Motivation.
It’s the key word for the LSU basketball team right now.
The Tigers (10-17, 2-10) have little to play for on paper, as any chance at the NCAA Tournament would hinge upon a miraculous run to a Southeastern Conference Tournament championship.
But LSU hasn’t thrown in the towel on the season just yet.
“Every game that we get closer to the tournament I just think of that Syracuse team with [Gerry] McNamara,” said LSU freshman forward Matt Derenbecker. “They weren’t predicted anywhere near the top of the Big East, and they wouldn’t have made the [NCAA] Tournament unless they won the Big East tournament. And they did it and carried momentum and made the tournament. I think we can do that.”
The Tigers can begin to gain that momentum Wednesday night when they travel to Starkville, Miss., to take on Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs (14-12, 6-6) have won the past four matchups in the series, but LSU has won three of the past five in Starkville.
For the Tigers to be competitive, they will have to contain Mississippi State sophomore forward Renardo Sidney.
Sidney averages 13.6 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per contest.
In the two team’s previous meeting on Feb. 5 in Baton Rouge, Sidney scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
“We have to pick our poison,” said LSU coach Trent Johnson. “When we played him here in the first game he didn’t go off for big numbers, but he was in position where he could beat us.”
LSU had a chance to win the first matchup between the two teams this season when it had a 57-54 lead with 3:23 to play in the game but failed to score again. The Bulldogs went on to win 58-57.
“I still can’t believe we lost,” Derenbecker said. “It’s one of those games where you just feel like you’re in control the whole time, and you’re going to win. It really hurt to lose that game.”
The Bulldogs, who are currently in second place in the SEC West, are still battling to secure a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury doesn’t want his team looking past LSU because of its lackluster record.
“I know this is an LSU team that has been in a lot of close games and just come up on the short end several times,” Stansbury said on a conference call. “But I know they went on the road last week at Ole Miss and basically led Ole Miss most of that game at Ole Miss, and that’s not easy to do. So they’re a very capable team.”
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]