The LSU men’s basketball team turned the corner during the latter part of the second half Saturday at Arkansas in a 65-62 losing effort, Tigers coach John Brady said.
The Tigers came back from a 15-point deficit with 13:05 remaining and missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the contest into overtime.
With a 1-6 road record, Brady said he hopes that effort carries over to tonight’s Jefferson Pilot televised game (WAFB Cable Channel 7) at Mississippi State slated for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
MSU holds a 54-33 advantage over LSU at Starkville with the Bulldogs winning the past three games in the Magnolia State.
“I thought this past Saturday we showed some grit and toughness and came back,” Brady said during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference. “It’s an important game for [Mississippi State] and for us. I like our team, and we have an opportunity to finish well if we could get a road win against Mississippi State.”
Both LSU and MSU enter tonight’s game with identical 6-4 records in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers hold a half-game advantage after their 69-62 win over the Bulldogs on Jan. 29 at the PMAC.
The winner of tonight’s game will take sole possession of second place in the SEC Western Division behind Alabama.
With the SEC tournament only three weeks away, Brady said the Tigers eye their goals on a game-by-game basis, not jockeying for postseason tournament bids.
“There is no reason to add any kind of pressure on our team,” Brady said. “We don’t even mention anything beyond that, whether it is the NCAA [Tournament] or the NIT. We don’t approach it that way. We are trying to play the next game better than we played the previous game, and move forward.”
Brady said LSU’s success in the first matchup came partially from playing at home. But more significantly, the Tigers contained MSU star forward Lawrence Roberts, giving him different looks on defense.
Roberts still led the Bulldogs with 15 points and 12 rebounds, but he made only 3-of-11 shots from the field. MSU’s outside game also suffered as the team hit only 2-of-10 3-pointers in the contest.
The Bulldogs average 39 percent from beyond the arc.
“Whether we can carry that on the road and duplicate it, we’ll have to see,” Brady said. “Certainly, we’re going to need the same type of plan — definitely the same kind of effort and concentration defensively for us to have the opportunity to win up at Starkville.”
MSU coach Rick Stansbury said the Bulldogs’ game plan will focus on methodical, consistent play — not revenge — as postseason play approaches.
“This time a year [every game is] big,” Stansbury said. “We are at home, and we know how important it is to win at home. Naturally because we are both right there, it takes an added meaning. Just being at home is enough for us to be ready.”
The Bulldogs held freshman forward Glen Davis to three points in the first contest, but sophomore forward Brandon Bass scored a game-high 26 points and added 11 rebounds.
Stansbury said containing the Tigers’ low post should challenge MSU’s defense again.
“We know LSU is a very good basketball team, and they have one of the best frontcourts in the league,” Stansbury said. “They are a very balanced team, and they are playing awfully well. It will be a difficult game for us.”
 
Notes: Stansbury listed guard/forward Winsome Frazier as injured for tonight’s game. He could return when the Bulldogs travel to Kentucky on Saturday. He averaged 13.3 points per game before his injury (ankle) against Ole Miss on Jan. 8.