BATON ROUGE — By mid-afternoon Saturday, the semester final exams will be over and the concentration for the LSU men’s basketball team will turn to the hardwood court at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center as they host Sam Houston State in a 6 p.m. CT tilt.
The game will be televised on the SEC Network (Roy Philpott, Joe Dean Jr.) and the radio call will be available in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net and the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network (Jim Hawthorne, Ricky Blanton Kevin Ford).
The radio broadcast will be available on the following stations: Baton Rouge, WDGL (98.1 FM); Alexandria, KSYL (970 AM); Bogalusa, WBOX (92.9 FM); Ferriday, KFNV (107.1 FM); Houma, KJIN (1490 AM); Jena, KJNA (102.7 FM); Lafayette/Opelousas, KLWB (103.7 FM); Lake Charles, KXZZ (1580 AM); Leesville, KJAE (93.5 FM); Monroe, KMLB (540 AM); Morgan City, KFRA (1390 MA); Natchitoches, KWLV (107.1 FM); New Orleans, WWL (870 AM, 105.3 FM); Ruston, KRUS (1490 AM); Shreveport, KWKH (1130 AM); Tallulah, KTJZ (97.5 FM); Tylertown, Mississippi, WFCG (107.3 FM); Ville Platte, KVPI (1050 AM).
Tickets for the game are available at www.LSUtix.net and at the Maravich Center upper concourse ticket windows starting at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
LSU will try to regain the form it had in the week before the break when LSU defeated UMass at home, 82-60, and then defeated No. 16 West Virginia in Morgantown, 74-73, in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. It was LSU’s first road win against a ranked team since a win at No. 13 West Virginia in 2005 and the 10th win over a ranked team on the opponent’s home court since the Associated Press poll began during the 1948-49 season.
While the win was exciting and concentration on exams has been the primary concern, Coach Johnny Jones feels that his team will be ready to play.
“There have been a lot of days in between our last game and our next game,” he said. “One of the things we try to make sure we focus on is how important the next game is. That will certainly be our approach. We are more worried about their concentration and how they have had to lock into their studies over the last few days. Now, we have to really turn our attention to our next opponent. I think that should help us in terms of our focus and put us where we need to be. At the same time, I think when you look at the close games that Sam Houston State has been in—with UNLV, a two-point ball game and at Texas A&M, a three-point ball game – I think those are attention-getters as well that we can make sure and let our guys know about.”
This is the first of five games that will lead LSU down the road to the start of Southeastern Conference play on Jan. 8 at Missouri. LSU after hosting Sam Houston State will travel to Birmingham on Thursday for an 8 p.m. game at UAB, following by home games against Charleston (8 p.m., Dec. 22), Southern Miss (6 p.m. Dec. 29) and Savannah State (6 p.m., Jan. 3).
Jarell Martin leads LSU in scoring at 16.1 points per game and is tied with Jordan Mickey (15.6 ppg) in rebounds at 9.4 boards a game. Keith Hornsby scores at 12.3 points per game mark with Josh Gray at 12.0. John Odo is expected to round out the starting lineup at 3.0 points per game. Tim Quarterman is averaging double figures and 30-plus minutes a game off the bench.
Martin has done a great job of working to get to the foul line and the West Virginia game was his third game this season with an least eight free throws made.
Sam Houston, which won 24 games last year for Coach Jason Hooten, is expected to go with a four-guard lineup that is led by seniors Kaheem Ransom (11.3 ppg) and DeMarcus Gatlin (10.9 ppg). The team returns four starters from last year’s team and is picked in the top three in the Southland Conference.
Follow Facebook and Twitter for updates during the game at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and @LSUBasketball. Follow the Tigers on Instagram @LSUBasketball and get updates on the LSU Basketball app.
Coach Jones and selected players met with the media on Thursday and here are some of the comments:
HEAD COACH JOHNNY JONES
Opening Statement …
“We are looking forward to getting back out on the floor this Saturday evening at 6 p.m. against Sam Houston State. It’s been about a nine-day layoff since our last game against West Virginia. Our guys have been going through finals and getting some practice days in. It’s going to be an opportunity for them to eventually get the focus just on basketball because finals will be done. We are looking forward to how we will be affected – one by the long layoff and the guys going through their finals. We are certainly looking forward to this great challenge.”
On avoiding a letdown after their last week’s win at No. 16 West Virginia…
“There have been a lot of days in between our last game and our next game. One of the things we try to make sure we focus on is how important the next game is. That will certainly be our approach. We are more worried about their concentration and how they have had to lock into their studies over the last few days. Now, we have to really turn our attention to our next opponent. I think that should help us in terms of our focus and put us where we need to be. At the same time, I think when you look at the close games that Sam Houston State has been in—with UNLV, a two-point ball game and at Texas A&M, a three-point ball game – I think those are attention-getters as well that we can make sure and let our guys know about.”
