The LSU men’s basketball team arguably had the toughest opening stretch to begin league play of all 14 Southeastern Conference teams.
Beginning with a win in Nashville against Vanderbilt, which was picked to finish second in the SEC, LSU coach Johnny Jones said the Tigers had to dive into conference play at a full sprint instead of a leisurely jog.
Without a break, the Tigers take on Ole Miss, and the top scorer in the SEC, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the PMAC.
After five losses in non-conference play, the Tigers had no room for error in its postseason race, but the win against Vanderbilt set up a home victory against then-No. 9 Kentucky on Jan. 5. in the PMAC.
Despite their boosted momentum, the Tigers fell to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in conference play with a 68-62 road loss to Florida on Jan. 9.
“We would certainly love to be undefeated sitting at 3-0,” Jones said. “But, 2-1 with the schedule that was presented to us — I think we may have had the toughest schedule in the conference with the way we had to start off at Vanderbilt, who was considered to be the second place team in the league, according to preseason, then, Kentucky picked No. 1 in the country in our conference. I don’t think anyone that played a tougher schedule in those two games and then, going to Florida.”
And the schedule, while not as strenuous as in the beginning of the season the season, will still challenge LSU as it takes on Rebel senior guard and the SEC’s leading scorer Stefan Moody.
“Moody is a very explosive guard,” Jones said. “This year, they are playing him more at [point guard] and starting him off. He has the ball in his hand a lot more. He’s creative, tough off of the balance. He’ll get into the rim and shoot the deep ball, in terms of the three. He’s really dangerous.”
Shooting 41 percent from the field, Moody leads the SEC with 23.9 points per game — 3.3 points ahead of LSU freshman point-forward Ben Simmons.
LSU, though, faces the SEC’s best scorer during a drop in his production this season.
Against Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia, Moody shot a combined 15-for-35 from the field and 6-for-18 from three-point territory — his lowest amount of shot attempts in a three-game skid this season.
While in somewhat of a slump, the explosive, rim-attacking guard looks to put on a show Wednesday.
“He gets to the line a lot,” senior guard Keith Hornsby said. “He’s really good — and I don’t know if it’s necessarily acting — but he’s good at making it seem like you’re fouling more than you actually are. We have to be aware of that. We did a good job on him last year. Hopefully we bring the same strategy to that.”
Moody’s attacking tendencies aren’t scaring the Tigers away from being aggressive on the defensive end, but foul trouble has become a struggle for LSU of late.
With a team total of 26 fouls against Florida, Hornsby and junior guard Tim Quarterman sat down for almost the entirety of the first half after receiving two fouls apiece. Both Simmons and sophomore forward Craig Victor II fouled out of Saturday’s contest, alongside four other Tigers with three or four fouls, respectively.
Tiger players said staying away from foul trouble against Moody and Ole Miss could decide Wednesday’s result.
“He takes a majority of their shots,” Hornsby said. “He’s really their focal point on offense. Secondly, he scores and [junior forward Sebastian] Saiz. He’s a big man. The guard play is primarily dominated by Moody, so of course we’re going to focus on him. But, Saiz is really good too. It should be a fun challenge. Anybody that is on him, no matter what our strategy is.”
Saiz, the Rebels go-to interior defender and post player, is the team’s second-leading scorer, shooting 54.6 percent from the field this season.
Beyond Moody and Saiz’s production, controlling the amount of times Ole Miss gets to the free-throw line is the No. 1 priority for LSU heading into the matchup.
Saiz and Moody have shot 198 of Ole Miss’ 387 free-throw attempts this season. Moody is shooting an SEC-high 86.5 percent from the free-throw line, and Saiz is at 66.2 percent.
The battle at the free-throw line, in a hostile SEC environment in the PMAC, is headlining Wednesday’s game, which excites Hornsby.
“It should be fun,” he said. “It was last year, and should be this year, too.”