LEXINGTON, Ky. – The LSU men’s basketball team, off conference opening wins at Auburn and at home against Arkansas now must face its first ranked conference opponent, the University of Kentucky here Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.
The game is set for a 3 p.m. CST tipoff and will be regionally televised by the syndicated over-the-air SEC Network as the second game of their Saturday doubleheader. The game will be televised on the following Louisiana affiliates: Alexandria – KLAX; Baton Rouge – WBXH; Lafayette – KADN; Lake Charles – KVHP; New Orleans – WUPL; and, Shreveport – KSHV. The game can be viewed outside the SEC viewing area on ESPN3.
The contest will also be broadcast 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 has now upped its record to 10-7 overall, while Kentucky ranked 13th in the AP poll and 15th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, is 13-3 and 1-1 in the conference. The Wildcats lost at Georgia in the league opener last Saturday before coming back Tuesday night to defeat Auburn.
“Again, it is the same old story for us,” Coach Trent Johnson said at his Thursday media session. “We need to come out with a lot of energy and, unlike the last two conference games, we need to shoot the ball well. We are going to have to shoot the ball well because (Kentucky is) going to play fast and they can score. In our zone, or whatever defense we are in, we are going to have to do a really good job at getting to the shooters. Though it is not one guy that you have to get to, there are three or four that can shoot the ball. It is a very, very steep challenge for us, but every game in the league is going to be a steep challenge for us.”
Adding to that steep challenge is the fact that Ralston Turner, the freshman guard from Muscle Shoals, Ala., who leads the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game, will miss his third straight game with a stress reaction in his right foot. Junior forward Storm Warren continues to be hobbled with tendonitis in his right Achilles but is expected to try to play some minutes.
LSU is expected to go with the lineup that it used for its two conference wins with guards Andre Stringer and Aaron Dotson joined by Matt Derenbecker, who has responded with double figure games in each of the two games he has started for Turner. Malcolm White and Eddie Ludwig will start at the forward position with Garrett Green coming off the bench. Green has had five double figure games in the last seven with two double doubles of points and rebounds.
Kentucky’s Terrance Jones broke the UK freshman scoring record in the Auburn game with 35, topping the mark of 32 set by teammate Doron Lamb in December. Brandon Knight averages 17.4 points and has scored in double figures the last 11 games, while Lamb averages 14.0 points a contest. Jones is the team’s leading scorer at 18.7 points a contest but came off the bench to get his 35 points in the Auburn contest.
Kentucky enters the game with a 27-game home winning streak.
The Tigers will have a week off after the Kentucky game before returning to the PMAC to take on Ole Miss at 12:30 p.m. The game will have a halftime salute to both the members of the 1981 and 1986 LSU NCAA Final Four teams. Tickets are available online at LSUtix.net and at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office.
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