BATON ROUGE — When Wichita State knocked off Final Four participant George Mason on Saturday and moved into the Associated Press top 25 on Monday, it has afforded LSU basketball fans that chance to see two matchups of nationally-ranked teams in a 10-day period.
No. 6 LSU will take on No. 24 Wichita State Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in a matchup of teams that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 a year ago.
It will mark the first time a ranked LSU team has taken on a ranked non-conference opponent in the Maravich Center since Feb. 8, 1992 when No. 22 LSU and No. 1 Duke met with the Blue Devils winning, 77-67.
Ten days after the Wichita State game, the Tigers (after games at home against McNeese State and a New Orleans Arena appearance against Tulane) will host Texas A&M, the team LSU was able to knock out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A&M is presently No. 11 in the Associated Press poll.
Tickets for both games are available online at www.LSUsports.net and at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office through the close of business on Wednesday when the office will close for the Thanksgiving weekend holiday. Tickets for the Wichita State game will remain on sale online 24 hours a day through Saturday and available at the upper concourse ticket windows at the Maravich Center beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $11 with $5 youth tickets available for children 3-12.
One note regarding ticket sales for LSU’s next home game on Wednesday against McNeese State is that fans can take advantage of LSU’s annual support of the “Pat’s Coats for Kids” campaign of local WBRZ-TV meteorologist Pat Shingleton. Fans coming to the McNeese game can come to the Maravich Center with a new or used coat to donate and receive a coupon to present at the ticket windows for a $1 ticket for the game. Fans can also donate $5 to the coats campaign and also receive a coupon for a $1 ticket for the contest.
LSU is 2-0 after wins over Nicholls State (96-42) and Louisiana-Monroe (88-57) over the weekend.