Auburn Tigers at LSU Tigers
When/Where: 6 p.m. Thursday at the PMAC | Baton Rouge
Television: ESPN2
Radio: WDGL-FM 98.1 (Baton Rouge)
Last Meeting: LSU scored 55 points in the second half and beat Auburn, 87-80, in the only matchup between the two teams last season. However, Auburn still holds a 6-3 edge in the last nine meetings.
LSU’s last game: Despite a 25-point, 20-rebound game from sophomore forward Jordan Mickey, LSU couldn’t overcome a 37.7 percent shooting display and fell to Mississippi State, 73-67, on Saturday. The loss dropped LSU into a six-way tie for third in the Southeastern Conference race.
Auburn’s last game: Auburn kept pace with Tennessee more than midway through the second half Saturday, but the Volunteers pulled away down the stretch for a 71-63 victory. The loss was Auburn’s fourth in a row.
Auburn (10-11, 2-6 SEC)
Possible Starters and Top Reserves:
Graduate student [G] Antoine Mason (6’1’’): 14.1 ppg, 29.3 mpg, 2.4 rpg, 41.4% FG (63-152).
Sophomore [G] Tahj Shamsid-Deen (5’9’’): 6.1 ppg, 24.0 mpg, 1.1 rpg, 71.4% FT (20-28).
Senior [G] KT Harrell (6’4’’): 17.0 ppg, 32.7 mpg, 3.1 rpg, 43.8% 3-point FG (56-128).
Junior [F] Jordon Granger (6’8’’): 5.0 ppg, 23.0 mpg, 3.2 rpg, 49.3% FG (36-73).
Junior [F] Cinmeon Bowers (6’7’’): 13.5 ppg, 30.4 mpg, 11.0 rpg, 43.4% FG (105- 242).
Senior [G] Malcolm Canada (6’3’’): 5.2 ppg, 21.3 mpg, 72.7% FT (40-55).
Senior [G] K.C. Ross-Miller (6’0’’): 5.9 ppg, 23.7 mpg, 33% FG (36-109).
LSU (16-5, 5-3 SEC)
Possible Starters and Top Reserves:
Junior guard Josh Gray (6’1’’): 9.1 ppg, 29.4 mpg, 4.5 apg, 42.1% FG (67-159).
Junior guard Keith Hornsby (6’4’’): 12.7 ppg, 34.9 mpg, 4.5 rpg, 38% 3-point FG (41-108).
Sophomore forward Jarell Martin (6’10’’): 16.0 ppg, 35.0 mpg, 8.9 rpg, 47.6% FG (121-254).
Sophomore forward Jordan Mickey (6’8’’): 16.4 ppg, 34.9 mpg, 10.9 rpg, 3.7 bpg, 52.1% FG (135-259).
Sophomore forward Darcy Malone (7’0’’): 1.5 ppg, 10.2 mpg, 1.2 rpg, 50% FG (7-14).
Sophomore guard Tim Quarterman (6’6’’): 11.9 ppg, 32.7 mpg, 5.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 77.5% FT (55-71).
Freshman guard Jalyn Patterson (6’0’’): 5.4 ppg, 20.1 mpg, 1.1 spg, 37.5% 3-point FG (21-56).
Three Things to Watch for
Injured players good to go
Both Mickey and freshman guard Jalyn Patterson are expected to be on the court for LSU’s contest against Auburn.
Mickey rolled his right ankle during LSU’s loss to Mississippi State on Saturday but missed just two minutes. Mickey has already sat one game this season with an ankle injury. The 6-foot-8 forward was inactive against McNeese State on Nov. 29, but he responded in the next game with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Mickey leads the SEC in blocks per game (3.7), is second in rebounding 10.9 and third in scoring (16.4).
Patterson hasn’t played in the last two games because of concussion-like symptoms he suffered near the end of LSU’s victory against Vanderbilt on Jan. 24.
Before the injury, Patterson steadily became one of LSU’s most reliable 3-point shooters. Patterson shot 46.6 percent from 3-point range (7-of-15) in the three games prior to the injury. He averaged 9.6 points per game during that span.
Without Patterson, LSU has shot 24.3 percent (9-of-37) from beyond the arc.
Double-Double Trouble
Thursday’s game features the only two players in the SEC who average a double-double: Mickey and Auburn junior forward Cinmeon Bowers.
Bowers — a 6-foot-7, 278-pound bruiser from Racine, Wisconsin — leads the SEC and ranks seventh nationally in rebounding with 11.0 per game. Bowers has three games with at least 17 boards this season.
But like Mickey, Bowers can also score. Bowers is the SEC’s 13th-highest scorer at 13.5 points per game. Bowers has scored at least 14 points in four of Auburn’s eight league games.
Mickey and Bowers have both tallied 12 double-doubles, which tops the conference. They’re two of 17 players in the nation averaging a double-double, but Mickey and Bowers are also two of only seven players from major conferences averaging this mark.
Maybe some 3-pointers, maybe not
Auburn senior guard KT Harrell has emerged as the SEC’s top marksman. Harrell leads the conference in both 3-pointers made (56) and 3-point percentage (43.8). In SEC play, Harrell has upped his rate to a ridiculous 47.7 percent from deep.
However, Auburn’s leading scorer may have a tougher-than-usual time shooting against LSU’s lengthy defense. With more range and versatility on the floor than in recent seasons, LSU has made it difficult for opponents to swing the ball around the outside and find open shots.
Since SEC play started, LSU ranks third in the conference in 3-point percentage defense (30.1 percent) and have held league opponents to 5.1 treys per game. LSU has held six of its eight SEC opponents to less than 40 percent from deep, including less than 31 percent against four of them.
LSU has also allowed just three SEC players to hit three or more 3-pointers in a single game, something Harrell has done four times in eight games.
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