After winning its first Southeastern Conference contest of the season, LSU is looking to carry that momentum versus Mississippi State on Saturday in the PMAC.
“We’re excited about this weekend against a Mississippi State team who always poses a good challenge and excellent guard play that’s effective on the perimeter,” LSU coach Johnny Jones said.
LSU defeated Missouri 88-77 on Wednesday behind a second half surge from guard Antonio Blakeney. The sophomore scored 17 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field in the second half.
With the dismissal of former starting forward Craig Victor, Jones said LSU will take a “committee” approach to replace Victor’s frontcourt presence.
Victor, who also started 24 games last season, also averaged 10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in eight games for LSU this season.
Early signs have pointed toward 6-foot-6, 222-pound freshman forward Wayde Sims to receive more minutes in his place.
“Wayde played center in high school and that helps because he can go inside and post up against smaller players, and also play effectively against bigger opponents,” Jones said. “He’s been a good threat for us all year long and we know he’s only going to grow and continue to get better. Any time you have a change like that, it’s subtle, and guys have to get used to their minutes played.”
Sims is averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds through 13 games for the Tigers. With his increased role, Sims finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes of play against Missouri.
“I feel like I had to step up, and it’s not just me,” Sims said. “It’s everybody else on the team. We all have to step up and fill the role that Craig gave us. I knew from recruiting that I was going to have to play in the post, and at the three and the four. I feel confident that I can do that for this team.”
LSU will be facing a different Mississippi State team this season, after the departure of two leading-scoring seniors and Malik Newman, the tenth ranked recruit of the 2015 class according to ESPN, transferring to Kansas.
Mississippi State’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, is averaging 18 points and shooting 46 percent from the field in 11 games this season. Weatherspoon is one of three guards shooting at least 40 percent from beyond the arc for Mississippi State this season.
“He’s a great player and a great scorer, he’s going to get his shots, we just have to try and make them tough shots,” Blakeney said.
