this past week, LSU had been giving up an average of 75.6 points per game.
LSU junior guard Marcus Thornton said the Tigers are making strides defensively.
“Everybody is progressing,” Thornton said. “If we block out and rebound and don’t let them get a lot of points, we should be all right [against Villanova].”
The Wildcats are talented on the perimeter, but they also boast a formidable presence inside with forward/center Casiem Drummond. The 6-foot-10-inch freshman averages 7.5 points and 9.2 rebounds this season.
“They have a post man that doesn’t score a lot but certainly rebounds well,” Brady said. “He’s almost got as many offensive rebounds as defensive rebounds. So that’s a concern.”
The Tigers, who have not yet faced a post player the size of Drummond this season, will likely assign LSU junior forward Chris Johnson the task of covering the Wildcats’ big man.
Johnson, who scored a career-high 20 points against Southern, said he knows the importance of playing well in the paint. “We have to step up defensively and keep the big guy off the offensive boards,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have to work.”
Brady said although Drummond will present a challenge in the paint, the game will ultimately be decided by how effectively the Tigers can limit turnovers.
“If you compare their assist-to-turnover ratio to ours, I think that’s going to be the difference in the game,” Brady said. “Whether we can take care of the ball and make good decisions will determine if we’re able to win it or lose it.”
LSU is averaging 14 assists and 17 turnovers per game this season while Villanova averages 15 assists to just 12 turnovers per contest.
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