No. 14 Memphis is a national powerhouse, consistently hunting for a national championship. Centenary is not.
But LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson said his team can’t focus on records as the Tigers (2-2) play winless Centenary (0-5) tonight, three days after a 70-61 loss to Memphis.
“The good teams that I’ve been affiliated with, they don’t worry about who they’re playing, where they’re playing, when they’re playing.” Johnson said. “They just worry about competing.”
Centenary doesn’t have a player taller than 6 foot 8 inches on the roster. Johnson said the Gents look similar to Nicholls State on tape, whose tallest player was 6 feet 6 inches.
The Colonels beat LSU, 62-53, on Nov. 16.
“There’s a size advantage for us, so we’re going to have to develop an inside-out attack,” Johnson said.
The inside-out attack against Memphis was stymied as LSU’s two starting big men, junior forwards Storm Warren and Malcolm White, both fouled out after playing a combined 31 minutes. The duo combined to shoot 2-of-10 and score seven points.
Junior forward Garrett Green came off the bench and added eight points but also fouled out.
“I’ve got to do a better job of getting these guys to understand how aggressive they have to be but also how to adjust to how the game’s being called,” Johnson said.
White, who is averaging 7.8 points per game, said he had always been taught to play physically in the block and has to find a way to establish his position while avoiding foul trouble.
“You can’t let the referee see you’re getting upset and not respecting the call,” White said. “I think that’s when a lot of referees look to call fouls on you. That’s the thing I’m going to tell Storm, too. If you get a foul, just keep playing.”
White said some people may not take non-conference games seriously, but he said they are just as important as the rest.
“These teams you have to really pour it out on,” he said. “You can’t beat a Centenary team by 10. They’re expecting you to blow them out.”
Centenary has lost every game by at least 12 points, including losses to Tennessee-Martin and Northwestern State. The Tigers beat both of those teams by at least nine points earlier this year.
The Gents have been outscored by more than 30 points a game, have 37 more turnovers than their opponents and are allowing opponents to shoot 49.6 percent.
Sophomore guard Aaron Dotson said the Tigers can’t worry about Centenary’s struggles because they have problems of their own. LSU shot only 34.6 percent from the field and let Memphis shoot 46.9 percent on Sunday.
“We have a lot to work on,” Dotson said. “We need to treat Centenary just like it’s Memphis.”
Sophomore forward Eddie Ludwig said it’s possible to get lackadaisical after playing a top-25 team, especially with Thanksgiving around the corner. He said the Tigers can’t let that happen.
“Everybody misses home, but we all know we’re here to play basketball, and we’re happy with that,” Ludwig said.
Johnson will hit the 200-win plateau if LSU wins tonight. But he won’t dwell on it.
He said he won’t take time to acknowledge the possible feat and will only look to the Tigers’ next opponent Sunday.
“I’ll take time to get ready for South Alabama,” he said.
 
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]