BATON ROUGE — Home sweet home is the thinking of the 12th-ranked LSU men’s basketball team as the Tigers play five home games prior to opening Southeastern Conference play beginning Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Louisiana Tech.
The game will be regionally televised on FSN (Channel 38 in Baton Rouge) and the radio broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge) that will also be available in the “Geaux Zone sponsored by USAgencies” at www.LSUsports.net.
Tickets for the game are available online as part of a 2-for-1 holiday ticket promotion for just $13. Regular $11 tickets and $5 youth (ages 3-12) will be available beginning 90 minutes prior to game time at the upper concourse ticket windows of the Maravich Center.
LSU (6-3) comes in after a six-day road trip split in the Pacific Northwest, defeating Oregon State in Corvallis, 60-53, and losing to No. 17 Washington, 88-62. Louisiana Tech, an NIT team a season ago, is struggling this year at 2-8 after losing to Southern in Baton Rouge last week and Thursday night against Centenary.
The Tigers will be trying to secure a 64th straight win against a Louisiana school on the Maravich Center floor, against the only Division I team not a part of the streak and the last team to win over LSU at the Maravich Center.
Louisiana Tech beat LSU on Dec. 6, 1988 by a score of 111-109 in overtime, two nights before the present streak would begin against McNeese State. The win by the Bulldogs spoiled the local coming out party for then freshman Chris Jackson who had 48 points in the game. The two teams had a chance to meet two years ago in the finals of the LSU Louisiana Classic, but the matchup failed to materialize.
Chad McKenzie who averages 11.9 points per game and Marcus Elliot, averaging 10.7 point, lead Tech. LSU’s Glen Davis saw his points average fall below 20 to 18.8 after failing to score in double figures for the first time after 48 games, but he still remains in double figures for rebound average at 10.1 rebounds a game. Both are second in the SEC.
LSU fans will get their first home action look at guard Terry Martin, who transferred in from Texas Tech last December and saw his first action Wednesday night at Washington. Martin hit three treys and had 13 points in the game and after playing 20 minutes against Washington, is expected to see as much or more action against the Bulldogs.
After Saturday’s game, LSU takes a couple of days off for Christmas before playing in the Hispanic College Fund Classic at the Pete Maravich Center. LSU, Wright State, Mississippi Valley and Samford will meet in the round-robin three-night event, Dec. 27, 28 and 29. LSU will play the late game each night at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.LSUsports.net.