No. 3 LSU is all set for a second round matchup against No. 6 Maryland in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday. The two teams play at 11:10 a.m. central time, and the game will be broadcast live on CBS.
LSU comes in off a 79-74 win over No. 14 Yale. The Tigers led the whole game, but Yale gave LSU a late scare with a furious rally that saw an 18-point lead trimmed to four.
Maryland outscored No. 11 Belmont by eight in the second to secure a 79-77 victory in the first round. Maryland failed to contain Belmont’s Dylan Windler, who scored 35, but the Terrapins’ big-man duo of Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith combined for 33 points and 25 rebounds.
Maryland’s Anthony Cowan Jr. had an off night, shooting 3-of-18 from the floor for 9 points against Belmont.
Controlling the glass and keeping senior center Kavell Bigby-Williams out of foul trouble is going to be key for LSU against Maryland. Maryland only allows 7.9 offensive rebounds per game, but they can be careless with the ball and do it over close to 13 times a game.
Defensively, the Terrapins are the fourth best in the Big Ten and limit their opponents to under 40 percent shooting on average.
LSU is going to need to force turnovers and get running down the court because Maryland has the size with Fernando and Smith to matchup with LSU inside the paint in the halfcourt. If the game does get bogged down, LSU needs to find shooting on the perimeter to open up easy looks inside.
Look for freshman forward Darius Days to get a little more playing time than the nine minutes he did against Yale — especially if Bigby-Williams gets into foul trouble — as LSU seeks its 10th-ever Sweet Sixteen appearance.