BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers open defense of their Southeastern Conference championship as everyone starts at zero as league play begins here as Alabama comes to town for the conference opener at 4 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The game will be televised, as will all conference games under the new league packages, by Fox Sports Net, and will be broadcast 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.
Tickets are available for the game online at LSUSports.net and at the upper concourse ticket windows of the Maravich Center beginning at 2:30 p.m. Tickets begin at $14 with $5 youth tickets available for ages 3-12. LSU students will be admitted free with their student IDs and the student lounge will reopen in the Southwest corridor prior to the game with food, drinks and TVs.
LSU is 9-5 on the season, having broken a three-game losing streak with a solid 83-60 decision over McNeese State Monday, while Alabama is 10-4 on a three-game win streak that included a 67-50 win Monday at Toledo. The Tide has a new coach in former Virginia Commonwealth Coach Anthony Grant, who was a longtime assistant prior to the VCU job at Florida.
“Obviously there’s a level of excitement because of league play, starting with Alabama, who is probably as impressive as a team from what I can see from where they were last year to this year,” said second-year LSU Coach Trent Johnson. “It’s interesting. I made the comment earlier that I think coach (Anthony) Grant has inherited a very similar situation to what I did. He has some senior guards and some very talented frontline guys. They are playing well. You look at who they’ve played, where they’ve played and when they’ve played, and they’ve been battle-tested.
“They cause a lot of problems for you because they are long, athletic and quick, and they come with multiple types of pressure. They have a 2-2-1 on the full court, three-quarter court, half court and a lot of run and jump, so they place a premium on turning you over. I think a third of their points are generated off their defense, so we’re going to have to take care of the ball.”
The Tigers had four players in double figures against McNeese, the first time they had more than three players score in double digits. Tasmin Mitchell continues to lead the team at 17.6 points per game and 9.5 rebounds, while Bo Spencer averaged 16.0 points per game and Storm Warren checks in at 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds. Freshman Aaron Dotson is getting more and more comfortable in the offense and has had double figures in three of the last five games, including 10 second half points that helped break the game open Monday.
Mikhail Torrance (15.8) and JaMychal Green (15.7) lead the Crimson Tide’s scoring attack. Green is averaging 19.3 points over the last three games. Besides his 15.8 points, Torrance is averaging 5.2 assists per game.
LSU concludes a three-game home stand with this game and will be on the road all next week facing South Carolina and Florida before returning home for a game on Jan. 20.
Comments from LSU Basketball Media Session – Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON
Opening statement…
“Obviously there’s a level of excitement because of league play, starting with Alabama, who is probably as impressive as a team from what I can see from where they were last year to this year. It’s interesting. I made the comment earlier that I think coach (Anthony) Grant has inherited a very similar situation to what I did. He has some senior guards and some very talented frontline guys. They are playing well. You look at who they’ve played, where they’ve played and when they’ve played, and they’ve been battle-tested. They cause a lot of problems for you because they are long, athletic and quick, and they come with multiple types of pressure. They have a 2-2-1 on the full court, three-quarter court, half court and a lot of run and jump, so they place a premium on turning you over. I think a third of their points are generated off their defense, so we’re going to have to take care of the ball. Once we’re able to crack their pressure, we’re going to have to really stay aggressive and attack the rim, attack the basket and not be tentative. We’re going to turn it over some with teams like this. It’s been my experience that you turn it over, but what you do after you turn it over in terms of not dropping your head and continuing to play through are the most important things.”
On if his team is ready for SEC play…
“Yes, we don’t have a choice. We are as healthy as we’ve been. There is no secret to our team. When we defend, rebound, take care (of the ball), stay within the framework of what we’re doing and compete at a high level, we’ll have our opportunities. When we don’t do those things, we’ll struggle. In terms of whether we’re ready, yes, we’re ready. We’re as ready as we can be. Would I like to have Alex (Farrer) out there ready and healthy? Yes, but Alex has been gone for a long time. We’re as ready as we can be right now.”
On several guys having good offensive games Monday…
“I think it’s indicative of McNeese State staying in the press. It’s having some lanes and some open shots. I think they had some breakdowns. Let’s make no mistake about it. Alabama is not McNeese State in terms of talent level and intensity level. All that being said, I like the way the guys responded like Garrett Green and Dennis Harris for example. They may have had two, three or four fouls, but they continued to stay aggressive. They didn’t think they were reacting. Garrett didn’t hesitate. He reacted and shot the ball. Aaron (Dotson) was in a situation where he didn’t think he was reacting, but with all that being said, each game takes on its own identity. Obviously we know of the intensity when you start league, and obviously everybody is being scouted and those kinds of things. It’s just a matter of the guys staying in the framework of what we do and understanding that if we do this, we’ll have a chance, and if we don’t, we’re going to struggle. Now, we’re playing teams that are probably as talented as or more talented than a lot of teams we played in the non conference with the exception of an Arizona State or a UConn.”
On guard Aaron Dotson playing well…
“Yes, as long as he can translate what happened Monday to Saturday. For him or for any kid, they like to see the ball go in. We’ve got to develop some consistency. I’ve always said that as long as you take good shots and you’re aggressive and not tentative, some guys are better shooters than others. Percentages don’t lie, but you still have to take the shot. We are who we are. For us, getting the thing up on the rim and giving us the opportunity to go up and get it sometimes is not all bad although teams have done a very good job on Storm (Warren), blocking him out and keeping him off the backboard.”
On eight different starting lineups in 14 games…
“We are looking for consistency from some other guys. With this team, unlike I want to say teams I’ve had in the previous three years, it’s all about matchups. I’m comfortable with Tasmin (Mitchell). I’m comfortable with Storm. I’m comfortable with Bo (Spencer). Tasmin has afforded us a luxury of playing him down and on the perimeter, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how Garrett and Dennis, who last game out played well. If they can continue to grow and continue to improve, we can go with a more conventional lineup in terms of how some people look at. Some people say, ‘Well, he’s 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-11, so he needs to be the four, and he needs to be the five and Tasmin at the three.’ I’m not concerned, none whatsoever.”