by Joey Papania
LSUsports.net
BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s basketball team will attempt to defend its 13-0 and 1-0 SEC record this Saturday night against the Tennessee Volunteers at 7 p.m. in the PMAC.
The Tigers are coming off of a come from behind win against Alabama Wednesday night in the SEC opener for both schools. Freshman Torris Bright led LSU in scoring with 21, while four of the five Tiger starters scored in double figures. It also marked the second straight game that Bright played all 40 minutes.
Only seven Tigers saw action against Alabama, and it appears LSU will be short handed again against the Vols. Despite practicing on Thursday afternoon, Jermaine Williams is still questionable after spraining a knee against Howard University on Dec. 27. Collis Temple III is also questionable after an ankle sprain in practice on Monday.
The Tigers will go with its normal starting five with Torris Bright and Lamont Roland at the guards, Stromile Swift and Brain Beshara at the forwards and Jabari Smith at center. All five Tiger starters are averaging double figures in scoring. Ronald Dupree and Brad Bridgewater will be the key reserves for LSU.
Tennessee brings a 13-1 record, 1-0 in the SEC and a ranking of 15 in the latest Associated Press poll to Baton Rouge. Vincent Yarbrough is the Vols leading scorer averaging 15.6 points per game. Tennessee is also led by junior point guard Tony Harris, one of only 25 players selected as a preseason candidate for this year’s John R. Wooden Award. Harris is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game and is averaging over 5 assists per game.
Three-year starter C.J. Black also returns for his senior season as the school’s all-time leading block leader with 192, 35 of those already this season. As a team, the Vols average 42.2 rebounds per game and have shot over 300 three pointers in just 14 games connecting for just under 40 percent.
“Tennessee is extremely talented, they match us in athleticism, they have more depth and they have more experience,” said head coach John Brady. “We’ve got to be more concerned with what we do. We need to defend them without fouling, rebound the ball, take our opportunities in the break when we get them and make sure we get some quality shots.”
Following the Tennessee game, the Tigers travel to Florida on Wednesday night and then to Vanderbilt on Saturday morning. The Vanderbilt game will be televised by ESPN beginning at 11 a.m.