On the team’s confidence growth following the UMass and West Virginia wins…
“I thought from the UMass game having only one day of preparation prior to getting to the West Virginia game – the guys were confident going into the West Virginia game. I thought they played extremely well and played hard. Coming out of there with a victory after being down 14 points, closing the way that we did to win the basketball game and making the necessary plays down the stretch, I thought that gave our team a great deal of confidence.”
On the team’s overall growth since the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands…
“I think it’s been gradual, and I think we’ve shown improvement from the Paradise Jam up until today. It’s been all across the board. We have gotten better executing offensively. We are more familiar with each other and with what we are doing. I think on the defensive end, they are getting better. We are playing together rotation wise. We are being able to take what we do from practice to game situations and executing it on the defensive end as well. We are getting closer to having a better understanding and a better feel of what we are doing as a team.”
On Tim Quarterman‘s improvement during his career…
“I think he (Quarterman) has taken some great strides from his freshman year. The number of games he played in last year and the number of minutes he was able to play, the experience that he was able to gain benefitted Tim from last season to now. With his strength and the knowledge that he’s gained with the minutes that he’s been able to garnish out there on the floor, it has benefitted him greatly. Because of that, he’s become a more confident player. I think he’s found a great role …”
On if the team’s turnover totals in the last game cause him concern…
“At the time, West Virginia was leading the nation in steals per game. They are a very quick basketball team and can play very physical. We did not do a great job of protecting and taking care of the basketball. Regardless of how they play (the opponent), we certainly have to do a better job of executing against those types of defenses.”
On the team focusing on just basketball after final exams …
“Now, we have their undivided attention. There are not the study halls, the tutoring and all those things going on. It gives them an opportunity to focus mainly on basketball. It gives us an opportunity as coaches to implement a lot of things and then make sure that we pay more attention to detail with them at this time. This is a real critical and this is a real crucial time for us, in terms of the learning curve and putting things in prior to conference play and getting ready. During this break, we have that ample amount of time to do that.”
On when he expects Aaron Epps to be back in the playing rotation …
“He should be healthy, and he has been back in our practices lately. We are hopeful that he will get some minutes on Saturday and see how he would fair. He really has missed a lot of game time – the speed of the game and those types of things. We are looking forward to getting him back in rotation.”
On Sam Houston State’s veteran team …
“A lot of times, experienced teams do a tremendous job because they have been playing together for a while. They can execute at a high level. Sometimes, that offsets talent. When you have both (experience and talent), you are exceptional. They are a team that has both. They have some experienced guys, and they’re extremely talented. They play well together, and I think it’s indicative of the games that they have been in this year with the scores of those games. They are a team that is projected to finish in the top in their conference. If you look at their conference, one of their teams (Incarnate Ward) wound up knocking off Nebraska last night on the road. You have to be mindful. We played McNeese State here and know how tough they were from that same conference. It certainly will be a challenge to us especially playing against a senior-dominated type team with the experience and talent level that they’ll present here on Saturday for us.”
—
GUARD KEITH HORNSBY
On exam week and how excited he is to get back to basketball…
“I am actually finished with them. I got through them. It definitely took a little bit out of me, but that is how they are supposed to be. I am moving on now and back to basketball. We practiced over the course of exams as much as we could without it becoming a distraction to academics. It has been a long time since we have played a game. It is exciting to get back to the PMAC, and we are looking forward to it.”
On his performance against West Virginia…
“This was probably my biggest overall win. It was my first win against a ranked opponent, and it was at their place. My sophomore year (at UNC Ashville), we upset St. Johns. That was a big for me at the time since I was at a smaller school, but this last game trumps over that one. It was such a great feeling.”
On carrying the momentum on to the next game…
“We just have to remember the feeling of how good it felt after once we came out victorious and just carry that over to the games that come. We just need to stay focused, stay upbeat in practice and keep on playing hard. “
FORWARD JARELL MARTIN
On exam week and how excited he is to get back to basketball…
“They have been pretty good this week. I have one more exam and then I will be done. School comes first. We are students before we are athletes. That is the most important thing. It is real big for us to come in and start up right where we left off last week.”
On how big the win was for the team last week…
“It was a very big win for us, especially going out on the road. That was something we struggled with last year. For us to go on the road and win in such a big environment, it will be very helpful for us down the road. It was definitely a confidence builder.”
GUARD TIM QUARTERMAN
On exam week and how excited he is to get back to basketball…
“Exams have been good for me. I only had two so I got them out of the way early. I want all my teammates to do well on their exams. I can’t wait to get back to basketball. I am anxious, and it has been too long. I am ready to play Saturday.”
On energy level of the team after the big win last week …
“It was crazy. It was a really hostile environment from warmups to the first time we stepped on the court and the end of the game. The energy level was loud, and their fans were great. It was big for us to keep our composure and grab that win.”