NEW ORLEANS — The 10th-ranked LSU Tigers go on the road for the first time this season Saturday when the Tigers meet the Tulane Green Wave at the New Orleans Arena.
Tip time is set for 2 p.m. in the first meeting in New Orleans between the two teams since 2002 when they met in the old Sugar Bowl basketball classic at the Arena. The box office at the Arena opens at 10 a.m. and tickets are $25 and $15, but fans can receive a $5 discount on tickets by bringing a toy for collection by the Tulane Student Athletic Board. There is no television for the contest and the game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) and at www.LSUsports.net in the “Geaux Zone powered by USAgencies.
LSU is 3-1 after a 91-57 win over the McNeese Cowboys on Wednesday, a game that ran LSU’s home court win streak over Louisiana schools to 63 straight games. The Wave is 4-2 after an 80-54 win over Huston-Tillotson on Tuesday at Fogelman Arena.
This will be the fifth consecutive season the two teams have played since the series was resumed at the Sugar Bowl Classic after a 20-year hiatus. This will be the 206th game between the Tigers and the Wave, with LSU winning 123 times. LSU is 4-0 since the revival of the series. LSU has had good successful, posting a 5-1 record in the New Orleans Arena version of the Sugar Bowl Classic in which the Tigers were the host team in the event. LSU has won 26-of-its-last 31 in New Orleans and is 21-5 in the Superdome/New Orleans Arena venues.
The win over McNeese gave LSU the chance to experiment with different lineups and for the Tigers to get their shooting touch back that seemed to disappear late in the second half of the Nov. 25 loss to Wichita State.
Five players were in double figures, topped by Garrett Temple who had a career-high 17 points. Tasmin Mitchell added 16 points (hitting 7-of-11 field goals); Glen Davis 15, Darnell Lazare 11 and sophomore Ben Voogd came off the bench to add a career-high 12. For the game LSU shot 52.5 percent (31-of-61) and for the second time was in double figures from the arc, 10-of-19.
But there were still things Coach John Brady hopes to see his Tigers correct.
“I believe we are still a work in progress,” LSU’s 10th-year head coach said. “I would like to see us make plays in the open floor better. We just need to continue to try and improve in every phase. I want more consistency in our shooting. We head on the road now and need to keep working hard because the road can be very difficult if we aren’t totally prepared.”
David Gomez, who leads Tulane’s starters with an 11.8 points per game average, had 17 points and 10 boards to lead the Wave in its victory, with Kevin Sims getting 16 and Daniel Puckett 10. Tulane hit 54.7 percent for the game for second-year coach Dave Dickerson.
The Tigers return home for a potential Top 10 matchup of teams on Tuesday at 8 p.m. when Texas A&M comes to town in a rematch of last year’s NCAA second round contest. Tickets for the game are available online at www.LSUsports.net.
Halftime of the A&M game will feature Team Acrodunk out of Houston. This nationally known Dunk Team was featured on this summer’s hit TV series “America’s Got Talent.” Also at the game fans will get a chance to meet some members of the LSU Football team as part of the “Meet the Tigers” series, presented by Peoples Health. The football players will be on the main concourse signing autographs during halftime.