LSU is 2-0 thus far in their season opening homestand at the PMAC, yet players say defense remains the focus to be successful going forward.
“Main thing is we’ve got to worry about our defense,” Blakeney said after LSU’s 113-80 win versus Reinhardt. “No offense to their team, but giving up 80 is not good for us.”
The Tigers displayed a better defensive effort against Southern Miss Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles shot 24 for 61 from the field — 39 percent — from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc with four makes on 24 attempts.
“We know that everything has to start on the defensive end,” sophomore guard Brandon Sampson said following LSU’s 78-61 win versus Southern Miss. “We feel like if we get better on the defensive end, we have enough weapons on the team that are capable of scoring. That is what we feel was a big impact on the defensive end.”
LSU coach Johnny Jones noted at the beginning of the season that LSU big man Duop Reath — who earned the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week honor for the 23-point, 14-rebound performance against Wofford — could be a missing piece that the Tigers lacked last season on the defensive end. The 6-foot-10 transfer forward is averaging eight rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game for LSU.
Reath is LSU’s newest rim protector.
“He has done a great job filling in and providing us something that we missed from last year — a rim protector that can play in the paint and is an excellent rebounder,” Jones said.
“I was pleased defensively with Duop Reath because of the fact that he continued to stay engaged and stayed aggressive although he picked up fouls,” Jones said following LSU’s 78-61 thumping of Southern Miss. “Our guards have got to get better with on-ball defenders. They need to do a much better job of containing the basketball and not allowing the offensive team to break us down.”
The Tigers now prepare to face North Florida at 7 p.m. Friday in the PMAC.