STARKVILLE, Miss. — The LSU men’s basketball team continues to search for its breakout moment in the Southeastern Conference and the task does not get any easier here Saturday early afternoon as the Tigers must face a Mississippi State team happy to get home after losing two straight on the road.
The Tigers and Bulldogs meet at 12:47 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum in a game televised by the over the air SEC Network (WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, complete listings at the bottom of this story). The radio broadcast 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 GeauxZone at LSU Sports.net.
LSU is 9-11 overall and 0-6 in the SEC after losing 57-38 to Alabama Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers were in the game and up by four, 29-25, with about 17 minutes to play before Alabama went on to score 15 points on five straight threes as part of a 16-0 run.
“The first that that hit me was we had a couple of ill-advised turnovers, and we lost a couple in the back end of the zone and in terms of man who was supposed to be covering,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson. “We just had some defensive breakdowns. You can deal with one, and you can deal with two maybe. Coming out of a timeout, it went bang, bang and bang again. It’s what we’ve been seeing … It was basically a defensive breakdown from a couple of guys, and I attribute that to a loss of poise.”
Mississippi State is 15-5 overall, 8-1 in Humphrey Coliseum this season, but has fallen back to 3-2 after road losses to Alabama and Thursday night at Arkansas, 67-62.
“(Mississippi State is) in the situation right now where they need to play their best basketball to win their share of games because they are trying to win a title. They cause a few matchup problems because everyone returns from their group,” said Johnson. I think Kodi Augustus is really improved and gives them a different dimension because he is a three/four that can play on the perimeter. I think he’s going to be a really good matchup for Tasmin Mitchell. Obviously, we know all about their perimeter players like Ravern Johnson, Dee Bost, Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado. For us, it doesn’t get any easier, but in terms of matchups, and how we will be able to handle their pressure, they are more of a man to man team that will pick you up on the full. You have to defend against the three. If they are shooting, and you aren’t defending, they will shoot you out in a hurry. If you are defending it, and you are able to get on the half court and execute, you have a chance to stay in the game.”
Tasmin Mitchell leads the Tigers with a 17.5 points per game average and will be looking to rebound after having his 15-game double figure scoring streak snapped on Wednesday. Bo Spencer is averaging 14.8 points per game and Storm Warren 13.3 points.
Johnson leads Mississippi State averaging 15.8 points per game, while Dee Bost averages 11.9 points per game and Barry Stewart 11.2 points. Senior forward Jarvis Varnardo, who broke Shaquille O’Neal’s SEC block record and has the NCAA standard in his site, is averaging 13.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.1 blocks per outing.
The Tigers return home for two games next week, hosting Tennessee in a special Thursday night 8 p.m. ESPN2 tilt and then facing Kentucky next Saturday at 3 p.m. on the SEC Network. Less than 500 tickets remain for that game that will feature the jersey retirement of former LSU All-American Durand “Rudy” Macklin at halftime.
Trent Johnson Media Session
January 28, 2010
LSU HEAD COACH TRENT JOHNSON QUOTES
On the game against Alabama …
“The first thing that hit me was we had a couple of ill-advised turnovers, and we lost a couple in the back end of the zone and in terms of man who was supposed to be covering. We just had some defensive breakdowns. You can deal with one, and you can deal with two maybe. Coming out of a timeout, it went bang, bang and bang again. It’s what we’ve been seeing. It’s interesting because one of the things we are doing today, and this has to do with a sense of urgency and maybe this can help them, I want to use last year’s basketball team as a comparison. In a staff meeting, I was showing our staff that the group last year was very talented individually and collectively, but I see them execute all of our plays. I see Marcus (Thornton) setting screens, Chris Johnson catching the ball with two hands and Garrett Temple working a good lead. Forget the finished product. Then on defense you see guys sprinting back. Every time you see the one and two sprinting back. Those ones and twos were Marcus and Bo. What I want these guys to understand is the tapes we’ve broken down are all clips of late-game situations, and what I want them to see is the difference in now, this guy is playing for the Hornets. Why in this situation does he have a sense of urgency and screen when we run two weak? Marcus is always setting the baseline screen for the post, and Bo hardly ever gets there. I just want to get them to understand that if they were doing it as talented as they were, then this team has to do it at crucial points in time. It was basically a defensive breakdown from a couple of guys, and I attribute that to a loss of poise.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Alabama. I’ve been on the other end of that where you are better physically and at a skill level. You probably are better on an experience factor and one of the things that I’ve always been realistic about is when I’m playing a team that is probably inferior, I’m realistic with how good my defense was or our play was that day. They are in a situation where as much as people talk about their defense, they have three conference wins with two against us, an inexperienced team. You start looking at tape and situations with turnovers, and we had four at the half. Defensively, if what they are doing is so good, we wouldn’t have had four at half. We would have probably had around eight or nine, and that game was probably over. That’s what I have to try to get our team to understand. That is more of us than anything, our inability to stay concentrated, focused and poised. I was surprised from the standpoint that with 16 minutes to go, we were right there and had a lead. Then they came and I couldn’t stop it. I called a timeout, and I thought we were going to regroup because we’ve done a decent job versus pressure in these last three games. I was surprised that it got out of hand, and obviously, we had problems making shots, which isn’t going to change any time soon.”
