BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s basketball team, fresh off a conference opening road win Tuesday at Arkansas, try to go 2-0 in the league for the first time since 1995 Saturday when it hosts Alabama in a 2 p.m. game at the Maravich Assembly Center.
The game will be regionally televised in the South by JP Sports (WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge) and on the radio on the LSU Sports Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge). The Internet pickup of the radio broadcast will be at www.LSUsports.net.
Tickets for the game will be available 90 minutes prior to the game at the ticket windows on the upper concourse of the Maravich Center for $12 each. The ADT National Championship Football Trophy will be on display after the game on the concourse of the Maravich Center for fans to have their picture taken with the trophy. Fans must bring their own camera.
The Tigers are coming off an impressive 66-55 win at Arkansas in the league opener which ran LSU’s record to 10-1 and 1-0 in the conference. LSU has won 12 straight games in the Assembly Center dating back to last year, including seven this year, and presently it is tied for the 12th longest active home win streak in NCAA Division I play.
In that game, LSU saw Arkansas take away the offensive play of Jaime Lloreda, but Lloreda took his game to another level, grabbing 15 rebounds with three assists and two steals while scoring just seven points. It was LSU freshman Brandon Bass who took advantage of the situation, scoring 20 points to lead the Tigers.
“It’s always good to start SEC player with a win, especially on the road at a place like Bud Walton Arena,” said LSU Coach John Brady. “I did not know what to expect from our team because we had not played particularly well on the road so far this year. But now our focus is on Alabama. They are a very talented team and have been playing well.”
The Tide enters the game at 8-3, opening SEC play after losing to Xavier in Cincinnati on Jan. 3, 68-47. That snapped a six-game winning streak for the Crimson Tide that included wins over Charlotte, Austin Peay, UT-Chattanooga, Oregon, Mercer and Wisconsin.
Earnest Shelton leads the Tide, averaging 16.9 points per game, while Kennedy Winston is averaging 14.9 points per game.
The Tigers will quickly be back in action after this game, going to Lakefront Arena in New Orleans on Monday for a 7 p.m. game with UNO before returning home to resume SEC action on Jan. 17 against Mississippi State.