The Tigers have dropped three straight conference games after a 2-1 start, and are in need of a home win. After another close loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, LSU has focused its attention on a healthy Texas A&M squad.
LSU coach Will Wade and company defeated the Aggies on the road earlier this month, but A&M was down three starters in big man Robert Williams and guards Admon Gilder and Duane Wilson.
“It’ll be a much different than the first game at their place,” Wade said. “They’re big, physical and can start a lineup where their three man is bigger than our center.”
An area that Wade is trying to figure out is a consistent third scoring option on the team. Wade said LSU can usually depend on either senior forwards Duop Reath or Aaron Epps to be a consistent threat in a game and is not worried about freshman guard Tremont Waters recent slip in the scoring department.
“We have no idea,” Wade said. “We’re just trying to throw people in there and see what we got.”
Waters has been limited to single digit scoring efforts in three of the last four games.
“We need to get him in more space,” Wade said. “Teams are kind of copying the same game plan against him and we have to adjust a little bit better.”
The Tigers have tried a number of different players to develop some consistent scoring including guards Brandon Sampson and Daryl Edwards. Sampson is posting a -31 plus minus when on the floor so the team will look for others to step up.
“I thought Randy played well at Vanderbilt,” Wade said. “Randy has our best plus minus in SEC play. He’s +26 so I’m the idiot for not playing him much. That’s going to change.”
LSU has led in the last two minutes in three of the past four SEC losses which Wade said is encouraging but the team has to learn to close those games out.
“As you grow a program, the first step is not getting your doors blown off,” Wade said. “The harder part is you’ve got to be able to close. This is part of the process and we’re trying to close games with a freshman and a sophomore guard. There’s a learning curve that comes with that.”
Reath is coming off possibly his best game of the season after a 31 point, 13 rebound performance on Saturday. The game plan was to get him going early and often in the paint.
Reath said being behind double digits at halftime makes it harder to claw back into a game on the road and that the main focus for the team is learning how to close out those close games.
“It’s a great confidence boost,” Reath said. “We were down 16 I think and I feel like if we hadn’t given them that big lead, we would’ve had a better opportunity to win that game.”
Failing to rebound off of missed free throws has hurt LSU in two straight games and Wade said the team has worked very hard to not let that be a deciding factor to end a game.  
The Commodores on Saturday missed a free throw in the closing seconds of the game that would have given the Tigers a chance to tie. The ball was knocked out of bounds after both Reath and freshman forward Brandon Rachal went for the board.
“It’s gotten to the point where I hope they just make the second free throw,” Wade said. “I bet there can’t be a team that spends more time on free throw blockouts than us. We can’t leave the bigs in their one on one. The Vanderbilt one was bad luck, when things don’t go your way.”