On the staff’s mental approach with the team …
“If there is anything I do well, I think it’s being able to trust my instinct and know when to push and not to push. I told these guys about a month ago because I know my demeanor, I know how competitive I am, I told them I didn’t want them to mistake me for shutting down. A lot of the guys aren’t able to deal with some of the competitive instincts I have or some of the other coaches or certain players have. For me, mentally, the bottom line is getting them to understand. Today, we are watching video tape and letting them correct themselves as opposed to me commanding a presence and talking. With the exception of a few guys on this team, this is young, inexperienced team, and they are kids. One thing you can do as a coach is beat guys down. There is a lot of frustration, but the reality is there is a carryover I thought between halves and at the end of a loss. People that are around these guys every day, they know it’s killing them. For me, I have to do the best I can to help them understand, and sometimes that’s not always talking to them, but I’ve never, contrary to what people may think, don’t holler and scream. I’m pretty much subdued when things aren’t going well. When they aren’t hustling or listening, that’s a different thing, but the mental part is just as important as the physical stuff. That’s probably the thing for me that’s been as challenging as ever.”
On getting ready for Mississippi State…
“Mississippi State is coming off of loss to Alabama at Alabama. They played Arkansas (Thursday). Then, they’ll be back home. They are in the situation right now where they need to play their best basketball to win their share of games because they are trying to win a title. They cause a few matchup problems because everyone returns from their group. I think Kodi Augustus is really improved and gives them a different dimension because he is a three/four that can play on the perimeter. I think he’s going to be a really good matchup for Tasmin Mitchell. Obviously, we know all about their perimeter players like Ravern Johnson, Dee Bost, Barry Stewart and Jarvis Varnado. For us, it doesn’t get any easier, but in terms of matchups, and how we will be able to handle their pressure, they are more of a man to man team that will pick you up on the full. You have to defend against the three. If they are shooting, and you aren’t defending, they will shoot you out in a hurry. If you are defending it, and you are able to get on the half court and execute, you have a chance to stay in the game. I thought how Georgia played them a couple of weeks ago is exactly how you have to play them. We are off today and are going to watch film for 20 or 30 minutes. Tasmin, Storm and Bo were pretty banged up, so they are going to nothing particularly. The other guys, we are going to take them through a 45 minute workout and then lift. We leave tomorrow at noon, and will get out there and practice at seven.”
SEC Network Affiliates
Birmingham-Tuscaloosa-Anniston, AL, WTTO, CW
Dothan, AL, WTVY, CW
Huntsville-Decatur-Florence, AL, WZDX, FOX
Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt), AL, WJTC, NBC
Montgomery (Selma), AL, WCOV, FOX
Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs, AR, KHBS, ABC
Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs, AR, KHOG, ABC
Jonesboro, AR, KAIT, ABC
Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR, KATV, ABC
Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA, CSN-SAC, RSN
San Francisco-Oak-San Jose, CA, CSN-BAY, RSN
Ft. Myers-Naples, FL, WXCW, CW
Gainesville, FL, WOGX, FOX
Jacksonville, Brunswick, FL, WJXT, IND
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL, WSFL, CW
Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbrn, FL, WOFL, FOX
Panama City, FL, WJHG, CW
Tallahassee-thomasville, FL, WCTV-DT2, MNT
Tampa-St. Pete, Sarasota, FL, WTTA, MNT
Albany, GA, GA, WALB, NBC
Atlanta, GA, WPCH, IND
Augusta, GA, ERDW, MNT
Columbus, GA, GA, WXTX, FOX
Macon, GA, WGXA, FOX
Savannah, GA, WTGS, FOX
Evansville, IN, WTVW, FOX
South Bend-Elkhart, IN, WHME, IND
Wichita-Hutchinson Plus, KS, KSCW, CBS
Bowling Green, KY, WBKO, ABC
Lexington, KY, WKYT, CBS
Louisville, KY, WAVE, NBC
Paducah-C. Girardeau-Harrbg-Mt VN, KY, WPSD, NBC
Alexandria, LA, LA, KLAX-DT, ABC
Baton Rouge, LA, WAFB, CBS
Lafayette, LA, LA, KADN, FOX
Lake Charles, LA, KVHP, FOX
New Orleans, LA, WUPL, CBS
Shreveport, LA, KMSS, FOX
Baltimore, MD, CSN-MA, RSN
Biloxi-Gulfport, MS, WXXV, FOX
Columbus-Tupelo- West Point, MS, WCBI, CBS
Greenwood-Greenville, MS, WABG-A, ABC
Hattiesburg-Laurel, MS, WHLT, CBS
Jackson, MS, MS, WJTV, CBS
Meridian, MS, EGBC, FOX
Charlotte, NC, WAXN, IND
Greensboro-H. Point-W. Salem, NC, WCWG, CW
Greenville-N.Bern-Washngtn, NC, WITN-DT2,
Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws, NC, WSKY, IND
Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC, WNCN-DT, NBC
Binghamton, NY, WBPN, MNT
Toledo, OH, WMNT, MNT
Oklahoma City, OK, KSBI, IND
Charleston, SC, SC, WMMP, MNT
Columbia, SC, SC, WIS-DT, NBC
Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-Anderson, SC, WYCW, CBS
Myrtle Beach-Florence, SC, WPDE, ABC
Chattanooga, TN, WDSI, FOX
Jackson, TN, TN, WJKT, FOX
Knoxville, TN, WVLT, CBS
Memphis, TN, WLMT, FOX
Nashville, TN, WUXP, MNT
Tri-Cities, TN-VA, TN, WCYB, NBC
Tyler-Longview-Lfkn & Ncgd, TX, KLPN, MNT
Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA, WDRL, IND
Spokane, WA, SWX,
Madison, WI, ETVW, MNT
Charleston-Huntington, WV, WSAZ, NBC