AUBURN, Ala. – The LSU men’s basketball team looks to start the Southeastern Conference season on the right note Saturday when the Tigers face off against Auburn here at 5 p.m. in the first SEC game to be played in the new 9,000-plus seat Auburn Arena.
Tip time for the game is 5 p.m. and the contest will be regionally televised on FSN. The radio broadcast of the game will be available on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (WTGE New Country 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge) and at www.LSUsports.net/live.
LSU is 8-7 coming into league play, while Auburn (winners of four straight at home) is 7-7. LSU has lost two straight on the road, at Rice (74-68) and at Virginia (64-50) with Auburn coming off a win at home against Florida State on Monday under first-year head coach Tony Barbee.
The LSU Tigers are presently battling injury problems going into the opener as freshman Ralston Turner, the second leading scorer on the team at 13.7 points per game, is expected to miss the game with a stress reaction on his right foot. Junior Storm Warren did not play the Virginia game with tendonitis of his right Achilles, and is listed as questionable for the contest.
But the game does represent a new start for LSU.
“It is a new season for us,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson. “We have put ourselves in so many situations where we were real close to getting over the hump, and it is a combination of the tough plays, grabbing the two-handed rebound, making the pass in tough situations and making the crucial defensive stops. For us to be successful in conference play we are going to have to continue to try and improve on those areas. Obviously, the turnover ratio is getting a little better, but again it is a matter of us not making plays and tough plays at crucial times.”
Johnson said at his media session earlier in the week that freshman Matt Derenbecker (4.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg) would move into the starting lineup at the guard position that Turner had occupied for the first 15 games with freshman Andre Stringer (13.9 ppg, 2.7 apg) and sophomore Aaron Dotson (8.0 ppg, 2.1 apg). Junior Malcolm White will start at one of the forward spots (8.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
If Warren (7.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg) cannot go at the other forward position then either junior Garrett Green (5.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg) or sophomore Eddie Ludwig (3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg) will take the spot. Green has had the first three double figure scoring games of his college career in the last five games for the Tigers and Ludwig started for the first time this season against Virginia.
Auburn is paced by Earnest Ross, a sophomore guard who is averaging 12.4 points per game and 7.1 rebounds. Frankie Sullivan, the junior guard from Uniontown, Ala., is back in the starting lineup, recovered from summer knee surgery, and Auburn is 4-0 when Sullivan has started.
“(Auburn) plays with a lot of heart and a lot of confidence right now,” said Coach Johnson. “There is a lot of energy and a lot of passion there. I anticipate the atmosphere to be a really good atmosphere. Those guys are playing extremely hard, and that is the thing for me, regardless of if you look at league play or out of conference. The teams that are winning games are playing extremely hard, taking care of the ball and defending on a consistent basis. As much as we want to talk about it, it is hard for kids to understand that.”
LSU will open its home league schedule on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Arkansas. Tickets are available at LSUtix.net.
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