The LSU men’s basketball team is on empty. LSU coach Trent Johnson understands why. The team has now lost 10 straight games — its last two by 25 and 26 points, respectively. Injuries to key contributors haven’t helped, either. “Physically we’re pretty beat up, and we’re pretty tired,” Johnson said. “Going into the game we had to hold [sophomore forward] Storm [Warren] out of practice. He’s laboring. I think [senior forward] Tasmin [Mitchell] has hit a wall, so to speak. That’s to be expected with all teams this time of year.”The injury plague also made its way to junior guard Bo Spencer against Arkansas on Wednesday. An errant step from Spencer rendered him useless for the second half of the 87-52 beatdown with a sprained ankle. Spencer said he hopes to play Saturday against the Commodores. “I’m going to try to tough it out,” Spencer said. Johnson had a different stance. The coach was more cautious about Spencer’s availability. “I don’t know if Bo will be able to go,” Johnson said. “Bo has had his share of ankle problems. He’s always been a guy who’s needed two or three games to get back to the level we need him to play at. We’ll see.”The Tigers will seek their ever-elusive first Southeastern Conference victory Saturday in Nashville, Tenn., against No. 24 Vanderbilt. The Commodores come into the game on a high after beating No. 12 Tennessee, 90-71, Tuesday.”Vandy was a team going into the year I knew would be extremely good,” Johnson said. “They have very, very good balance in their classes with the balance of good players and good people. They’re very physical much like Arkansas, much like Kentucky. Seems like everybody we’re playing is playing probably as good as they’ve played all year.”The holdovers from last year’s SEC champion squad have bad memories of this Vanderbilt team. Riding a 13-game conference winning streak, LSU took on the Commodores in Baton Rouge in front of a packed house. Then A.J. Ogilvy happened. The senior forward from Australia exploited LSU’s interior defense to the tune of 33 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-67 win for Vanderbilt. The loss began a two-game losing streak to end the regular season. “I hope we can go in there and do what they did to us,” said LSU sophomore forward Zach Kinsley. “I think we can get a win. Everybody else thinks that too. I just hope we get a win.”Ogilvy isn’t Vanderbilt’s only weapon. Senior guard Jermaine Beal has been a steadying force for the Commodores, leading the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game. But Beal has not gotten much love from the national media. “I loved him last year,” Johnson said. “Nobody talks about him. Again, that’s the same old thing because everybody wants to get caught up in the freshman phenoms. Here’s a guy who’s a senior who knows how to win. He’s tough. He can guard you. He can pass well. He’s the glue to what they do.”Kinsley was one of LSU’s few bright spots in the loss to Arkansas. The Baton Rouge native fired in 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including going 3-of-4 from 3-point distance. But Kinsley said he didn’t really care about his personal performance.”It’s frustrating,” Kinsley said. “I just wish I could have done more in the beginning.”Before he gets to preparing for Vanderbilt, Johnson wanted to show some love to Mitchell. The Denham Springs native officially became LSU’s all-time leader in minutes played against Arkansas. Mitchell’s 35 minutes played helped him eclipse former Tiger Garrett Temple’s mark of 4,432 minutes. He has now played a total of 4,446 minutes.”First, I’m going to congratulate Tasmin on the minutes record,” Johnson said. “It’s not only a tribute to him being a great basketball player, but to him being durable, caring and him wanting to play.”____Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]