STARKVILLE, Miss. – The LSU men’s basketball team plays its fourth road league game in 15 days Wednesday night when it travels to Humphrey Coliseum to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Game time is 7 p.m. on the SEC Network (WBXH, Cable 16 in Baton Rouge, WKCE in Alexandria, KLAF in Lafayette, WUPL in New Orleans, KSHV in Shreveport). The game will also be broadcast on the affiliate of the LSU Sports Radio Network (New Country 100.7 FM The Tiger in Baton Rouge).
This will mark the third road game in the four that LSU will play a nationally-ranked team as Mississippi State is ranked 18th in the AP poll and 16th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll after the Bulldogs rallied from 11 down at halftime to force overtime and win 78-77 at Vanderbilt on Saturday night in Nashville.
LSU is 12-7 overall, 2-3 in the league while State is 16-4 overall and 3-2 in the SEC.
These teams have played very competitive games of late and even though State has won four of the last five, LSU has won two of the last three in Starkville, including last year, 84-82. The last three games between the two teams have been decided by a total of four points. The teams split a year ago with Mississippi State winning by one in Baton Rouge before LSU took the game in Starkville.
Arnett Moultrie leads the SEC in rebounding at 11.2 boards per game and in double doubles with 11. Dee Bost and Moultrie both average 16.4 points per game with Bost adding 4.4 assists per game.
“Mississippi State … really talented, but I’m not so sure there is a better player in terms of being efficient and productivity than (MSU’s Arnett) Moultrie,” said LSU Coach Trent Johnson. “You look at his numbers, you look what he has done versus very, very good teams and very, very talented teams, a la one being Vanderbilt on the road (last Saturday) which is a great win for them. Then what he did versus a team as talented, as athletic and as long as Baylor. This, by no means, is a one man team. I have a lot of respect, and I admired the ways Dee Bost has competed and won games for them since he has been there. Jalen Steele is shooting the ball very well. Obviously, Renardo Sidney is a hand full, and Rodney Hood is probably as good as a freshman as there is in our league. They are very talented, very talented and are playing very well. Another league game, another challenge (for our team).”
But the Tigers have shown their talent as well as Justin Hamilton became the first LSU player to score more than 25 points since February 2010 as he got 27 against Florida last Saturday. Hamilton is averaging a league games best 19.0 points per game and upped his scoring average by over two points since the start of 2012 to 14.1 points per game. The Iowa State transfer has 15 double figure games.
Anthony Hickey had 10 at Florida and averaged 9.6 points per game while averaging 3.9 assists and an SEC leader 2.3 steals per game. He has recorded eight games of five assists or more and has four games in the SEC scoring in double figures.
The rest of the lineup is expected to be as recent with Andre Stringer and Ralston Turner at the other two guards and Storm Warren at the forward position.
Freshman forward Johnny O’Bryant III, who broke a bone in his non-shooting left hand on Jan. 4, was expected to have a CT scan prior to the team’s departure to Starkville and if he was cleared in that exam and showed no ill effects in Wednesday’s shootaround, he would probably see action against the Bulldogs.
The Tigers return home on Saturday to play the No. 1-ranked team in college basketball, the Kentucky Wildcats. Tip for the game is set for 3:01 p.m. CST on the SEC Network and tickets are still available online at LSUtix.net.
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