STARKVILLE, Miss. — Two of the Southeastern Conference’s hottest teams do battle Wednesday night looking for the lead in the Southeastern Conference Western Division and possibly the lead overall when the teams meet at the Humphrey Coliseum at 7 p.m.
LSU comes in just out of the top 25, ranked 26th in the Associated Press poll at 19-4 and 7-1 in the SEC West, while Mississippi State, winners of two straight, is at 16-7 and 6-2 in the West. The Tigers hold a one-game lead over State and a half game lead over Florida for the SEC overall lead. The Gators are 6-3 going into Tuesday night’s game with Kentucky.
There is no television for the game but the game will be available on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (New Country 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge) and in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net.
LSU won an earlier meeting with Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, 81-57, in a game in which Marcus Thornton had 30 points and went off for 17 points in a pivotal 3:40 span in the second half that broke the game open. But State and its four-guard lineup has come back strong since then, setting a school record for threes with 14 in a win at Kentucky and then upping that record to 16 last Saturday, rallying from 14 down at the break to beat Arkansas in Starkville, 86-77.
The Tigers have won three times on the road after an opening loss to Alabama and have won seven consecutive games entering the State game. LSU is assured of coming out of the game with no worse than a tie for the SEC Western Division lead, but a win would give LSU at worst a break-even mark on the road with three road tilts remaining.
LSU’s 23-game starting lineup is expected to remain intact for a 24th-straight game with Marcus Thornton, Bo Spencer and Garrett Temple at the guards, Tasmin Mitchell at forward and Chris Johnson at the center spot. Thornton, who is averaging over 26 points a game the last six contests, is averaging 20.0 points for the season, second best in the SEC. Mitchell earned SEC Player of the Week honors for his 27 point effort at Georgia and his 16 point-11 rebound double-double versus Alabama.
SEC Freshman of the week Dee Bost triggers the State offense, averaging 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. Also averaging in double figures are starters Ravern Johnson (12.4), Jarvis Varnado (12.3 with 4.9 bpg) and Barry Stewart at 11.1 points a contest.
“They are the two-time defending Western Division champions and nobody talks about that,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson at Monday’s media session. “Nobody talks about the job coach (Rick) Stansbury has done over the years … Knowing him and competing against his teams in the past when they were big and strong and physical, to change the way they play and play at this level that they are playing at in terms of a four-guard lineup during the course of the year has been impressive.”
LSU returns home to face Ole Miss Saturday night at 6 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Tickets are available starting at $14 and $5 for youth (ages 3-12) and are available online at LSUsports.net.