Mississippi State travels to Baton Rouge Saturday to face SEC west foe LSU. The Tigers are coming off a 70-60 come-from-behind win over Mississippi at home Wednesday night. The Bulldogs had a week off after defeating South Carolina 73-65 at home last Saturday.
Why it is important …
For MSU: Rick Stansbury’s squad needs to regain the road toughness it had last season. The 2004 team went undefeated in SEC road games, and this year’s team is 1-2 with a win at Mississippi and losses at Alabama and Tennessee.
For LSU: John Brady’s team looks to stay perfect at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers are 3-0 at home with wins over South Carolina, Arkansas and Mississippi.
Keys for the game …
For MSU: The Bulldogs need to show patience in the half court offense. They need to become more comfortable in a slower-paced game and look to make the extra pass to find the open shooter when Lawrence Roberts is doubled in the post.
For LSU: The Tigers need to get the ball inside to forward Brandon Bass. LSU’s outside shooting over the past three games has been dismal. They are just 13-of-55 from behind the three-point arc.
Key Matchups:
Roberts v. Bass: Lawrence Roberts will be pitted against sophomore forward Brandon Bass during Saturday’s game. On the season the two have extremely similar statistics.
Roberts holds the edge in both points per game and rebounds per game with 18.8 ppg and 11.3 rpg. Bass is averaging 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds.
Bass has a slight edge in field goal percentage with 57 percent shooting while Roberts averages 49 percent from the floor.
Gary Ervin v. Tack Minor: The two sophomore point guards will face each other as starters for the first time. Minor leads the SEC in assist per game with 5.6, and Ervin is in second with 5.5. Minor also holds the scoring advantage. He averages 11.4 points per game while Ervin averages 8.3.
Off the bench…
For MSU: Mississippi State has run basically a seven player rotation with junior Jamall Edmondson coming in to back up Shane Power at the shooting guard.
Edmondson will also play some minutes at point guard in relief of Ervin. Edmondson brings long range shooting ability but is limited by his size.
Second off of the bench is sophomore guard Dietric Slater. Slater is a quick, scrappy defender and brings energy to the floor for the Bulldogs.
For LSU: First off the bench for LSU is veteran guard Xavier Whipple. Whipple was a starter for last year’s squad but relinquished his starting position this season.
Whipple brings experience to the floor as a back up point guard. He is not a major offensive threat as he averages only 2.3 points per game.
Next off the Tiger bench is sophomore forward Ross Neltner. Neltner brings size to the floor and averages 2.5 points per outing.
Series History…
The game Saturday will mark the 186th time the Bulldogs and Tigers will meet on the hardwood. LSU leads the overall series 97-88 and also holds the advantage on games played in Baton Rouge 61-31.
The Bulldogs have dominated the recent games in the series by winning the past four. MSU won last season’s match-up in Baton Rouge 64-54.
Television…
The game will be televised by Jefferson Pilot Sports and is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m.