BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s basketball looks to keep its offense moving forward and find the necessary big plays down the stretch when it takes on No. 22 Ole Miss Saturday at 12:47 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The game will be telecast on the syndicated SEC Network (WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge) and 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 online at LSUsports.net and ticket windows on the upper concourse will open at 11 a.m. LSU Students are admitted free of charge and the student lounge presented by Acme Oyster House will be open pregame with free food and drink. Youth tickets for ages 3-12 are available for $5.
The Tigers are coming off an 84-80 loss to Auburn on Wednesday night that dropped LSU to 9-9 overall and 0-4 in the league. In that game Tasmin Mitchell scored 38 points, his second highest scoring game in his career and the most points he has scored in a regulation game. Both Mitchell (10 rebs.) and Storm Warren (17 pts-11 rebs.) had double doubles as LSU built a seven-point second-half lead.
But Auburn shot over 50 percent for the game and the Tigers shooting dropped off to 35 percent in the second half and the visiting Tigers used a late 10-0 run to grab the lead and hold on down the stretch.
Ole Miss comes in at 14-4 and 2-2 in the SEC after a 66-57 win Wednesday over South Carolina. Chris Warren led the way with 17 points and Murphy Holloway had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Ole Miss is looking for its first win over the Tigers in four tries and its first win in Baton Rouge since 2003.
“We have to continue to do the things we are doing,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson. “That’s what I think is hard for an untrained eye to understand. Ole Miss is going to come with a better perimeter than what we just saw. What we have to do is try to eliminate a mistake or two. We need to get them to understand when we are tied or down and get the ball to the post, you have to catch it and look to pass it out without a turnover. When we are running, we need to hedge and get over the top. We have to continue to work at what we are doing. We are who we are. There is no secret. We aren’t going to come out and be bigger, stronger and quicker.
“Terrico White is probably as good as any player in the conference. He’s a pro in my mind, and I think I know what they look like. He is a bona fide pro as a sophomore. The three guys they had last year, they are really good. That’s why they are ranked. We are not. We have to continue to work on the things we are working on. We aren’t going to be in situations where we go make and miss like we did previously against Florida. As good as Florida was, from a conventional standpoint, we can matchup and play Garrett (Green) and Eddie (Ludwig) with their big guys. Ole Miss is going to come with better perimeters. Perimeters even better than the ones we just saw (against Auburn). That’s why they are ranked No. 22 in the country. You have to line up. You have to play and continue to work. You have to fight through. I said this, and I’m a firm believer in it. Adversity doesn’t build character; it reveals your character.”
LSU goes on the road next week against Alabama (Wednesday) and Mississippi State (Jan. 30) before returning home to face Tennessee on Thursday, Feb. 4 and Kentucky (Feb. 6). Durand “Rudy” Macklin’s jersey will be retired at halftime of the Kentucky contest.