Last season, the LSU men’s basketball team notched its first Southeastern Conference win of the season at Mississippi State behind hot shooting from Collis Temple III and former Tiger Brian Beshara.
But LSU (12-6, 2-3) will not have the graduated Beshara this time, and more than likely will not have Temple either as it travels to Mississippi State (15-4, 2-3) for a 4 p.m. Saturday contest at the Humphrey Coliseum. Temple — LSU’s second leading scorer and team leader — is questionable for Saturday’s game as of Thursday night because of an injured right foot.
Despite missing Temple, who practiced gingerly Thursday afternoon, LSU is not lacking in confidence as it prepares for the Bulldogs, who are 8-0 at home this season.
“We’ve had a lot of success in Starkville,” said forward Ronald Dupree. “We played well my first year even though we lost. Last year, Collis and Brian Beshara lit them up. We have a lot of confidence going in there. I think we are more comfortable in that type of setting.”
LSU is coming off a 70-55 loss to Ole Miss on Wednesday at the Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford.
Mississippi State has not played a game since a 85-73 loss at Alabama last Saturday.
The Bulldogs are coached by Rick Stansbury, who is in his fourth year with MSU.
LSU coach John Brady said he is looking for his team to play better on the road along with paying more attention to detail.
“I think this Mississippi State team plays a little harder than the last two years. The reasons for that, I’m not sure. Mississippi State is a pretty experienced basketball team. They’ve got some guys who’ve been there for three or four years.”
One of the bright spots during the last two games for LSU has been forward Brad Bridgewater, who scored 13 points against Auburn and 10 against Ole Miss, LSU’s last two contests.
“Brad has improved,” Brady said. “He has become a better scorer and better basketball player. There are some things I would like to see him improve more in, particularly rebounding and defending in the post.”
One of Bridgewater’s main responsibilities will be guarding MSU sophomore Mario Austin, who leads Mississippi State in scoring with 16.3 points through 19 games this season. However, the Bulldog’s 6-foot-9 forward/center steps up his game to another level in SEC play, averaging 20.4 points, including a 32-point performance in MSU’s 74-69 upset of Kentucky. He is also the team’s leading rebounder at 7.7 boards per game.
“I think [Austin] is a guy who we will have some difficulty in trying to defend,” Brady said. “He’s probably one of the best post guys in the league. Not only does Mario Austin have nice hands and can score, but he’s also a nice playmaker off the post. He’s going to present some problems for us, particularly when we double team him.”
State has two other double-digit scorers in Marckell Patterson and Timmy Bowers. Patterson, a senior guard, averages 13.9 points and is shooting a blistering 47 percent from behind the three-point arc in SEC games. Bowers, a sophomore guard, averages 10.4 points and is the Bulldogs’ leader in three pointers made, draining 25-of-69 for 36 percent.
Stansbury also depends heavily on junior Derrick Zimmerman. As State’s starting point guard, Zimmerman averages 9.7 points along with his team leading 118 assists and 51 steals, both of which lead the SEC. He also has 74 turnovers.
“Derrick is a tremendous athlete,” Brady said. “To his credit, he has done extremely well in being a point guard. But he also has a high number of turnovers. So not only does he make the good pass but he also makes poor decisions.”
LSU and Mississippi State are tied for third place in the SEC Western Division.
Graham Thomas