The LSU men’s basketball team hasn’t had more than four days off between games since it began the season Nov. 12.
Now, following a 73-57 win against Houston on Tuesday, the Tigers have 11 days to recuperate between games as finals quickly approach.
“The bottom line is they should be studying,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. “The emphasis should be on academics. This is the time of the year where as a head coach, you want to make sure these guys understand that’s what this is for.”
The Tigers have had an 11-day break around this time of the year since the 2006-07 season.
Last season, the Tigers were 1-2 in the three games leading up to their break and followed with four straight wins after. The previous season, LSU was undefeated heading to the break and lost only one of its next seven games.
The squad started this season 2-2 before rattling off three straight wins before the break.
“A lot of coaches want to talk about if you’re playing well you want to continue, because basketball is a game of rhythm,” Johnson said. “But I’ve never lost focus.”
The break may be coming at an opportune time. Junior forward Dennis Harris hasn’t played all season after suffering a high ankle sprain in the preseason.
Junior forward Storm Warren has battled through a multitude of injuries, including a hurt ankle, and junior forward Garrett Green now has time to rest his back, which has given him problems throughout his LSU career.
“We have some people banged up a little bit, and they’ll have a chance to rest and take a break mentally,” said freshman guard Ralston Turner. “For the most part, I think that’s what everybody’s looking forward to.”
LSU has relied heavily on its freshmen, specifically Turner and guard Andre Stringer, who are the Tigers’ top two scorers so far this season.
They have never dealt with the grind of a college season. The break gives them a chance to rest and allows LSU the opportunity to work out its kinks before the Southeastern Conference season, which begins Jan. 8 against Auburn.
LSU is 5-2 but has 21 more turnovers than assists and 13 more turnovers than its opponents. The Tigers’ opponents also have six more offensive rebounds despite LSU’s size advantage in most of its non-conference games.
“From a practice standpoint, with a young team, we need to get back to the fundamentals,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of errors we’ve got to clean up and work on in practice, and we haven’t had the opportunity to practice like I would have liked with all the games we’ve been playing.”
Although they have a break from playing games, the Tigers don’t have much time to relax.
Green said the players will only get a couple days off before getting back in the gym. He said the post men will work on their interior offense and maintaining possession in the paint.
“We won’t let up,” he said. “Every day we come out, we’ll have a two-hour or three-hour practice, and every day we’re going to come out and give it all out to reach success.”
LSU will return to action Dec. 11 to host Central Michigan in the PMAC.
 
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]