Following the Tigers’ second consecutive conference victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks, LSU Men’s Basketball guard Mike Williams III and Kansas State transfer Cam Carter spoke with the media about the increase in confidence spreading across the locker room and how consistent production on both ends of the court has yielded successful results.
As the number one option, senior guard Cam Carter continues to grow and remains the heartbeat of this team from an offensive standpoint. However, when approaching this matchup, Carter had one objective in mind… to put someone on a highlight reel.
Right before entering halftime, Carter received a pass from freshman forward Robert Miller III while cutting toward the basket and finished an extremely tough dunk over a defender.
“What’s crazy, I’m in a group chat with my home boys [and] they were like,’ You’ve done everything this season but catch a body,’ and I wanted to catch a body for [them],” Carter said. “And I did it… so I spoke it into existence, thank god.”
Finishing with 17 points on 50% shooting from the field (7-14 FG), Carter firmly believes that this team is starting to find its identity after experiencing seven consecutive conference losses.
“Playing that last game, we knew we can win in this league,” Carter said. “It’s been a lot of learning experiences leading up to these past two games… keeping our [feet] on their neck got us to this victory.”
Providing a much-needed spark off of the bench, sophomore guard Mike Williams III provided 13 of the Tigers’ 30 bench points and knocked down three three-pointers in only 14 minutes of playing time.
When Williams’s lack of court time is examined closely, he has struggled to maintain consistency on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. However, seeing the ball go through the hoop on multiple occasions was a sight for sore eyes for the purple and gold.
“Tonight, we [as a team] hit 13 threes… when the confidence is high, it’s contagious,” Williams said. “We have a lot of guys that can shoot, and we showed it tonight.”
Looking ahead to the Tigers’ next matchup, the No.2-ranked Florida Gators will travel to Baton Rouge. This game will be one of the most difficult on the regular season schedule.
In regards to continuing to build upon the momentum of two consecutive conference victories, the Tigers remain confident in their ability to compete against such high-profile opponents.
“When we put 40 minutes together, I don’t think anyone can really beat us,” Williams said.
LSU Men’s Basketball will face off against the No. 2 Flordia Gators on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 5 p.m. CST at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and will be televised on SEC Network.