LSU freshman forward Anthony Randolph left practice early Thursday after bumping knees with junior guard Terry Martin – two days prior to LSU’s showdown with their highest-ranked opponent this season, No. 7 Tennessee. Kent Lowe, Senior Associate Sports Information Director, said in an e-mail Thursday night LSU trainer Shawn Eddy diagnosed Randolph with a bone bruise in his right knee. Lowe also said the Dallas native is listed as “day to day.” Randolph is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game, and leads the team with 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game – both top-three in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers continue their frustrating season as clear underdogs when Tennessee visits the PMAC on Saturday, though players said they can upset the SEC’s top team – a feat LSU accomplished a year ago. Few people gave the Tigers a chance when No. 3 Florida came to Baton Rouge on Feb. 24, 2007, especially with preseason All-SEC junior forward Glen Davis sidelined with an injured quadricep muscle. But LSU had the last laugh with a 66-56 victory, and the Tigers are cherishing a chance to prove critics wrong again. “Our guys are going to come out pumped about this game, especially with a ranked team coming in and nobody giving us a chance to win,” said junior center Chris Johnson. Johnson is one of four players remaining from the squad that chomped the Gators this past season along with junior guards Garrett Temple and Martin and junior forward Tasmin Mitchell. To further mirror the Tigers’ improbable 2007 upset of Florida, LSU will be without another preseason All-SEC forward in Mitchell, who went down with a season-ending injury in the Tigers’ third game. LSU returns more than half of its scoring from the Florida game. Temple and Martin combined for 35 of the team’s 66 points. While Johnson said the team has not discussed the Florida game, LSU coach John Brady did note some similarities after practice Wednesday. “It would be great if the outcome would be like [the Florida game], but it’s somewhat the same scenario,” Brady said. “We have a little bit less experience than we did a year ago with that group, but it is similar in a lot of ways.” The Tigers will have to contain one of the SEC’s most productive 3-point shooters if they want a shot at victory. Tennessee senior guard Chris Lofton is No. 7 in the SEC, averaging 18 points in the SEC and boasts the conference’s third-best 3-point shooting percentage of 47 percent in conference play. “Lofton and [senior guard JaJuan] Smith are two very good perimeter players,” Brady said. “Their shooting percentage from the three is an amazing statistic,” Brady said. “Our best 3-point shooter is shooting about 36 [percent], so it’s going to be a tough challenge for us, but I like our perimeter.” Temple held Lofton to eight points on 1-for-5 shooting when the Volunteers and Tigers faced off this past regular season. Lofton bounced back with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting when the teams faced off in the SEC tournament, but Temple’s team grabbed a 76-67 win. LSU junior guard Marcus Thornton shoots 36 percent and leads the SEC in average 3-pointers per game. Thornton, the Tigers’ leading scorer, enters the weekend with a mild foot injury suffered in practice Tuesday. “My pinky toe is kind of sore, but I don’t think it should affect Saturday’s game,” Thornton said Wednesday. “I’m just going to put some ice on it, and hopefully it’ll be all right.” Thornton has fully participated in every practice this week.
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