No. 4 LSU Tigers (19-13, 11-7 SEC) versus No. 1 Texas A&M Aggies (25-7, 13-5 SEC)
Probable starting lineups:
LSU: Texas A&M:
G Tim Quarterman G Alex Caruso
G Josh Gray G Danuel House
G Antonio Blakeney G Anthony Collins
F Ben Simmons G/F Jalen Jones
F Craig Victor C Tyler Davis
Round One: Texas A&M 71, LSU 57: LSU traveled to College Station, Texas, for the first meeting between the two teams. The Tigers, which battled strenuous foul trouble throughout the game, were defeated 71-57 in dominating fashion. The Tigers loss in Reed Arena marked the Aggies ninth-straight win at the time.
Tim Quarterman spearheaded LSU’s lousy effort in round one with a team-leading 12 points. Craig Victor and Ben Simmons added 10 points, respectively.
Victor battled foul trouble early in the first half with two fouls and sat for a majority of the opening 20 minutes. Tyler Davis, who Victor guarded, posted 18 points and five rebounds.
Round Two: LSU 76, Texas A&M 71: As of today, March 11, Texas A&M is currently on a seven-game winning streak. It’s last loss? You guessed it, 77-71 in Baton Rouge against the SEC’s top-ranked Tigers at the time. Before the matchup, the Aggies had dropped three-straight games, too.
Four Tiger players finished in double-figure scoring in round two. Simmons and Quarterman combined to toss 10 assists. LSU’s then-starters, Simmons, Quarterman, Blakeney, Victor and now-injured senior guard Keith Hornsby, combined to gather 24 of LSU’s 31 team rebounds.
Texas A&M shot 55.8 percent from the field for the game, but only knocked in six of its seven free-throw attempts. LSU’s field-goal numbers were less than impressive as the Tigers shot 42 percent in the game, but hit 23 of its 29 free throws to put forth the five-point victory in Baton Rouge.
Round Three: Noon (CT) on Saturday in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Yesterday: LSU throttled Tennessee, 84-75, in a foul-cursed and possibly season-salvaging win on Friday in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. LSU maintained control for a majority of the first half, then slipped and Tennessee lead by one point going into the final 20 minutes.
Antonio Blakeney spearheaded LSU’s charge with 22 points through 40 minutes of play. The freshman sharpshooter said he had come down with flu-like symptoms on Thursday, but he didn’t come off the floor for the Tigers for a single second on Friday.
“Before the game, it was hard for me to breathe and my stomach was really acting up,” Blakeney said after Friday’s quarterfinal win. “I had to use the bathroom like five times before the game.”
Blakeney, sick or not, will play tomorrow against Texas A&M. He doesn’t believe in being ill, he said.
“I don’t believe in getting sick, so I was going to play regardless,” Blakeney said.
After the win, it was selfie time for Blakeney and company.
#LSU advances and it’s selfie time. pic.twitter.com/9pnAah1982
— Christian Boutwell (@CBoutwell_TDR) March 11, 2016
The duo and other Tigers will face a streaking Aggie squad on Saturday. Texas A&M toughed out a fist fight against Florida, and won 72-66 in Friday’s first quarterfinal bout.
Behind 15 points from House and Davis, the Aggies were able to edge Florida out down the stretch. Jones also added 13 scores of his own.
You can reach Christian Boutwell on Twitter: @CBoutwell_TDR
