BATON ROUGE — The LSU Tigers basketball team, winners of four of the last five and 3-0 in the conference at home, hope the home floor is helpful again Saturday afternoon as it hosts nationally-ranked Mississippi State at the Pete Maravich Center at 2 p.m.
Tickets will be available on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net until Noon and then beginning at 12:30 p.m. at the upper concourse windows of the Maravich Center. Tickets are $12 for the game that will be regionally televised on Jefferson Pilot Sports (WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge). The radio broadcast of the game will be available on the LSU Sports Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and on line at www.LSUsports.net.
Magical costume act “Quick Change” will be the halftime entertainment.
The Tigers are 10-6 this season and 3-2 in the SEC, third in the West, a half-game behind Mississippi State, ranked 22nd in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 24th in the AP poll. The Bulldogs are 4-2 in the West and 16-4 overall. LSU was a rallying 70-60 winner at home Wednesday night over Ole Miss, while Mississippi State had the week off after beating South Carolina, 73-65, last Saturday in Starkville.
“I was proud of my team for responding the way we did (Wednesday) after the way we played against Kentucky last weekend,” said LSU Coach John Brady. “We really clamped down on defense the last 12 minutes of the game. We got offensive rebounds and we able to get to the foul line. I have a lot of respect for Ole Miss and the way they play.
“Mississippi State will be a real challenge, but we are glad we are playing this game at home.”
The Bulldogs feature the leading scorer and rebounder in the conference, senior Lawrence Roberts. Roberts averages 18.8 points per game and is the only player in the SEC to average in double figures in rebounds at 11.3 a game.
The Tigers will counter with their inside tandem of sophomore forward Brandon Bass and freshman forward Glen Davis. Bass averaged 16.7 points per game (6th in the SEC) and 8.7 rebounds (4th in the league), while Davis averages 14.1 points per game and 8.8 rebounds a contest (3rd in the league). Bass is second in the league in field goal percentage (56.8 percent) and sixth in free throw shooting (85.0 percent).
After this game, the Tigers will be on the road next week, traveling to Georgia and Tennessee before returning home on Feb. 9 to face Auburn in a 7 p.m. game at the Maravich Center.